Gingerbread. Go on. Dust it up. Wait. I know what you’re thinking. It’s kind of more of a chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire deal-i-o, so I’m gettin’ ahead of myself. Pish posh! The rich, … more
Gingerbread. Go on. Dust it up.
Wait. I know what you’re thinking. It’s kind of more of a chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire deal-i-o, so I’m gettin’ ahead of myself.
Pish posh! The rich, moist and fragrant goodness of this gingerbread feels just right for Thanksgiving – or even for plain ol’ giving thanks (that’s for you, Canada). However you like it, you’re gonna like this. Bake it right before family arrives, and they’ll be putty in your hands. Oh the aroma!
You know how we start. With your basic dry ingredients. As per usual.
Then it gets interesting.
Add some molasses. That there? Blackstrap molasses. If you don’t dig it, use the regular unsulphured kind. It’s cool. I’m not the boss of you. I just work here, so I do what they tell me.
Then some pure maple syrup. You’re gonna want to use the good stuff here.
Don’t skimp on the honey, now.
Some packed brown sugar.
Softened butter. Poor butter. It looks sad, yet it makes me so happy.
An egg. A gee eff baker’s bee eff eff.
Warm water. Get in the pool.
And some oil. For the love of it.
Pour it in. Nice and smooth. Keep your eyes on the smooth, pourable batter. If you did any switcharoos with the ingredients, be sure the consistency of the batter is right, just the same. It does matter!
You know what to do next…*
*eat it, silly*
- 2½ cups (350 g) high-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses (I use blackstrap, but you don’t have to)
- 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 extra-large egg at room temperature, beaten
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) vegetable oil
- Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting (optional)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and granulated sugar. Whisk to combine well.
- Add the brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, honey, butter and egg. Mix to combine as best you can. It will be lumpy. But not for long. Add the water, and mix well. It will be smooth (see the photo). Add the oil, and blend.
- Pour into the prepared pan. Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with, at most, a few moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes, give or take. The liquid sugars tend to blacken the cake on the bottom, but it still tastes good. Pinky promise.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with optional powdered sugar.
Love,
Me
P.S. If you haven’t yet, please pick up a copy of each of My Cookbooks! I can’t keep the blog going without your support!
