*FEATURE* Dear America Crafts - Colonial Ginger Cake

Hannah Potts Whipple's Ginger Cake

Mem and her family would consider this delicious cake an extra special treat. Spices were a luxury in the New World, as they had to be shipped from abroad. Supply ships arrived annually and only had a limited amount of spices onboard. Today, we have an endless amount of exotic spices available at our local grocery stores.

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces of fresh ginger

• 1 cup of mild molasses

• 1 cup of sugar

• 1 cup of vegetable oil, preferably peanut

• 2 1/2 cups of flour

• 2 teaspoons of baking soda

• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves

• 1 teaspoon of black pepper

• 1 cup of water

• 2 eggs, at room temperature

Serves 10-12 people

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9" by 3" cake pan with a circle of parchment paper. Peel, slice, and chop the ginger very fine with a knife. If it’s easier, use a grater. With a mixer, mix together the molasses, sugar, and oil in a bowl. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper.

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Remove the pan from heat. Mix the molasses mixture into the hot water. After this is combined, stir in the ginger.

Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the saucepan. Add the eggs and continue mixing until everything is combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for one hour. After an hour, test the cake by sticking a toothpick in the center. If the toothpick comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven. If your cake is very brown on top and the center is still gooey, cover the pan with a piece of tin foil and continue baking.

Let the cake cool for at least a half hour. Run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Gently remove the cake and peel away the parchment paper.