Gingerbread and Friend

When I was teaching cooking classes at home a few years ago, there was one woman who faithfully attended the sessions. She was a passionate cook, and a good one, but somehow her approach to cooking was always a little odd. She enjoyed the element of surprise in her method of preparation.

She was the first person I knew to poach a large whole fish in her dishwasher. She wrapped the fish snugly in several layers of aluminum foil with lemon slices, herbs and butter, and sent it through the wash cycle. I’ve never tested this technique, but she said it cooked perfectly.

The other day I came across a wonderful recipe for lemon ice cream that this woman had shared with the class. It sparkles with flavor, and no one can complain that it takes much time or effort to make.

One of the best ways to eat this ice cream is with gingerbread: Icy lemon ice cream and warm gingerbread are meant for each other.

But where has all the gingerbread gone?

Early Americans used to describe gingerbread and ginger cookies as soft gingerbread and hard gingerbread. Soft gingerbread was more often considered a bread that was served with roast pork, ham or a good beef stew. In New England, gingerbread was often sold by the slice and was especially popular at town fairs and other celebrations.

This recipe is for a rich, dark, soft gingerbread. Serve it with warm applesauce, whipped cream--or lemon ice cream.

SOFT GINGERBREAD

If you wish to try this recipe as a bread to accompany a roast or other savory foods, reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup.

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup dark molasses

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup boiling water

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Combine flour, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in bowl, then sift together onto piece of wax paper. Set aside.

Beat butter in large mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and molasses and continue beating until well blended. Combine baking soda and boiling water and add to butter-sugar mixture, beating well. Add flour mixture and beat until batter is smooth. Add eggs and beat into batter.

Pour batter into greased and floured 9-inch-square pan and bake at 350 degrees until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan 5 minutes, then turn onto rack. Serve warm or cool.

Makes 1 (9-inch) cake, 9 servings.

Each serving contains about:

353 calories; 133 mg sodium; 75 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 58 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0.14 gram fiber.

LEMON ICE CREAM

1 large or 2 small lemons

1 cup sugar

2 cups whipping cream

Grate lemon zest into 8-inch-square glass baking dish.

Halve lemon and squeeze juice into small bowl. You should have 4 to 5 tablespoons juice.

Add lemon juice and sugar to zest. Stir to completely blend lemon and sugar, 1 to 3 minutes. Add cream, then stir until completely smooth, about 4 minutes. Cover dish with aluminum foil.

Freeze mixture until set, 4 hours or longer. Don’t stir.

Makes 3 cups, 9 to 12 servings.

Each of 12 servings contains about:

274 calories; 21 mg sodium; 73 mg cholesterol; 20 grams fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0 fiber.