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Supper Gingerbread
3/4 cup shortening 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup molasses 3 beaten eggs 1 cup sour milk 2 teaspoons baking soda 4 cups flour 2 teaspoons ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt Mix as for cake. Bake in loaf or square cake pan, well greased, in moderate oven (350 degrees) about 35 minutes. Serve warm. Makes large cake, or two smaller ones.
A large, plain molasses gingerbread built on sour milk and soda rather than baking powder. The proportions are sound as written; only a few of the ingredients need translating.
- Sour milkThis means naturally soured raw milk, which pasteurised milk will not reliably become. Use buttermilk, or stir 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar into 1 cup whole milk and let it stand 10 minutes.
- Why the soda mattersTwo teaspoons of soda is a lot, but it is neutralising both the sour milk and a full cup of molasses. Sift it with the flour so it disperses evenly; a pocket of undissolved soda leaves a soapy, greenish streak in the crumb.
- ShorteningIn this period shortening means either vegetable shortening or lard, both solid at room temperature. Butter works and tastes better, though the cake browns slightly faster; 3/4 cup is 12 tablespoons, or 1 1/2 sticks.
- MolassesUse unsulphured dark molasses, not blackstrap, which is bitter and will overwhelm the ginger. Light or "mild" molasses gives a paler, sweeter cake closer to a coffee cake.
- "Mix as for cake"Cream the shortening and brown sugar, beat in the eggs, then add the molasses. Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the sour milk, finishing with flour, and stop as soon as the batter is smooth.
- Pan and timingThe full quantity fills a 9x13-inch pan; two 8-inch squares or two 9x5-inch loaf pans also work. Thirty-five minutes at 350F suits the shallower pans, but loaves usually want 45-55 minutes. Test with a skewer in the centre rather than trusting the clock.
- ServingBest warm, cut in squares, with butter, whipped cream or applesauce. It keeps four or five days wrapped tightly and the ginger deepens overnight.