Gingery Gingerbread
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, plus a little extra for the pan
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon powdered ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 tablespoons (3 to 4 ounces) grated fresh ginger
- 2/3 cup (packed) brown sugar
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- About an hour ahead of time, unwrap the butter and place it in a large bowl.
- Use a table knife to cut it into 1-inch pieces, and let it stand at room temperature to soften.
- Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 350F (325F if youre using a glass pan).
- Put a little soft butter on a paper towel, a piece of waxed paper, or a butter wrapper, and lightly grease the bottom and corners of a 9- by 13-inch pan.
- (No need to grease the sides.)
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder salt, cinnamon, powdered ginger, and cloves in a medium-sized bowl.
- Whisk slowly to blend, and then stir in the grated fresh ginger, whisking until its distributed.
- Set this aside.
- Crumble the brown sugar into the bowl with the softened butter.
- Use a handheld electric mixer at high speed (or if you dont have one, use a whisk, with enthusiasm) to beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add the molasses and then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times during this process.
- Add the vanilla extract, and continue to beat for another minute or two, until everything is well combined.
- Add about a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, slowly whisking just enough to mostly blend.
- Then pour in approximately a third of the buttermilk, and stir it in.
- Continue with another third of the buttermilk.
- Then repeat with the remaining flour mixture and buttermilk.
- As you do this, switch to stirring with a spoon when the batter thickens, and mix from the bottom of the bowl after each additionjust enough to thoroughly blend without overmixing.
- (Its okay if the finished batter is not completely smooth.)
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, taking care to scrape all of it in with a rubber spatula.
- Then use the spatula to spread the batter evenly.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is springy to the touch and/or a toothpick inserted all the way into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow the gingerbread to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before cutting it into 24 rectangular pieces.
- Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.
butter, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, powdered ginger, ground cloves, ginger, brown sugar, molasses, eggs, vanilla, buttermilk
Taken from www.cookstr.com/recipes/gingery-gingerbread (may not work)