The Good, the Bad, and the Irresistibly Delicious: Old Fashioned Gingerbread

I absolutely love spice cakes, especially during the holidays. I haven't made gingerbread in a few years, but woke up this morning with a very strong craving for something spicy. Expect more holiday ginger-recipes to come!

I opted for an old fashioned gingerbread, found here.

Ingredients:

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c butter, at room temperature

1 egg, at room temperature

1 c molasses, the darker the better

2 1/2 c flour

1 1/2 t baking soda

1 t ground cinnamon

1 t ground ginger, or 1 T fresh

1/2 t ground cloves

1/2 t salt

1 c hot water

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sift the dry ingredients and spices together in a small bowl, and boil the water. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then beat in the egg. Add the molasses and mix until combined. Mix in the water and dry ingredients, alternating between the two until everything is mixed together. Pour into a greased and floured 9''x9'' pan and bake for 1 hour, until a knife comes out clean.

Let sit ~5 minutes and then run a knife along the edge of the pan and flip the gingerbread out onto a wire rack to cool. Wait at least 30 minutes before serving.

This was fun to make, and as others had suggested in the reviews, I doubled the spices. If you aren't so crazy about spices, as I am, stick to the original quantity. The flavors were spot on, the cake was moist yet fluffy, and not too sweet overall. It will taste great served with a dollop of whipped cream of vanilla ice cream.