One of the the most valuable lessons I’ve learned, mainly from reading Chekov, was that in order to inspire emotion in a reader, the narrator must remain cold, not given to sentimentality. As heaps of bad things befall his beloved characters, Chekov’s narrator always remains achingly present, but distant, merely there to tell the tale. I find this to be true of the winter too. The outside is no longer your friend. Instead, it’s the cold backdrop to which we must provide the emotional landscape, whether adding romance to the snow falling or anger at wading through the slush.
Everything in winter must be earned. Maybe that’s why I tend to fall in love a little more in the winter, accepting the warmth from the people around me that is fiercely absent from the background of the days and nights. I’m more receptive to kindhearted gestures and even occasionally fall victim to the shine of false rubies. Winter is about armor and arsenal and I’ve been taking stock.
Overwhelmed and over-committed is the name of the game during the holiday season. It comes racing in like a herd of wildebeests and often leaves me feeling like the little calf struggling to catch up, knowing that the lions are waiting. Because of this, I’ve always categorized baking for the holidays as a task for women who’ve traded in their hot tickets and ambition for mom jeans, curlers and pearls. Quite the unfair assessment, I must say. Especially because there is so much joy that goes into the details. Baking is a personal art form, a skill to be honed and a cathartic way to focus inward, while sharing the spoils with the people around you. It’s not the self-sacrificing ode to merriment fraught with fussing and wrapping that I had always imagined it to be.
This year, I decided to embrace the holiday baking. The complex flavors in this cake, imbued with the essence of the season, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, fresh ginger, forced me to slow down and savor the moment, my blessings and the joy in this time of year. Eating it forced me to move just a little more slowly, appreciating the flavor at the pace of the spilling of the viscous, dark molasses that formed the cake. Wishing you all good moments for the season, an armor not too thick to be penetrated, but thick enough to keep you safe and warm. And a wonderful gingerbread cake!
Gingerbread Cake- adapted from lovely Laura’s Gingerbread Cake over at her beautiful blog, The Seasoned Traveler
Ingredients:
- 1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 3 tbs. freshly grated ginger (in a pinch, ground ginger is fine)
- 1 tbs. ground cinnamon
- 1 dash each: ground nutmeg, ground cloves, ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 4 tbs. unsalted butter (3 oz) at room temperature (or else it wont blend well)
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
- 1/2 cup warm water or for a mocha taste, use 1/2 brewed coffee (a…mazing)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish and dust with flour. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and salt until well blended. Set aside. In another bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until blended. Continue beating and slowly add the molasses. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg mixture and stir until incorporated. Add the water or coffee and stir until blended.
Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until the gingerbread is slightly puffed and a toothpick or fork inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool on a rack. Cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature, with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.
Excellent, I love ginger, I’ve been drinking Whiskey Mac (Stones Ginger Wine and Whiskey) all evening to warm myself up 😉
That’s my kind of guy! I’ve just been drinking whiskey neat out of the bottle, but it goes realllly well with gingerbread.
You had me at Chekov! Dig the gorgeous writing and the lush pix and recipe. Also: Merry Christmas!!!
Thanks, Azita! Same to you. You are always way too kind 😉 Warmest wishes.
Mija! You are a woman of incredible depth! A lady that reads Chekhov & drinks whiskey from the bottle! You are quite beguiling! ;). Wonderful post!
Aww you are the best, jm. You always make me feel great. Looking fwd to some Cuban xmas stories from you!
For you, Mija, I will type quickly! 🙂 Merry Christmas, bellesa!!
🙂
Love anything to do with ginger, especially in a cake that looks moist. Doubt if I can find molasses here. Although, I’ve just bought in treacle. Haven’t had that in years. No idea if it’s anything similar. Will Google to find out 🙂
Johnny – look where I find you! I substitute molasses for treacle all the time so it seems you could do the reverse.
I must try this now! A new challenge!
Hahaha! Only in the best places!!
Thanks for that. I’ve never used it before as I never liked it as a kid. Yet I’m curious about old British recipes that uses it. Especially treacle tart!? Have to try that 🙂
You’ll have to let me know. I have the opposite problem here, but have had treacle in restaurant desserts and loved it!
Nice and you had me at Chekhov too!
Thank you. He is my fav. Happy Holidays to you!
outstanding baking, amanda…many accolades!
________________________________
Gracias, esteban!
I like that you warmed up the color temperature to go with the tones of the gingerbread (especially in third photo).The second photo is nice! The bottom half could almost pass for a landscape.X Xiomáro | Art Studio | New York http://www.xiomaro.com | Facebook | Twitter2012-14 Visiting Artist at Weir Farm National Historic Site Get the Print of the Month and help fund my next exhibit
Gracias, Xio! You are my photography hero!
So I guess I am the third person writing “you had me at Chekov”, but the rest of your post is great too. I also just love the cake, the molasses, the flavors, I can imagine the smell… this is all perfect for the season! Happy holidays, dear Amanda, I am really looking forward to reading more of your posts in 2014!
Thank you, Darya. I feel the same way about your blog. I feel like I’ve come to know you over the past year and it’s part of what I love most about doing this! Happy Holidays, friend. And Happy baking!
Lovely! Captivating writing and photos and cake! Thanks for the mention. Now I have to try with a splash of coffee in there — sounds divine. Happy holidays, Amanda! Laura
Thanks, Laura. I’ve been obsessed with the idea since I read your post! Happy Holidays and thank you for the inspiration.
Your cake turned out beautifully.
Happy Holidays to you and your family.
Thanks so much, Jovina. Will you be having fish in the Italian tradition? Happy Holidays!
¡Feliz Navidad, talentosa cocinera!
Aww gracias! Igual mi profe de arte!
A Chekov introduction to gingerbread cake, I like it! This is my first visit to your blog Amanda but I love what I’ve seen so far! I adore anything gingerbready, spiced and delicious. Love the look of this cake. Hope that you had a beautiful Christmas, all the best for a blessed start to 2014! xx
Thank you so much, Laura. I’m flattered. Happy New year to you!
Gingerbread cake – nothing better in winter and the dusting of icing sugar makes for a very Christmassy treat. So much food so few meals!!! This is another recipe I would love to try.
Thanks, Maria. This turned out well. There is so much more I want to make so im looking forward to lots of new recipes!
I don’t know which I like best…the writing or the recipe. Actually, it is nice that I don’t have to make that choice. Love that your recipe calls for freshly grated ginger for great flavor. Gingerbread is such a welcome dessert in winter. Happy New Year.
Thanks so much, Karen. That means a lot. I think I’ve held back my writing for so long and I finally found my voice. Happy New year to you! Xo
Clearly I’m trolling back through posts I haven’t had time to read. I LOVE gingerbread, but I only get it once a year, from a coffee shop in Providence, right before the post-Christmas drive back to Boston. This is great. I’ll use it as a reward sometime in the middle of February. Happy New Year. As usual, fun photos. Ken
Thanks, Ken. It’s a good time to catch up. I have so much photo editing to do that I’m behind. The gingerbread was a perfect winter treat. Full of good spices.