The warm scent of any baked goods, especially this time of year, is so inviting and immediately makes you think of home. Gingerbread to me is the most inviting scent of them all—the warmth of the cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg fills every crevice of your house so much that when your guests arrive, they will immediately become intoxicated by your hospitality! I recently purchased Martha Stewart’s book, Cakes—a compendium of every type of cake you can imagine. From bundts to layered cakes to loaves and even ice cream cakes, this collection of her and her team’s recipes is a necessity on any baker’s shelf. A wonderful last minute stocking stuffer for that baker in your life or if you like, a personal gift just for you—believe me, you won’t regret it. (and neither will your loved ones!)
Martha Stewart’s incredible Cakes book
The prepared gingerbread batter ready to be baked
(To view Martha Stewart’s recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Martha Stewart’s Gingerbread
Ingredients:
- Recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cakes book
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground gloves
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Directions:
- Recipe from Martha Stewart’s Cakes book
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl.
- With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated.
- Transfer batter to prepared pans; smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Run a thin knife around edge of cake to loosen. Turn out cake onto a serving platter; dust generously with confectioners’ sugar.
Tagged: bread, breakfast, cake, Cakes, Christmas, cloves, gingerbread, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, Holiday bread, Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, nutmeg
Thinking of how wonderful warm gingerbread would be. . .enjoy!
It was the perfect breakfast this morning with a cup of coffee! Moist and very flavorful! 🙂