Chocolate Gingerbread

Chocolate Gingerbread (Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 89. 

This is very moist and delicious gingerbread although I have to say I don't really taste the chocolate in it.  When I was making it, I was remembering other gingerbread recipes of Maida's that I had tried so I'm thinking they are similar.

Note the icing is not in the recipe - in fact, this is in the chapter called "Old Fashioned Cakes Without Icing". I thought that the icing might be a nice touch. This is a cream cheese/pecan frosting that is similar, if not identical, to the one I use for carrot cake.

This is made in a 9" x 13" pan so it is a large, flat cake. I decided to freeze half of it and will report on how that turns out.

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) sweet butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup boiling water or hot coffee
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup light molasses
4 large eggs
Optional:  1/3 cup candied or preserved ginger

Preheat oven to 325. Adjust rack 1/3 from bottom of the oven. Butter a 9" x 13" pan and dust with fine dry bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and all-spice. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate in top of a double boiler. Set aside to cool.

Place the butter in a mixing bowl. Add the hot water (or coffee)
and mix until the butter is melted.

Mix in the brown sugar.

Mix in the molasses.

Mix in the eggs.

Mix in the chocolate.

Gradually add the flour mixture.
Stir in the optional ginger, if using.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top springs back when gently pressed.
Cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely on a rack.

The following is the icing that I added. (This is not in the original recipe)

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 lb. (1 stick) butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing well. Add the vanilla. Add the pecans.