HFF: 3.21 Remember Remember

The Challenge: Remember, Remember--Try a recipe that has minimal instructions or tells you to "make in the usual fashion".

The Recipe: Ginger Cup-cake from Elizabeth E. Lea's Domestic Cookery

Ginger Cup-cake. Three cups of flour, one of sugar, one of molasses, one of butter, a table-spoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of salæratus, and three eggs; bake in pans. A pound of stoned and chopped raisins is an improvement.

The Date/Year and Region: 1859, Baltimore (1st ed. 1851)

How Did You Make It: I did check the beginning of the cake section for general advice, and it reminded me about baking the cake slowly with paper around it, and to hold the egg whites upside down to establish that they were solid enough. Mostly, I tried to remember the other cakes I've made from mid-century receipts.

I started by separating and beating the three eggs (yokes and whites). In a separate bowl, I blended the 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of butter, then added the cup of molasses [supplemented with corn syrup because I ran out], and the egg yokes. When this was well-mixed, I added the rest of the dry ingredients, stirring all the while: 1 Tbsp ground ginger, 1.25 tsp baking soda (substituting for 1 tsp salæratus), and 3 cups of flour. Then I added the egg whites, beaten to still peaks, and finally I stirred in the pound of raisins. The batter was rather thick; it went immediately into the oven.

I baked the cake at 325F for 2 hours; I used a tin cake hoop, with double layers of parchment paper above, below, and around the interior.

Time to Complete: About 3.5 hours including baking.

Total Cost: Ingredients all on hand.

How Successful Was It?: I was skeptical of the raisins, but there were just fine. Most settled in the lower half of the cake, leaving the upper portion clear of fruit.

The cake itself had a nice molasses and ginger flavor, neither insipid nor overwhelming; the texture was light and moist. It's similar to, but less dense than most of the gingerbread recipes I've tried.  The only problem is that the bottom fairly burned. I think I should try using 3 or 4 layers of parchment paper beneath the cake in the future (and maybe increase the top and sides to 3 layers each). 

How Accurate Is It?: I am probably going to culinary hell for substituting corn syrup for the few ounces of molasses I was short. As noted, I also used baking soda instead of saleratus, so I may be missing the bitter aftertaste I sometimes hear attributed to it. I did use my repro cake hoop, though.