What I Learned from Baking Gingerbread

I learned that I don't like gingerbread.

*Sigh.*

I made Nigella Lawson's Fresh Gingerbread with Lemon Icing because I'd never had real gingerbread in cake form before. I assumed that I'd love this recipe: I have a lot of faith in Nigella, I love ginger snaps, and I love the taste of fresh ginger in savory dishes. So how could I go wrong?

The answer: molasses, and lots of it.

Let me explain: This recipe begins by melting together butter, brown sugar, light corn syrup, and enough molasses to put a small village into diabetic shock. Then you throw in some cinnamon and freshly ground ginger to let the flavors incorporate.

Freshly ground ginger root.

 

The sugary, buttery, molasses-y ginger sludge.

This makes for a very aromatic black sludge. I didn't like the smell of it, but there are plenty of delicious foods in this world that smell just awful while they're cooking. Take Thai food, for example: your whole kitchen will reek of fish sauce for awhile, but your dinner is always ample reward for the stench.

So I dutifully continued. Next, you combine the sludge with the milk, beaten eggs, and dissolved baking soda. Finally, the liquid mixtures gets combined with a bit of flour. This makes for a very thin, wet batter.

The gingerbread batter.

Then it's into the oven. The gingerbread itself turned out to be dark and rich-looking and quite pretty.

The unfrosted gingerbread.

I used freshly squeezed lemon juice for the glaze, which turned out to be very intense (I licked the spoon once and my lips puckered uncontrollably). I'd recommend moderation in application here.

The gingerbread soaked with its lemon glaze.

According to my mother--who, it seems, does like gingerbread--this recipe turned out great. She was quite gaga over it, and even I could appreciate the smooth, damp texture of the cake's fine crumb. I also loved how bright the lemon glaze tasted against the dark gingerbread.

But what I couldn't stomach about the gingerbread was its strong molasses flavor, which overwhelmed everything else about the bread. I don't know why I responded so badly the flavor--I love a nice, chewy molasses cookie--but I couldn't get past it. It made the cake taste bitter and almost burnt instead of rich and spicy.

My wedge of gingerbread, which I only picked at.

I'd recommend this recipe to the hardcore traditional gingerbread lover. But, personally, I'm off to find a ginger snap recipe that involves fresh ginger, no molasses, and a lot of palate-friendly cinnamon and sugar!

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Fresh Gingerbread with Lemon Icing

From Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess

Taken from Epicurious.com

Ingredients

For the gingerbread:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 large eggs, beaten to mix
• 1 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 2 tablespoons warm water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• roasting pan, approximately 12 x 8 x 2 inches, greased and lined with foil or parchment paper

For the icing:

• 1 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon warm water

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

In a saucepan, melt the butter along with the sugar, syrup, molasses, ginger, and cinnamon. Off the heat, add the milk, eggs, and baking soda in its water. Measure the flour out into a bowl and pour in the liquid ingredients, beating until very well mixed (it will be a very liquid batter).

Pour it into the pan and bake for 3/4 - 1 hour until risen and firm. Be careful not to overcook it, as it is nicer a little stickier, and anyway it will carry on cooking as it cools.

And when it is cool, get on with the icing. Whisk the lemon juice into the confectioners' sugar first, then gradually add the water. You want a good, thick icing, so go cautiously and be prepared not to add all the water. Spread over the cooled gingerbread with a palette knife, and leave to set before cutting.