Marmalade Gingerbread

 

Marmalade Gingerbread (Source: Maida Heatter's New Book of Great Desserts (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982. pg. 282. Also in Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 296).

It is that time of year for gingerbread and here is a recipe that I'm trying for the first time. This one is unbelievably easy and the finished product is beautiful. It is light in flavor and I was thinking it needed something a boost. I thought about making whipped cream to accompany it and instead, came across a gingerbread cookie recipe by Alex Guarnaschelli with an orange-flavored icing. It was perfect for this and I've put the recipe at the end, totally optional of course.

I forgot to adhere to Maida's advice and cover the cake with foil during the last few minutes of baking. Mine did burn a little around the edges.

I used rum for this and instead of lemon zest, I used orange because I had run out of lemons.

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
zest of 2 large lemons
1 TBS. light rum or cognac
4 oz. unsalted butter
1/2 cup honey
1 cup sweet orange marmalade
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter or spray a 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan and dust with bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, ginger and nutmeg.

 

Mix the lemon zest and rum and let it stand in a small bowl.

 

Cream the butter and mix in the honey and the marmalade.

 

 

On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, scraping the bowl as needed. 

 

Mix in the eggs, one at a time. 

 

Add the remaining flour mixture.

 

Stir in the rum and zest.

 

Transfer to the pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean. The loaf may start to brown early, if so, cover loosely with foil. Cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the pan and allowing to totally cool.

 

Optional Glaze (recipe by Alex Guarnaschelli)

3/4 cup powdered sugar
zest of 1 orange
2-3 TBS. orange juice
1/2 tsp. orange liqueur (optional)
1/4 tsp. light corn syrup

Whisk the ingredients together. If the glaze is too stiff, add more orange juice to attain the desired consistency.