Corn-Meal Gingerbread
Awaiting Trial Recipe version 1 · Filed by the Court (seed pool) · Adapted from 'Corn-Meal Gingerbread' — Farmers' Bulletin 565, 'Corn Meal as a Food and Ways of Using It,' USDA, issued Jan. 22, 1914, revised Sept. 1917 (public domain, U.S. federal work). Measures and oven temperatures modernized. Conversion: the original's 1 cup wheat flour (125 g) is swapped straight for a gum-containing 1:1 blend at the same weight (USDA basis 125 g/cup); the spices are the bulletin's own variation of its Molasses Corn Cake, filed as its own dish because gingerbread is a distinct dish from the unspiced cake, exactly as the bulletin presents it.
The bulletin's Molasses Corn Cake with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves sifted in with the flour. Same long pre-cook, same dark crumb — but unmistakably gingerbread, and it slices like one.
Why this complexity: Batter base is pre-cooked 25 minutes in a double boiler.
Ingredients
- 125 g gluten-free 1:1 baking blend (with gum) (about 1 cup), for the original 1 cup wheat flour (125 g, USDA basis)
- 2 cups yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, plus more for the pan
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour milk
- 2/3 cup sweet milk (see the Molasses Corn Cake note on this quantity)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 large egg, well beaten
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F (a moderate oven). Butter a shallow pan.
- Mix the cornmeal, molasses, sugar, butter, salt, sour milk, and sweet milk in a double boiler and cook over hot water for about 25 minutes after the mixture has become hot, stirring now and then.
- Let cool until lukewarm.
- Sift the blend, soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves together and stir in, then the beaten egg. Beat thoroughly.
- Pour into the prepared pan and make about 30 minutes, until firm and pulling away from the sides. Serve warm.
The verdict so far
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Testimony
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