Lemon Glazed Gingerbread

Holiday baking season is here and the AS kitchen is a-bustle cooking up all kinds of Christmas cheer!  I have a huge backlog of posts for you so check back soon.  A women's group here in Lexington hosts an annual Christmas bake sale for a local charity and this year I made my mother's gingerbread recipe - a long standing favorite around the Holidays.  It is always perfectly moist with all of the soul-warming spicy gingerbread flavors.  Typically a bundt cake- she serves it as a plated dessert with a warm lemon sauce but to make it more bake-sale friendly, I opted for an easy lemon glaze to give my loaf version of the cake a hit of lemony fresh flavor.

Recipe makes 1 bundt cake, two medium size loaves or three small loaves.

1 cup of sugar
1 cup molasses
1 cup melted butter (2 sticks)
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground clove
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the sugar, molasses, butter and eggs.  (By hand, with a handmixer or standing mixer is fine.) 

Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.  Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the boiling water, to the sugar-egg mixture until combined.

Pour the batter into greased and floured pan(s).  Bake for 25/30/40 minutes (depending on pan size) until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before loosening the cakes with a knife around the edge to remove.

Lemon Glaze:
3 cups of powdered sugar
4-6 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Whisk the lemon juice into the sugar.  Start with 4 tablespoons and add more gradually until the icing is just loose enough to pour.  Place the cake(s) on a wire rack over a cookie sheet and spoon the icing over the cakes so that it runs off all sides.  Let the icing dry completely before wrapping with plastic wrap.

Packaging of course is everything if you are gifting goodies for the Holidays (or selling them at a bake sale.)  I wrapped each loaf first in plastic wrap so that the the extra plastic was at the bottom.  I then tied a piece of burlap ribbon and a few pieces of red raffia lengthwise around the loaf so that the raffia was on top of the burlap.  I then tied it all together in a bow on top.  I found adorable hand made holiday gift tags that I tied to each of them as well.

If you want to go the plated dessert route- here is the Warm Lemon Sauce Recipe:

4 teaspoons of cornstarch
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 teaspoons of butter
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Combine cornstarch through the water in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Cover and cook 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and stir in the butter, lemon zest and lemon juice. Serve warm. Can be made ahead and reheated before serving.  Spoon over the individual gingerbread slices once on the plate.