pstamler
Well-known member
Hi folks:
Merry Christmas! In honor of the holiday, here's a gingerbread I've been making as Christmas/Hanukkah gifts for about 35 years.
Fort Chartres Gingerbread (9x9")
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Start boiling a kettle of water on the stove. Using soft margarine, grease and flour a 9x9" baking pan. In a large bowl, cream:
1/2 cup (= 1/4 lb.) soft margarine (see note 2 - very important)
2 tbsp. sugar
In a small cup or bowl, combine:
1-1/2 tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer (formerly Jolly Joan Egg Replacer -- see note 3)
2 tbsp. tap water
[OR, if you're not serving it to me, beat one egg.]
Mix into large bowl. Stir in:
1 cup light molasses (I prefer Grandma's but Brer Rabbit works fine too)
1 cup boiling water
Set aside. Sift and measure:
2-1/4 cups unbleached white flour
Resift into a smaller bowl with:
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Stir into the wet ingredients; beat using electric mixer (on low) until smooth, typically 2 minutes. Pour into the baking pan; bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.
NOTES: 1) This is an adaptation of "Fort Atkinson Gingerbread", a recipe dating from 1870 that was published in Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book (McGraw-Hill/General Mills, c. 1950).
2) The crucial ingredient in this recipe is the soft margarine; I haven't found any other fat that works as well. (Shortening is too crumbly, butter or stick margarine too heavy.) For a long time I used Canola Harvest, but it seems to have disappeared from local groceries, and the producers aren't answering their e-mail. Since its disappearance, I've been using Canoleo, which is available at Dierberg's & Trader Joe's (the latter is cheaper). It's vital that the margarine is really margarine, not a "reduced-fat spread". These are partly water, and don't work for baking. If you're not sure about a particular product, check the nutrition label; real margarine has 11 g. of fat per 1 tbsp. serving. [Note in 2008: I tried the store-brand soft margarine. Uh-uh; the result was greasy. Back to Canoleo.)
3) The egg replacer makes it safe for me (I'm allergic to eggs) as well as cholesterol-free; you can get it at most health-food stores, including Wild Oats.
4) Do sift the flour; modern flours are indeed pre-sifted, but are denser than flour you sift on the spot. This is an older recipe, which means the measurements were designed for sifted flour. I use King Arthur Unbleached; Gold Medal Unbleached works well too but is usually more expensive.
5) You can double the recipe and bake it in a 9x13" pan; this takes longer to bake (start testing at 50 minutes) and produces a high-rise gingerbread.
Peace,
Paul
Merry Christmas! In honor of the holiday, here's a gingerbread I've been making as Christmas/Hanukkah gifts for about 35 years.
Fort Chartres Gingerbread (9x9")
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Start boiling a kettle of water on the stove. Using soft margarine, grease and flour a 9x9" baking pan. In a large bowl, cream:
1/2 cup (= 1/4 lb.) soft margarine (see note 2 - very important)
2 tbsp. sugar
In a small cup or bowl, combine:
1-1/2 tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer (formerly Jolly Joan Egg Replacer -- see note 3)
2 tbsp. tap water
[OR, if you're not serving it to me, beat one egg.]
Mix into large bowl. Stir in:
1 cup light molasses (I prefer Grandma's but Brer Rabbit works fine too)
1 cup boiling water
Set aside. Sift and measure:
2-1/4 cups unbleached white flour
Resift into a smaller bowl with:
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Stir into the wet ingredients; beat using electric mixer (on low) until smooth, typically 2 minutes. Pour into the baking pan; bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.
NOTES: 1) This is an adaptation of "Fort Atkinson Gingerbread", a recipe dating from 1870 that was published in Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book (McGraw-Hill/General Mills, c. 1950).
2) The crucial ingredient in this recipe is the soft margarine; I haven't found any other fat that works as well. (Shortening is too crumbly, butter or stick margarine too heavy.) For a long time I used Canola Harvest, but it seems to have disappeared from local groceries, and the producers aren't answering their e-mail. Since its disappearance, I've been using Canoleo, which is available at Dierberg's & Trader Joe's (the latter is cheaper). It's vital that the margarine is really margarine, not a "reduced-fat spread". These are partly water, and don't work for baking. If you're not sure about a particular product, check the nutrition label; real margarine has 11 g. of fat per 1 tbsp. serving. [Note in 2008: I tried the store-brand soft margarine. Uh-uh; the result was greasy. Back to Canoleo.)
3) The egg replacer makes it safe for me (I'm allergic to eggs) as well as cholesterol-free; you can get it at most health-food stores, including Wild Oats.
4) Do sift the flour; modern flours are indeed pre-sifted, but are denser than flour you sift on the spot. This is an older recipe, which means the measurements were designed for sifted flour. I use King Arthur Unbleached; Gold Medal Unbleached works well too but is usually more expensive.
5) You can double the recipe and bake it in a 9x13" pan; this takes longer to bake (start testing at 50 minutes) and produces a high-rise gingerbread.
Peace,
Paul
