Coffee Stout Gingerbread
Well, the gingerbread isn't stout. But it's made with stout.
I made this last week to take to my book group. Yep, I lead a book discussion group at the library in the town next to ours. It's a gorgeous, old-school library. And a gorgeous group, to boot. I've led book groups many times in my life (in Madison, in Austin)--and I believe this is the smartest, most convivial group I've seen in many a year. If you want to know about us, check it all out here.
Be that as it may, I always bring a treat to our discussions. This past week, I wanted to come up with the ultimate gingerbread. As you know, Bruce is the cook and I, the writer. But as you may also know, every once in a while I roll up my sleeves and come up with an original recipe.
Which always scares me. I'm not the one who went to chef school. I'm the keyboard guy. Anyway, I thought out this gingerbread recipe, made it, took it out of the oven only 30 minutes or so before the book group, brought it warm--and everyone fell upon it. No, I didn't have any sweetened whipped cream on the side (a hint, perhaps); but I brought my own thermos of coffee. Just because.
So here's the recipe, as well as some testing notes:
First, grease and flour a 10-inch (10- to 12-cup) Bundt cake pan. I used butter and all-purpose flour. Make sure you get it down in the pan's folds and crevasses. Also, set the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
Next, stir 1 cup molasses (try to use unsulfured); 3/4 cup oatmeal or other stout; and 1/4 cup strong, brewed coffee (preferably espresso) in a large saucepan; bring it to a low simmer over medium-high heat, stirring often so the molasses dissolves and doesn't fall out of suspension. The minute the mixture is at a simmer, remove the pan from the heat and stir in 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. This is why you used a big saucepan. The whole thing will roil up like when you make peanut brittle. You're neutralizing acids for a better-tasting bread. It's crucial. Stir the foam back down the best you can, then set the saucepan aside to cool at least 10 minutes. (More foam will dissolve as it cools--and then as it's added to the batter.)
While you're doing things ahead, melt 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter in a small bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan. Set aside to cool at least 10 minutes.
While both cool, sift all this together in a big bowl: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup spelt flour, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom.
Two things to mention here. The sifting is important because you want a lighter crumb in the cake. I put everything in a fine-mesh strainer set over the bowl and tap the strainer until almost everything's gone through. If there are bits of ground ginger or cocoa (added for a sophisticated back taste in the cake), I push these though the mesh. But I leave any bits of clumped flour behind. Second, I added a little spelt flour because I like to slip a little whole grain flour into baked goods, both for good nutrition and because I like a bigger "tooth" in cakes like this. You could also use whole-wheat pastry flour. Or you could omit the whole-grain stuff altogether and use 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour. But in all honesty, I don't know the exact proportions for using only all-purpose because I didn't make the cake that way--but that's my best-guess notion, after years of writing cookbooks. If you think the batter looks thin later, you can add a little more flour.
Now to said batter. Whisk 3 large eggs and 2 cups demerara or turbinado sugar in a big bowl until creamy and smooth. As you know, those unrefined sugar crystals are larger, so you have to work to get them dissolved. They may never get completely dissolved, but do your best. Make sure your forearm hurts. What if you don't want to use an unrefined sugar? Then I'd suggest 1 cup refined white sugar and 1 cup packed dark brown sugar.
Whisk in the melted butter, then whisk in the stout/coffee mixture until smooth. Now whisk in the flour mixture just until there are not undissolved pockets of white flour in the mix. Not too much. Remember: you can barely overbeat before you add any flour; after you add it, you have to mix as little as possible to make sure the glutens don't stretch and get gummy.
Scrape this batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake until puffed and firm, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack, invert, and continue cooling to room temperature. It's best within a couple of hours of its coming out of the oven; but you can store it, once cooled to room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Mark Scarbrough | Posted on Friday, October 22, 2010 at 9:11AM | in Breakfast, Cake, Desserts, Fabulously Empty Calories
Reader Comments (8)
So, I want to join your book group!
RMW: Anytime. It's pretty fabulous. And you should see the library where it's held. So evocatively New England.
M.
I just made the gingerbread and its delicious! Nice and moist and full of flavor. I had just enough chocolate stout leftover and used that in the recipe. It worked great. Thanks
Lorri
Ha! I would be the one sitting at the back of the room, pretending to know what I was talking about, but secretly having snuck in just to eat whatever Mark and Bruce had baked. Then I would duck over to the knitting group and do the same thing.. ;-)
I have molasses, I have a bundt pan, I have a can of Guinness. Hey, I even have spelt flour. And I need morning tea for tomorrow, so... :)
Celia: I almost posted the whole thing in metric as well, just for you. I should, I should. I know. But I'm a lazy, lazy American. (Sort of.)
M.
That's kind of you, Mark, but it's no biggie - I have scales and Google, so conversions are never a problem. Thanks anyway.. :)
As a Swiss reader of your blog, I really would appreciate translations in metric as well! Btw, what is stout?
Stefanie: Stout is a very dark, chewy beer, often from Ireland or Scotland, but now increasingly from the U. S., Canada, and (I believe) Australia. Like Guinness beer. Stout is also called "porter" in English. And there are some "oatmeal stouts" made with up to 30% oats.
Perhaps you are right about the metrics. I wish all recipes were in them, frankly. But since I write primarily for a U. S. audience, I've tended to go the lazy route. That said, recently I've been making some forays into changing, as you may have noticed.
M.