This week's gingerbread experiment was Mrs. Moody's Gingerbread, which is in Any one Can Bake, (c) 1929, The Royal Powder Company. (
Any one can bake : Royal Baking Powder Company. New York. pub : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive).
I can't link to the recipe, but here are the ingredients
2 c molasses (I used 1 c black strap, 1 c fancy)
3/4 c butter (I used 3/4 c butter and added 2 T lard)
1 tsp ground ginger (I added 1 T)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 of a grated nutmeg (I omitted this)
2 tsp baking soda
3 c sifted flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 beaten egg
1 c buttermilk
******
Additions:
1 T grated fresh ginger
1 tsp instant coffee
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 7 x 13 inch pan (you could go one size up and it would still work--it fills the pan a bit more than I would like but did not overflow the pan when baked)
1. Heat molasses and shortening together. Bring to a boil-stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add 2 tsp baking soda (you will want to use a pan large enough to allow the mixture to double without spilling over the pan). Add spices, instant coffee, and freshly ground white pepper.
3. Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk. I used a hand whisk, but one could use a stand mixture, on low. A splash guard is handy (based on the last gingerbread experiment).
4. Beat the egg until light yellow.
5. Add the egg, and then the baking powder.
6. Bake for about 33-35 minutes on the middle rack. (Check with cake tester and call it "done" when it comes out clean).
Notes: Mrs. Moody made this in small tins. Not sure if they were cupcakes or "mini-loaf" cakes. No time was given with the recipe, so had to guess. What intrigued me about this recipe is that it did not include any additional sugar. It also does not list salt as one of the ingredients, had fewer eggs than some of the other recipes I found, and had the molasses and shortening being cooked, with the egg being added to the recipe at the end.
Critique: It is a dense cake. It is very "gingery." Not quite as moist and sticky as I wanted, but that is probably because of the lack of additional sugar...next experiement--I'm adapting the Beaver Club's Banana Bread recipe (link was posted under the Banana Bread threads a couple of weeks ago) using molasses. I just have to pick up more black strap molasses! I'd make this one again.