Here 'tis, but don't expect a yuppified take on the original. This is an
old-fashioned, down-home, no-crystallized-ginger-as-ingredient,
knock-your-socks-off gingerbread. I promise . . .


ELIZA ACTON'S GINGERBREAD
(aka Mrs. Magoo's Gingerbread)



From Classic Home Desserts, by Richard Sax



2 large eggs, at room temperature

¾ cup full-flavored, unsulphured molasses or sorghum (do use blackstrap
molasses)

1 scant cup packed light or dark brown sugar (Billington's brand is best)

2 T. ground ginger (yes, 2 TABLESPOONS, and make sure the spice is fresh)

Pinch each ground allspice, cinnamon and freshly ground pepper

Grated zest of 1 lemon, @ 1½ t. peel

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

½ cup buttermilk

¼ cup milk

1 teaspoon baking soda



1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. F. Butter and flour an 8-inch
square cake pan or an 8-to-9 inch kugelhopf or Bundt pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer at medium-high
speed until light and frothy. Add the molasses and continue beating.
Meanwhile, stir together the brown sugar, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, pepper
and lemon zest. Gradually add to the egg mixture and beat until
well-blended.

3. Lower the speed slightly. Add about 1/3 of the flour, then the
melted butter, then another 1/3 of the flour. Quickly stir together the
buttermilk, milk and baking soda; add to the batter and mix gently. Add the
remaining flour and mix just until evenly blended, no longer. Pour the
batter into the prepared pan.

4. Bake until the gingerbread shrinks slightly away from the sides of
the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges almost clean, about
45 minutes. If the top of the gingerbread is browning too quickly, loosely
cover it with foil halfway through the baking time.

5. Cool the gingerbread in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into large
squares and serve directly from the pan, with applesauce, whipped cream, or
Mrs. Magoo's personal favorite, Pumpkin Fudge ice cream (yum!!!).





Spitz
--
"Home, James, and don't spare the horses!"

Spitzmaus wrote:

> Here 'tis, but don't expect a yuppified take on the original. This is an
> old-fashioned, down-home, no-crystallized-ginger-as-ingredient,
> knock-your-socks-off gingerbread. I promise . . .

Sounds good to me!!! Thank you very much for typing it up and sharing it
sidenote: I love crystallized ginger and use it to make this KILLER
coffee cake which ALWAYS gets raves. Try it!


* Exported from MasterCook *

Pear Ginger Coffee Cake

Recipe By : Penzeys (Early Summer 2003) Catalog
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:15
Categories : Breakfast Cakes

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups flour -- sifted
1 1/2 cups pears, peeled and diced into 1/4-1/2" cube
1/4 cup cinnamon sugar -- (mixed my own)
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger -- finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 glass pan and set aside.
Stir the baking soda into the buttermilk and set aside
Cream the shortening, salt and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add
the egg and vanilla and mix well.
Alternately add the buttermilk and flour to the mixing bowl, beating
well after each addition.
Fold in the pears and pour into greased pan. Mix together the cinnamon
sugar and chopped cystallized ginger. Sprinkle evenly over the top of cake.
Bake 35-40 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Goomba38 wrote:

> Sounds good to me!!! Thank you very much for typing it up and sharing it

> sidenote: I love crystallized ginger and use it to make this KILLER
> coffee cake which ALWAYS gets raves. Try it!
>
>
> * Exported from MasterCook *
>
> Pear Ginger Coffee Cake
>
> Recipe By : Penzeys (Early Summer 2003) Catalog
> Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:15
> Categories : Breakfast Cakes
>
> Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
> -------- ------------ --------------------------------
> 1/2 cup shortening
> 1/2 teaspoon salt
> 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
> 1 egg
> 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
> 1 teaspoon baking soda
> 1 cup buttermilk
> 2 cups flour -- sifted
> 1 1/2 cups pears, peeled and diced into 1/4-1/2" cube
> 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar -- (mixed my own)
> 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger -- finely chopped
>
> Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 glass pan and set aside.
> Stir the baking soda into the buttermilk and set aside
> Cream the shortening, salt and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add
> the egg and vanilla and mix well.
> Alternately add the buttermilk and flour to the mixing bowl, beating
> well after each addition.
> Fold in the pears and pour into greased pan. Mix together the cinnamon
> sugar and chopped cystallized ginger. Sprinkle evenly over the top of
cake.
> Bake 35-40 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Don't get me wrong, I adore crystallized ginger -- and this coffee cake
sounds killer indeed! With gingerbread, though, I'm hopelessly
old-fashioned, almost obsessively so; perhaps gingerbread figured
prominently in a past life.

Spitz, in hoop skirt and bustle

On Fri, 2 Dec 2005 11:45:15 -0800, "Spitzmaus" >
wrote:

>¾ cup
>½ cup
>¼ cup

I'm truly surprised that my newsreader coped with those fractions.
They're very much NOT standard ascii, and thus kind of unexpected on
Usenet.

Just to be sure, are they, in order, .75, .5, .25 ? Or am I
misreading?

--
-denny-
"Do your thoughts call ahead or do they just arrive at your mouth unannounced?"

"It's come as you are, baby."

-over the hedge

On Sat 03 Dec 2005 04:22:05a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Denny
Wheeler?

> On Fri, 2 Dec 2005 11:45:15 -0800, "Spitzmaus" >
> wrote:
>
>>¾ cup
>>½ cup
>>¼ cup
>
> I'm truly surprised that my newsreader coped with those fractions.
> They're very much NOT standard ascii, and thus kind of unexpected on
> Usenet.
>
> Just to be sure, are they, in order, .75, .5, .25 ? Or am I
> misreading?

No, you got it right.


--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

Denny Wheeler wrote:

> I'm truly surprised that my newsreader coped with those fractions.
> They're very much NOT standard ascii, and thus kind of unexpected on
> Usenet.
>
> Just to be sure, are they, in order, .75, .5, .25 ? Or am I
> misreading?
>
> --
> -denny-
> "Do your thoughts call ahead or do they just arrive at your mouth
unannounced?"
>
> "It's come as you are, baby."
>
> -over the hedge

Oops, sorry! My apologies to one and all; I'd misplaced my brain when I
posted, which is certainly *one* of the reasons I'm known as Mrs. Magoo
amongst my loved ones.

Please don't let my carelessness prevent you all from making the
gingerbread, which deserves to stand on its own, impeccable merits.

Spitz
--
"Home, James, and don't spare the horses!"

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 14:50:45 -0800, "Spitzmaus" >
wrote:

>Denny Wheeler wrote:
>
>> I'm truly surprised that my newsreader coped with those fractions.
>> They're very much NOT standard ascii, and thus kind of unexpected on
>> Usenet.
>>
>> Just to be sure, are they, in order, .75, .5, .25 ? Or am I
>> misreading?
>>
>Oops, sorry! My apologies to one and all; I'd misplaced my brain when I
>posted, which is certainly *one* of the reasons I'm known as Mrs. Magoo
>amongst my loved ones.

You're extremely nearsighted? <g>

>Please don't let my carelessness prevent you all from making the
>gingerbread, which deserves to stand on its own, impeccable merits.

Oh, it sounds mucho yummy. I wouldn't have asked about the fractions
unless I were interested in the recipe.

--
-denny-
"Do your thoughts call ahead or do they just arrive at your mouth unannounced?"

"It's come as you are, baby."

-over the hedge

Denny Wheeler wrote:

> You're extremely nearsighted? <g>

In the brain department, dude, yes! I've got serious synapse connectivity
issues!!

> Oh, it sounds mucho yummy. I wouldn't have asked about the fractions
> unless I were interested in the recipe.

Yeah, well I hope you get the chance to make it. Old-fashioned gingerbread
gets 'em every time.

Spitz
--
"Home, James, and don't spare the horses!"

Spitzmaus wrote:


And to this recipe, add the topping (starts out on the bottom, but ends
up on top). It is too good for words (it was my grandma's):

Gingerbread Topping

Mix a recipe of gingerbread that bakes in an 8" x 8" pan. Grease pan
thoroughly.

Melt 4 T. butter in the baking pan. Add 1 C. light molasses, and 1/2
C. raisins, and heat slowly until hot.

Arrange about 2-3 sliced, peeled and cored applies in the bottom of the
pan, covering the sauce in the bottom. Pour gingerbread batter on the
top. Bake at 350 deg. F. for 50 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or
ice cream, if desired. Serves 9.

Oops, forgot to say - when you serve, turn the pieces upside down, so
the topping is on top.

N.

On Mon 05 Dec 2005 09:56:40a, Nancy1 wrote in rec.food.cooking:

>
>
> Oops, forgot to say - when you serve, turn the pieces upside down, so
> the topping is on top.

That would make the bottom topping, right?

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Mon 05 Dec 2005 09:56:40a, Nancy1 wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
> >
> >
> > Oops, forgot to say - when you serve, turn the pieces upside down, so
> > the topping is on top.
>
> That would make the bottom topping, right?
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright *¿*

Right. ;-)

N.