This quick gingerbread falls into the ‘comfort food’ category for me – and with so many variations it’s the perfect answer to any sweet occasion. Hope you love it too. It’s an East Coast classic with deep roots to be sure of it. As for the source – well… here’s the story on that.
You see my Mom had a penchant for cookbooks… and bargains. Only she could have scored this gem at a school fundraising book sale in Hubbards, NS – buried amidst the paperback romance novels and kids picture books… a 1971 edition of the Nova Scotia classic “Green Shutters Cook Book”.
Famous Nova Scotia Recipes from the kitchen of Hilda M. Zinck, the book was originally published in 1959 and is chock-a-block full of the tastiest dishes, desserts, sauces and well…all the tastes of ‘home‘ – including this family favourite for quick gingerbread.
You’ve gotta give it up for this cover… so honest. Have no doubt the artwork has been modernized in more recent printings – but I’m happy with this cautionary version.
INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of molasses (I ALWAYS use Crosby’s…see story below)
1 tsp of each – cloves, ginger, cinnamon, salt
1 cup salad oil
2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. Baking soda dissolved in 1/8 cup warm water
1 cup of hot water
METHOD
Put eggs, sugar, molasses, spices, salt and oil in a large electric mixer bowl and beat well. Sift in flour and beat until fluffy. Dissolve soda in warm water; add to the mixture and mix well. Lastly add the hot water and beat lightly and quickly. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for approx. 28 mins. (till toothpick comes out clean) This is a prize recipe!
SERVING & TIPS
Serve your quick gingerbread hot with whipped cream (but great plain or just a smidge of butter)
For a variation – bake gingerbread in layer cake pans for about 25 mins. As soon as removed from oven, spread top of one layer with sliced marshmallows. Place the other cake on top and return to oven for 3 minutes longer. Serve hot with whipped cream.
For a variation – when blueberries are in season, add to batter 1 cup of blueberries dredged with 1 tbsp. Flour
For a variation – split gingerbread squares and spread with the following cheese-fruit mixture sandwich style: Combine ½ cup drained crushed pineapple with 3 ounces cream cheese. Add ¼ cup chopped pecans or any other nut meats. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle lightly with crystallized ginger.
How SWEET it is… this wonderful Atlantic Canadian story….
“In 1879, at the tender age of 20, Lorenzo George Crosby opened a grocery business in the bustling port town of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. An enterprising youth, L.G. quickly established himself as an entrepreneur in the import/export trade industry, transporting Maritime fish and lumber to the West Indies and returning with puncheons filled with that “liquid gold” known as fancy molasses. And so the Crosby Molasses Company was born. The rest, as they say, is sweet history.
In 1897, Crosby Molasses relocated to Saint John, New Brunswick—a larger, more centrally-located harbour town. By 1911, Crosby’s had outgrown its place of business on Nelson Street and moved to Marsh Road–now known as Rothesay Avenue. 125 years later, Crosby’s is still supplying molasses and sweeteners to retail and industrial markets from those same Rothesay Avenue premises.” www.crosbys.com
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