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Nell's Ginger Cake
Mrs. S. McMaster.
Two cups molasses, one large tablespoon of lard, one of ginger, one of salt, one cup of sweet milk, one teaspoon of soda, four cups and one-half of sifted flour.
A plain molasses gingerbread of the sort kept ready in a stone crock — no eggs, no sugar, no butter. The list gives no pan, oven or time, so the notes below fill those in.
- The salt is almost certainly a slipThe salt is likely a slip -- a tablespoon is several times what a cake of this size would normally carry. Read it as a level teaspoon. The line runs "one large tablespoon of lard, one of ginger, one of salt," so the ambiguity may lie in the abbreviation rather than the intent.
- Sweet milkSimply fresh unsoured milk, as opposed to the buttermilk or sour milk called for in many cake recipes of the day. Whole milk is the right substitute.
- LeaveningOne teaspoon of soda against two cups of molasses is modest. Molasses is acidic, so the soda has plenty to react with, but the crumb will be dense and dark rather than light. Mix the soda into the milk, add it last, and get the batter into the pan promptly.
- LardOne large tablespoon is all the fat in the cake, which is why it bakes firm and keeps well. Lard gives the most authentic texture; butter or shortening works, with a very slightly softer crumb.
- GingerA full tablespoon of dried ground ginger is plausible for the period rather than an obvious misprint -- this is the assertive, throat-warming gingerbread of the day. Ground ginger loses potency in storage, so use a reasonably fresh jar.
- FlourFour and a half cups sifted, measured after sifting, giving a thick batter. Period flour was generally softer and weaker than today's all-purpose, so hold back a half cup and add it only if the batter seems thin.
- Oven and panThe recipe specifies neither. As a modern starting point, 350F, divided between two greased 8-inch square pans or one 9x13, baking 30 to 40 minutes or a little longer, until the centre springs back and a skewer comes out clean.
- Yield and keepingAbout 16 to 20 squares. Like most molasses cakes it improves on the second day once wrapped, and the flavour deepens as the ginger settles.
The Home Cook Book belongs to the first wave of North American community cookbooks — collections assembled from the handwritten receipts of named contributors, with the name attached as a guarantee of the dish. That is why this one is "Nell's" ginger cake credited to Mrs. S. McMaster, and why the printed form preserves the shorthand of a cook writing for someone who already knew how to bake. Molasses gingerbread was the everyday cake of the period for good reason. Molasses was cheap and always in the house, saleratus or soda reacted with its acidity without need of yeast or a long rise, and dried ginger kept indefinitely on the shelf.