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Lightened Gingerbread
1 1/2 pound of flour. 1/2 pound butter. 1/2 pound sugar. 6 eggs. 6 races of white ginger. 1 teaspoonful soda. 1 pint molasses. To be baked in tins or a pan.--Mrs. I.H.
A large, sturdy molasses cake from a book that assumes you can weigh flour and judge a wood-fired oven. The proportions work, but two of the ingredients need translating before you start.
- Races of gingerA "race" is a whole hand or knob of unground ginger root; the word is usually traced to Old French rais (Latin radix, root), and sometimes to Spanish raíz. "White" distinguished pale, scraped root from the darker unpeeled kind. Six races is genuinely vague — grate or pound the root and start at about 2 tablespoons fresh, or substitute roughly 1 tablespoon of dried ground ginger.
- Weights to volumes1 1/2 lb flour is about 5 1/2 cups; 1/2 lb butter is 2 sticks; 1/2 lb sugar is a scant 1 1/4 cups granulated. A pint of molasses is 2 cups, close to 24 oz by weight.
- The soda is on the low sideOne teaspoon of soda may not neutralize all the acid in two cups of molasses. If the batter tastes sharp, another half teaspoon is a reasonable adjustment; too much and the crumb can turn soapy and grey-brown.
- No salt, no other spiceButter of this period was often salted, and recipes of this kind frequently leave seasoning to the cook. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter, and cinnamon or cloves if you want the spice profile most modern palates expect from gingerbread.
- Mixing orderCream butter and sugar, beat in the eggs, then the molasses, then the flour with the soda and ginger stirred through it. Dissolving the soda in a spoonful of warm water first distributes it more evenly than dry-mixing into that much flour.
- OvenThe recipe gives no oven direction. A moderate modern oven, about 350F, suits it: sheet or jelly-roll tins take 25 to 35 minutes; a deep pan or loaf tins take 50 to 70 minutes, and the center should spring back rather than dip.
- YieldThis is a big batch — roughly 4 1/2 lb of batter, enough for two 9x13 pans or three loaf tins. Halve it comfortably by using 3 eggs and a cup of molasses.
- KeepingMolasses cakes improve after a day wrapped tight, as the crumb hydrates and the ginger settles. Fresh from the oven it will taste raw and sharp.
Housekeeping in Old Virginia, compiled by Marion Cabell Tyree and published in 1878, gathered contributions from some 250 Virginia housewives, which is why so many entries carry only initials — Mrs. I.H. here. "Lightened" may well set this cake apart from the harder, biscuit-like gingerbreads of the period: six eggs and a teaspoon of soda turn the stiff molasses dough into a soft cake crumb. Ginger arrived in Southern kitchens as whole dried root, sold in "races" to be grated as needed, and the household mortar was still standard equipment. Molasses by the pint, rather than sugar, reflects both price and habit — sugar was the costlier sweetener, and molasses gave the color and keeping quality expected of gingerbread.