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Ginger Puffs
1 cup sugar. ½ cup butter 1 cup molasses (teacup) 1 egg 1 tablespoon ginger Any other spice desired 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon soda 1 cup milk 4 cups Five Roses flour
This is a formula rather than a method — the Five Roses book often assumed the cook knew what to do with a list like this. Treat it as a molasses gingerbread batter baked in gem or muffin pans.
- No method is givenCream the butter with the molasses, beat in the egg, then add the milk alternately with the flour, ginger, salt and soda sifted together. The batter should be thick enough to drop from a spoon and hold its shape.
- "1 cup molasses (teacup)"A teacup was generally reckoned smaller than a modern 8 oz measuring cup; equivalents in period sources vary, but about 6 fl oz (roughly 3/4 cup) is the usual reckoning. The parenthesis most likely signals that the smaller teacup measure is meant rather than a full cup.
- Soda, not baking powderThe teaspoon of soda is there to react with the acid in the molasses; that pairing is the only leavening in the recipe. Sift it with the flour so it distributes, and get the pans into the oven promptly once the milk goes in.
- Oven temperatureNone is given; a moderate oven, around 375F, suits this batter. Molasses batters brown deceptively fast on top, so test with a skewer at about 18 to 20 minutes for gem-pan size rather than trusting the colour.
- Pans"Puffs" here means small cakes baked in gem irons or muffin tins, not choux pastry. A standard 12-cup muffin tin, well greased, stands in; cast-iron gem pans should be greased and heated before filling.
- Five Roses flourA Canadian hard-wheat white flour, closer to modern all-purpose or bread flour than to soft Southern flour. Ordinary all-purpose works; mix only until combined, as the four cups plus a stiff batter will toughen with overworking.
- Spice and saltA full tablespoon of ground ginger is assertive but not out of line for the period. "Any other spice desired" would most likely mean cinnamon, cloves or allspice, a teaspoon or so total.
- YieldTwo dozen or more small puffs, depending on pan size. Molasses cakes keep well for several days and are often said to improve after a day.
The Five Roses Cook Book was issued by the Lake of the Woods Milling Company of Winnipeg and Montreal, and its brand name is written into the ingredient line. The recipes were largely gathered from customers, which may explain the telegraphic style here: a list of proportions, no method. Molasses and ginger were the workhorse sweetener and spice of the northern kitchen, cheap, shelf-stable and reliably paired with soda, and small "puffs" or "gems" baked in sectioned cast-iron pans were a standard way to turn that batter into something quick for tea.