Dark Sticky Gingerbread

It would not be Christmas without gingerbread, molasses cookies, or gingerbread men. Out of all the flavors that are associated with holiday baking, I think the combination of molasses and ginger is my favorite. This gingerbread was wonderful and full of flavor and spice. With the exception of about 3 or 4 pieces, I'm pretty sure I nearly ate the whole pan! I halved the recipe to fit a 9 x 9 baking dish, so I wasn't too bad, right? I can also say with absolute confidence that the bread tastes even better the next day, especially with a hot cup of tea. Nummy!

Dark Sticky Gingerbread

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses

3/4 cup honey
1 cup tightly packed dark brown sugar 

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

2 teaspoons ground ginger 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup milk

1 packed tablespoon grated fresh ginger root

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325F, with a rack in the center. Butter and line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan so the parchment hangs over by a couple inches. This will help you remove the cake from the pan later on. 

Combine the butter, water, molasses, honey and brown sugar in a medium saucepan and place over low heat. Stir the mixture frequently until the butter is just melted, and all of the ingredients are well blended. Remove from the heat, pour into a large bowl and set aside to cool. Do not refrigerate.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, all-spice and cloves, and set aside. When the molasses mixture feels just warm to the touch, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the milk and stir to combine. Fold the dry ingredients into the batter, but don't over mix. Some lumps are okay! Stir in the grated ginger.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes. Start checking for doneness after about 45 minutes. When the top of the cake springs back when touched you're good. 

Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, then, using the overhang of parchment (if you're using a rectangular pan), lift the cake out of the pan and cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. 

Recipe Source: adapted from 101 Cookbooks, who adapted it from this book