adapted from River Road Recipes from The Junior League of Baton Rouge, Inc.(1959)
School let out for the Holidays on Friday, and we finally have lights and ornaments on our Christmas tree. We are all in “tis – the – season” mode; visiting friends, going to parties, and sleeping later than usual. I played that to my advantage this morning by waking up early. With visions of having the Sunday paper all to myself, I wrapped up in my robe and slipped downstairs to the kitchen. It was cold and dark outside when I let the dogs out, but the house was peaceful and quiet. I settled in for a brilliant morning with just me, the paper, an espresso, and the dogs. It wasn’t working. It was too quiet.
I decided to make gingerbread cake. The rhythms of baking – gathering, mixing and pouring sounded more soothing and satisfying than lying still. As the sun came up, I baked. My dogs watched. When it went into the oven, I was ready for my coffee and the paper. I was still alone in my kitchen when the cake was done, but the aroma of gingerbread had already wafted its way upstairs, and I could hear that everyone was awake and beginning to shuffle around. They would be down soon, and I would be ready for them.
This recipe comes from one of the cookbooks my mother often used when I was growing up. River Road Recipes, the Textbook of Louisiana Cuisine, is one of the most successful Junior League Cookbooks of all time. It is actually the first in a series of four River Road cookbooks that have sold millions. This recipe for gingerbread cake is straightforward and simple. The combination of molasses, fragrant winter spices, and buttermilk makes this cake dense and moist with a mellow sweetness. The topping is a struesel-type mixture of pecans, brown sugar, a bit of flour, and butter. As it bakes, the topping melts into the cake like a crust. It is delicious.
You can do many things with this cake. You can serve it for breakfast with some smokey bacon and dark coffee; you can wrap it and give it as a hostess gift or Christmas present; or you could serve it for dessert with a dollop of whipped cream. We ate ours while it was still warm for breakfast. It tasted even better after dinner.
For the cake:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup molasses
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup buttermilk
For the topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup pecans, chopped
1. CAKE PREP WORK: Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour an 8 x 8 cake pan. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, soda, and spices.
2. MIX: In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add molasses and beat until combined. Alternate folding half the flour mixture and half the buttermilk, stirring after each addition just until combined. Pour batter into the pan and place in the center of the oven. Bake 30 minutes.
3. ADD TOPPING: While cake is baking, place all ingredients for the topping in a medium bowl. Use a fork or clean hands to mix until crumbly. When the cake has baked for 30 minutes, add the topping, spreading it evenly over the cake. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake’s center comes out clean and the topping is crisp and golden brown, about 10 – 15 minutes more.
Peace and love from my kitchen to yours,
Waverly
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