Stout Spice Bread

Quick breads are the best! Not really a bread, not really a cake, these quick and easy type of recipes are easily made and are perfect with your morning coffee, afternoon tea or a late night snack. They also make a great gift idea, which explains why the recipe comes from a Martha Stewart "Living" magazine issue from, again, Dec. 2004. (That particular issue is packed with lots of terrific recipes!)
This recipe brings back memories of a date nut bread that my aunt used to make. She baked it in soup cans and once cooled it was sliced and spread with softened cream cheese. It was so moist and packed with flavor. And perfect with coffee or tea.
This recipe uses Guiness Stout and dark molasses and results in an intense spice gingerbread flavor that is hearty and moist.
And if you spread some softened butter or cream cheese, or a combo of both..really amazing!

Begin by generously buttering ( and I also floured) the insides of your empty clean cans. ( I halved the recipe and used 14.5 oz. cans and had a little left over batter which I put into muffin cups and baked).

Sift ( or whisk) together the dry ingredients. Set aside.

Pour out your Guiness Stout and let it settle.

Then place all the wet ingredients, including the eggs, into a mixing bowl and mix on medium low speed.

Reduce speed to low and gradually add the dry ingredients.

Pour the batter into your prepared cans, filling barely 2/3 full.

I suggest you place the cans onto a baking sheet to catch any spills that will most likely occur during baking.

Mine were too full so when they came up to the top during baking, they overflowed and spilled over the top, dripping the excess onto the baking sheet. This didn't really matter too much, they easily came out of the cans but didn't look as pretty as Martha's!

Sprinkle the tops with a little confectioner's sugar..it helps make it look prettier!

Stout Spice Bread ( from Martha Stewart's,"Living" Magazine, Dec. 2004 issue)


2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened for cans

3 3/4 cups AP flour

1/2 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. baking soda

1 3/4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp. nutmeg ( I also added a pinch of cardamom and a pinch of cloves)

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups dark molasses ( not blackstrap)

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk

1 1/4 tbsp. freshly grated orange zest

1 1/4 cups stout, such as Guiness, poured and settled

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350. Generously butter insides of four clean 19 oz. bean or soup cans ( I also lightly floured them).

1. Sift ( or whisk) together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Set aside.

2. Put oil, molasses, brown sugar, eggs, yolk, zest and stout in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium low til all combined.

3. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture.

4. Pour about a cup of batter into each can. Fill no more than 2/3 full.

5. Place cans on a baking sheet and bake about 50 minutes, or til tester comes out clean.

6. Unmold and let them cool on a wire rack.

7. Dust tops with confectioner's sugar.

If giving as a gift, place breads back into cans once completely cooled and wrap.

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cardomom Cream Cheese Frosting

If you love gingerbread..these cupcakes are for you!
The molasses and brown sugar give these little cakes a rich deep flavor and the spiced frosting take them over the top..really!
The recipe comes, again, from "The Spice Kitchen". It's hard to move away from this book. Each recipe sounds better and better! I made the Jamaican Jerk Chicken the other day and it was great. ( AndThey have a Macaroni and Cheese recipe that's made without boiling the pasta first. That one will be next.)

The frosting for these cupcakes is an easy cream cheese and confectioners' sugar mix using either green cardomom ( which is the one that's widely available) or you can switch to another spice such as allspice or, what I used, cinnamon. You can also use orange zest rather than the lemon zest , it's up to you. Which ever spice you choose, it's delicious.

Sift or whisk together the flour, spices, zest and salt into a small bowl.
Set aside.

Cream the butter and brown sugar in a mixer bowl til light and fluffy.

Beat in the molasses, egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl ( or a small measuring glass), stir together the boiling water and baking soda.

Blend this mixture into the creamed butter/molasses mixture on low speed.

Then whisk in the flour mixture til combined.

Spoon the batter into your prepared muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full.

Bake about 20 minutes or til a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Now make the frosting.

Cream together the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl til it's light and fluffy.

Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest ( or orange) and cardamom (or other spice you're using)and beat til fluffy and smooth.

Chill the frosting til ready to use.

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting ( from "The Spice Kitchen")
Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcakes:

8 tbsp. ( 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar ( I used light brown)
1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup boiling water

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 cups AP flour

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. dried lemon zest ( I used 2 tsp. fresh zest)
1/4 tsp. salt

Frosting:

8 ozs. cream cheese, room temp.

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice ( or orange)

2 tsp. dried lemon zest ( or orange) (I used about 3 tsp.)

1 tsp. ground green cardamom ( I used cinnamon)

To make cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or line with paper liners a standard size muffin pan.

1. Sift or whisk the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest ( or orange), and salt into a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a mixer bowl til light and fluffy.

3. Beat in the molasses, egg and vanilla.

4. In a small bowl, or glass measuring cup, stir together the boiling water and baking soda.

5. Sti the mixture into the creamed butter/molasses mixture.

6. Whisk the flour mixture into the creamed mixture til combined.

7. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.

8. Bake about 20 minutes, or til a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

9. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting:

1. Cream together cream cheese and sugar in a medium mixing bowl til light and fluffy.

2. Beat in the vanilla.

3. Add the lemon juice ( or orange), lemon zest ( or orange) and cardamom ( or cinnamon or allspice) and beat til fluffy and smooth.

4. Chill the frosting til ready to use.

Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Ginger Cookies

I wandered into a great used book store the other day as I was supposed to be running errands and making deliveries. Because the bookstore is in a wonderful old Victorian house, there are lots of rooms filled to the ceilings with books in every category you'd need. So when I asked the woman at the desk where the cookbooks were, I knew I'd be in a lot of trouble when she answered me by saying, Oh we have a whole room of cookbooks upstairs in the back.
An entire room to myself ! Filled with an amazing variety of books.

Well, I managed to limit myself to three books and one of them was a book titled, "The Spice Kitchen, Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices." It's a fairly current book, published in 2009.
The recipes all sounded so interesting and I can't wait to try many others like Sweet Heat Brownies, using ancho chili pepper and Lemon Thyme Cornmeal Pound Cake! Yum!

These cookies are dark and chewy and full of the flavor of molasses and if you don't care for bittersweet chocolate , semisweet chocolate would be great also.

So to begin, cream the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl til light and fluffy.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.

Add the egg mixture and the molasses to the creamed mixture and beat til combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat til combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips...

Then cover the dough and refridgerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat your oven now and scoop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls and roll into balls. ( I didn't roll them all into nice tight balls and some came out in wierd shapes! So be sure to make them into compact balls).

Roll each ball in confectioners' sugar til well coated and place on ungreased baking sheet.( I wasn't sure how the cookies would look after rolling in the confectioners' sugar so I only rolled a few. Turned out I was glad I didn't roll them all because I didn't care for the look of them with the white sugar kind of in splotches on the cookie!).

Bake 12 to 14 minutes, or til centers are set.

Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Ginger Cookies ( from " The Spice Kitchen" by Sara Engram and Katie Luber with Kimberly Toqe)

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

12 tbsp. ( 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp.

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar ( I used light brown)
1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups AP flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Confectioners' sugar, for rolling ( opt.)

1. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl til light and fluffy.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla.

3. Add the egg mixture and the molasses to the creamed butter mixture and beat til combined.

4. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda spices and salt into a medium bowl.

5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat til combined.

6. Stir in the chocolate chips.

7. Cover the dough and refridgerate for at least 2 hours.

8. Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350.

9. Scoop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls and roll into balls.

10. Roll each ball in confectioners' sugar til well coated , ( see my note above).

11. Place balls on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or til centers are set.

12. Allow cookies to cool 2 minutes on baking sheet before removing to wire rack.

Fresh Ginger Cake

I'm continuing to read Molly Wizenberg's book, "A Homemade Life" filled with her wonderful stories. This ginger cake actually includes caramelized pears but I opted to just make the cake last night. It's a very simple and quick cake to make and I suppose the pears would have taken it to another level but it was pretty darn good with whipped cream. But what isn't!
She says it's lighter than gingerbread and I found that to be true.

I began by assembling all the ingredients so I wouldn't forget anything..but that's just me!

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt.

In another medium bowl, combine molasses, sour cream, butter, brown sugar, egg, ginger and lemon zest.

And whisk til smooth.

Add the flour mixture and stir til just combined.

Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and spread it evenly.

Bake til tester comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Fresh Ginger Cake ( from "A Homemade Life" by Molly Wizenberg)

1 cup unbleached AP flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup unsulphured molasses

1/4 cup sour cream ( not low fat or nonfat)

4 tbsp. ( 2 ozs.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp. finely grated peeled fresh ginger

1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350. Set oven rack to middle position. Grease an 8" round baking pan with butter or cooking spray.

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2.
In another medium bowl, combine the molasses, sour cream, butter, brown sugar, egg, ginger and lemon zest. Whisk til smooth.

3. Add the flour mixture and stir til just combined.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it evenly with a rubber spatula or offset spatula.

5. Bake til a tester comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.

6. Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Pomegranate Molasses Butter Cake

I recently became aware of pomegranate molasses and decided to try making my own today. It seemed simple enough, just simmer the juice with some sugar and a little lemon juice and in about half an hour you have molasses. Although I've never really been a fan of pomegrante juice, I liked the idea of using the molasses in a dessert..and it's such a pretty color! ( My camera doesn't show the pretty light pink color of the glaze very well..but it's there).
So once I made the molasses, I went in search of a cake recipe and found this one from the New York Times.

It sounded easy enough and I had just enough molasses to make the cake. You get three "hits" of the molasses, once in the cake, again in the glaze and then mixed with the nuts that are sprinkled on top of the cake. Yet with all that, the pomegranate flavor is still very subtle.

The cake turned out great, though. It's moist, not too sweet and the nuts on top give it a wonderful crunch.

So to make the molasses, just place 1 cup pomegranate juice in a small saucepan with a squeeze of lemon juice and 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar and let it simmer til it becomes thicker and coats the back of a spoon.

Stir the mixture occasionally and be sure to lower the heat as it simmers but keep an eye on it.

Then pour it into a small bowl. Set it aside to cool down.

To begin the cake, mix the milk with 2 tablespoons of the molasses and set it aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer bowl til light and fluffy.

Then add the eggs, then the flour mixture in 3 batches alternating with the milk/molasses mixture.

Pour the batter into a prepared cake pan and bake.

I used a round pan, rather than the square pan originally called for in the recipe.

Once the cake has baked and cooled, place the nuts in a small saucepan with the sugar and 1 tablespoon of the molasses and cook on low heat til the sugar has dissolved.

Also make the glaze at this time by combining powdered sugar and light cream with 1 tablespoon of the molasses.

Once the cake has cooled, put it on a pretty plate and pour the glaze on top, allowing it to drip down the sides. ( I only used half the glaze amount.)

Then sprinkle on the nut mixture. That's it!

Pomegranate Molasses Butter Cake ( from the New York Times, March 2010)

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tbsp. pomegranate molasses ( recipe follows)

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar

6 tbsp. light cream ( I used 3 tbsp. heavy cream and 3 tbsp. half & half)

1 tbsp. pomegranate molasses

Topping:

3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts or pecans ( I used pecans)

1 tsp. pomegranate molasses

4 tsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Butter, then lightly flour a 9" square cake pan ( I used a round cake pan).

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl.

2. In a small bowl, combine the milk and 2 tbsp. of molasses.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar til light and fluffy.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk/molasses mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.

6. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. ( Mine took 30 minutes).

7. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool.

8. Make the glaze by whisking the confectioners sugar, cream and 1 tbsp. pomegranate molasses.

9. Pour and smooth out the glaze on top of the cake.

10. Make the topping by mixing in a small saucepan, the walnuts or pecans, 1 tbsp. pomegranate molasses and 4 tsp. sugar and cook over low heat about a minute til the sugar dissolves.

11. Sprinkle the nut mixture on top of the glaze.

Pomegranate molasses ( makes enough for this cake):

Place 1 cup pomegranate juice, 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice in a small saucepan.

Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, or til it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and has been reduced by more than half. Pour into a small dish to cool.

(Yields approx. 1/3 cup molasses)

The Original Shoofly Pie

Before I begin the story of where I found this pie recipe, I just want to say this is one fabulous pie!
I'm usually not one for liking shoofly pie. I live in area of the country that is just close enough to Pennsylvania Dutch country and my local supermarkets have these pies for sale all the time. But I tasted a sample once and that was enough for me to know this was a pie I could certainly live without. But, hey, just because one sample taste was lousy doesn't mean they're all bad..right?
So when I saw this recipe and read the story I thought I should give the pie another chance.
The title alone was intriguing, The Original ..wow! It's got to be good!
And it is.

So have I got your interest yet?

The recipe came from the cookbook I bought recently called " A Baker's Odyssey" by Greg Patent.

I just love this book because the author visited kitchens from great bakers all over the country. These bakers represent thirty diverse cultures and he learned the cultural significance of each baked good he saw prepared.

This recipe, so the author writes, was from a food historian, Will Weaver, which he got from his grandmother who in turn got it from an old lady in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, who got the recipe at the 1876 Centennial! How about that!

See what I mean about the stories? I love it!

The pie is not really sweet, which is one of the many things I love about it. As a matter of fact, the only sugar is in the topping. You can eat the pie for breakfast or you can eat it with ice cream ( which we did at the farmer's market today!) or with whipped cream. Or you can just cut a slice, pick it up with your fingers and dive in!

But enough about how you can eat it..let's get to making it.

I made the dough for the crust ahead and kept it frozen til I made the pie. And... BTW.. the crust has a secret ingredient.. white wine. Oh those Pennsylvania Dutch..who knew!

I also made the topping ahead and kept it in the fridge til I was ready.

To make the filling, in a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in warm coffee. Stir in the molasses til the molasses is completely mixed in and the top layer of the liquid is lighter in color and very bubbly( although mine never got very bubbly but it didn't seem to matter).

Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell.

Gradually sprinkle the crumb mixture onto the top of the pie, starting at the outer edge and working towards the center. Be sure you sprinkle the outer edge a bit thicker to prevent the filling from bubbling over..and it will!

Put the pie into the oven carefully! It will slosh around in the pie shell. Also, (although the book doesn't say) place a cookie sheet or piece of aluminum foil under the pie because if it does spill over, you won't have the problem of what happened to me at first..it spilled and started to smoke in the oven!

The crust is great, it comes out with a nice crunch, not soggy and the crumb topping adds a wonderful addition to the molasses flavor or the filling. It's a moist pie, too. Someone said it was like a "wet bottom" shoofly pie they remembered.

The Original Shoofly Pie ( the book " A Baker's Odyssey" by Greg Patent).

Dough:

1 1/4 cups unbleached AP flour

5 tbsp. cold salted butter, cut into tablespoon sized pieces

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 large egg yolk

3 to 5 tbsp. dry white wine

Topping:

1 cup plus 2 tbsp. unbleached AP flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

8 tbsp. ( 1 stick) cold salted butter, cut into tablespoon sized pieces

Filling:

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup warm coffee

3/4 cup unsulphured molasses

To make the dough:

1. In medium bowl, put in the flour and butter and cut, using a pastry blender or 2 knives, til mixture resembles medium fine crumbs.

2. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, egg yolk and 3 tablespoons of wine with a fork.

3. Add the liquid to the flour and stir with a fork til dough just gathers into a ball. If too dry, add more wine, a teaspoon at a time.

4. Shape into a disc about 1" thick, wrap in plastic and refridgerate for at least one hour.( Dough can be made up to a day ahead). (I made mine, then rolled it out and placed it into the pie pan and froze it til I was ready to make the pie.)

5. Unwrap the dough, and place between 2 layers of waxed paper. Tap gently on the dough with the rolling pin to soften the dough slightly and make it easier to roll. Roll, working from the center outward, readjusting the waxed paper and turning the dough over from time to time.

Once it's about 1/8" thick, place dough into your pie plate. Leave a 1/2" overhang and trim the rest. Fold the edge of the pastry back on itself to make double thickness. and make a high standing rim all along the edge, then flute the edge. Refridgerate for 1 hour.

6. Adjust oven rack to lower third position and preheat to 425.

Topping:

1. Put all the topping ingredients into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and 15 to 30 seconds, til the texture of fine crumbs.

Filling:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in the warm coffee.

2. Stir in the molasses and keep stirring for 1 to 2 minutes, til the molasses is completely mixed in and the top layer of the liquid is lighter in color and very bubbly.

Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell. Gradually sprinkle on the crumb mixture. Begin at the outer edges and work you way to the center, making the crumb layer a bit thicker around the outer edge to prevent the filling from bubbling over. ( See my notes above).
Carefully place the pie into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Reduce the oven temp. to 350 and bake another 35 to 40 minutes or til the crumb topping is golden brown and the center of the pie is firm and cake-like. When pressed gently, the top of the pie should spring back and a toothpick inserted will come out clean.

Cool the pie on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temp. Enjoy!