Presidents’ Day is coming up on February 22nd, and Abraham Lincoln is honored on that day. In real life “Honest Abe” tended to be an ordinary person without pretensions, and as he said about Gingerbread: I don’t s’pose anybody on earth likes gingerbread better’n I do and gets less’n I do.”
Yes, very few people “don’t” like Gingerbread. It’s been now made for hundreds of years, as in England, in more than one form. It’s also made into cookies in other parts of Europe, such as Lebucken and Speculaas, and was often rolled out and cut with molded cutters – such as a windmill cutter in Holland.
When Hannah’s cousin was here recently, we served the gingerbread with a marvelous “pairing”: Mulled Cider. Gennie, on winter break from college, was especially interested in the star anise we put in the apple juice (cider), and wanted to know where it came from, and its makeup. My original recipe for Mulled Cider called for more spices, but I decided to make it a bit milder. I chose to put a star anise into it (in the cup of cider in the photo as served with the gingerbread). I was able to get star anise in Omaha awhile back – it also keeps well in a tightly closed container in a closed cupboard. Following are the recipes we used.
Gingerbread Cake with Raisins
6 tablespoons butter (room temperature) 2 large eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups flour
3/4 cup dark molasses 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup raisins 2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoons cinnamon 2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup boiling water
Cream the butter and brown sugar with mixer – until smooth. Beat in molasses, vanilla and then eggs singly. Scrape down bowl and beat thoroughly. Combine dry ingredients (no boiling water or raisins) and beat in on low. Add boiling water and mix in on low. Add raisins. And put in buttered 9” square pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes. Skewer should come out clean. Do not over bake – check the temperature of your oven. Cool on rack about 10 minutes, then turn cake out on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes: This cake has about 1/3 cup of simple syrup with about 1 1/2 ounces of raisins – cooked about two minutes, and poured over the cake when serving, as desired.
Mulled Cider one gallon of apple juice (we used Mott’s)
two 3” long cinnamon sticks, broken up 1/2 star anise 3 whole allspice
5 whole cloves
Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Let sit on Low Heat to use. Can be cooled, refrigerated and reheated. Note: Can float a star anise or a piece of cinnamon stick in cup.
At The American Table – Copyright Laura Nobilis
attheamericantable
At The American Table 