If you have ever had my grandmother's gingerbread, then you will understand when I say it clearly needs no introduction, and that whatever description I might give--however good--will still not adequately convey how absolutely delicious it truly is!
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| Mom-ma's gingerbread: the best you'll ever eat! |
I also have several other recipes for "gingerbread" (most of which are of a cake-like texture and baked in a square cake pan), and recipes for gingerbread cookies, but this is a recipe for what one might describe as individual gingerbread cakes. If you have read my "About Me" page, then you already know that gingerbread is one of Mom-ma's signature dishes. Regardless of the fact that she's my grandmother (and I could, therefore, be somewhat biased), she makes the best gingerbread I've ever had...and I'm sure many of my family members would attest to that.
Like many breads, much of how this turns out will have to do with the handling of the dough, as opposed to how it's put together. Try to handle it as little as possible, while still shaping it as necessary. Also, Mom-ma and I like our gingerbread very chewy and moist in the middle, so we usually pull ours out of the oven after about 10 minutes of baking. However, if you prefer yours to be on the dry side, you will want to leave it in for about 12-14 minutes. Also, I will give you the recipe as Mom-ma gave it to me, which will make a lot of gingerbread (about 44 pieces), so I always half it when making it for just my husband and myself.
Mom-ma's Gingerbread
6 c. self-rising flour
3 tsp. (heaping) of ginger
3 eggs
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. molasses
2/3 c. oil
1/2 c. water or milk
(plus 1 egg and about 3 T. milk for glaze)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large mixing bowl, combine flour and ginger. In separate bowl, combine eggs, sugars, molasses and oil. In small bowl, beat additional egg with milk and set aside. Pour liquid into flour mixture and stir to combine. Make sure that it is well-blended, but do not over beat. Pour dough onto a generously floured counter top. Sprinkle with flour and be sure to keep flour on your hands so it does not stick. Roll into individual cakes and place about 1" apart on greased baking sheet. Glaze tops with egg wash and bake for 10-14 minutes. If you want gingerbread to be very moist in the center, start checking after about 10 minutes of baking, and take it out when it is still soft to touch. If you want it to be dry, leave it in for about 14 minutes or until firm to touch. Remove from oven, place on cooling racks, and enjoy! Warning: you will want a tall, cold glass of milk to go with this!
Also: When making the gingerbread for the pictures below, I didn't have any plain molasses. Not to worry, though: I did have blackstrap molasses. However, if used alone, blackstrap molasses would be entirely too dark and too rich to use by itself, and would basically ruin the bread. So, I used 1/2 the amount of molasses the recipe calls for, and used honey for the remaining 1/2. This helped to balance out the flavor.
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You will need to be generous with the flour while shaping the dough as it is very sticky.   |
I love the recipes you post on here. Most modern cooking is so fancy, you have posted recipes for food that we actually like to eat.
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely be back, I think I want to try the chicken noodle soup first.
Blessings!
Thank you! I know what you mean about the fancy cooking. I like that too, occasionally, but the down-to-earth, homemade stuff is much better. If you try any of my recipes, please let me know how they turn out for you. I would love to know!
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