It may be Gingerbread House Day but our favourite Gingerbread Cake baker is back in the Great Canadian Baking Show tent today for this year’s holiday special! Join us in baking last year’s gingerbread cake recipe this afternoon and tuning into CBC tonight to cheer on Sachin Seth! 🍰
Gingerbread Cake with Whipped Cream Recipe
Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup molasses (avoid blackstrap)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup hot water
For whipped cream topping:
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
Equipment
Stand mixer or hand mixer
Measuring cups and spoons
Spatula
Whisk or fork
8-9” square baking pan
Parchment paper
Cooking spray
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the edges of 8-9” square baking pan with cooking spray and line the pan with parchment paper.
Cream together butter and sugar using a stand or hand mixer. Mix on high for approx. 3-4 minutes.
Beat the egg on medium-high into butter and sugar until well-combined.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Set aside.
To the butter-sugar-egg mixture add molasses and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined.
Add a cup of hot water while mixing on slow.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Whipped Cream
In a chilled mixing bowl, add whipping cream. Mix until slightly thickened.
Add sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form.
Bonus: A sneak peak at the next issue of RCIScience Magazine, coming soon!
A Spicy Tale: The History of Gingerbread
by Kali Iyer
No gingerbread cake would be complete without its namesake ingredient: ginger. Derived from the Greek zingiberis, the underground stem (rhizome) of the Zingiber officinale plant produces this potent spice. Originating in ancient China, ginger has been used to cure ailments, add flavour, and produce a festive decoration.
The Romans brought ginger to the Mediterranean and used it in various tonics and concoctions as a digestive aid, treating nausea, colic, flatulence and congestion. It is thought that the earliest recipe for gingerbread dates back to 2400 B.C.E., and consisted of almonds, old bread, rosewater and sugar. The main purpose of this “spiced bread” was to preserve ginger. But when Rome fell, so too did the spread of ginger.
In the 11th century, Crusaders brought spices back from the Middle East and the story of gingerbread in the West resumed. Monasteries were well known for producing gingerbread, often using precut wooden molds to shape the bread. In fact, gingerbread became so popular that it resulted in a boom in the woodworking trade! By the end of the Middle Ages, gingerbread guilds had sprouted across Europe, with the craft taught and production regulated.
Gingerbread was the pinnacle of luxury and elegance in Elizabethan England, largely due to the high value of the precious spices within the bread. Gingerbread fairs were held throughout the year, where ginger biscuits were enjoyed dunked in wine and port. At these events, maidens would gift their favoured knight a gingerbread wrapped in ribbon for good luck, and unmarried women would eat “gingerbread husbands” to encourage future prospects. Queen Elizabeth I herself is credited with creating the first gingerbread men, when she gifted visiting dignitaries their likenesses in gingerbread.
Gingerbread didn’t become associated with Christmas until the 16th-18th century in Germany, where gingerbread houses were first constructed. These intricate decorations provided a focal point for families to gather around. It is unclear if gingerbread houses were popular before or after the brothers Grimm wrote of Hansel and Gretel. Nevertheless, this fairy tale immortalized the gingerbread house forever.