I baked a cake!
Which means I must have had another dinner party as that is the only time I make anything sweet (well, a few Christmas cookies).
I’ve been thinking about gingerbread lately. It was something my mother made often and I’ve always loved it.
But gingerbread for a dinner party?!?
Why not?
Tart it up a bit, finish it with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting, serve it with ice cream and what’s not to love?
We loved it…..
The cake is from a recipe on The Yellow Table. The recipe calls for a simple finish of powdered sugar.
I’m rather fond of cream cheese frosting…. And I don’t make cakes that often – I can indulge when I do!
Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cake, Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Total time: 75 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup dark / blackstrap molasses
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 egg
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8oz (250gr) cream cheese
- 2 tbs soft butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbs lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
- Butter and flour a 10″ (25cm) tube pan
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C)
- Combine molasses with hot water and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar.
- Add egg and beat well.
- Add molasses / water mix to bowl, beating well.
- Combine dry ingredients and add, beating on low speed just until combined.
- Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake, 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
- Remove and cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a rack.
- Frosting:
- Soften cream cheese if needed (mine was soft)
- Combine all ingredients.
- When cake is cool – frost it.
- Slice and serve.
The above photo is actually enough for 2 servings, but I wanted it to show up on the plate. I cut it in half.
You know how, sometimes, when you invite people to dinner, they bring a bottle of wine?
Or flowers?
Or chocolates?
My guests brought me 2 dead birds.
Dead doves, actually (but not turtle doves or a partridge in a pear tree).
They were freshly killed.
Very freshly killed…. Apparently our guests ran into some hunters on the way over and were given some birds. They, in turn wanted to give me 2 of them.
I declined.
I mean, it was a lovely gesture and I did appreciate the thought and I always love gifts of food – but I have never prepared an animal of any sort that was that newly deceased.
As in plucking, gutting, head and feet removal, etc.
Not even fish.
I won’t even buy cleaned chicken if the feet are still attached.
I’m a bit squeamish…..
Anyway I thanked them profusely and they took the birds home.
The next morning they brought them back.
This time they were perfectly cleaned and shrink-wrapped….. Ready for the oven or the freezer. (Now, that’s what I call friendship!)
They went in the freezer.
Anyone have a good dove recipe?
(Actually, there are lots on the net and we look forward to having a lovely dove dinner soon.)
As to the rest of the menu – next post.
EWWW!
But I’ll try the cake…
Well, that was certainly a unique hostess gift!
nightsmusic, these are the same people that have the deer farm and give us venison. They also have chickens and goats and ducks. I’ll never be that self-sufficient.
Zoomie, indeed….
I have to say I’m conflicted. On one hand, I join with you in saying “Ewwwwww!” about the dead birds. On the other hand, how fantastically cool! But then, of course, the “how fantastically cool” wins out when you report that they took them away to pluck and clean for you. My first imulse is to say to roast them stuffed with dried cherries or something like that…. Isn’t there a famous Moroccan dish that includes dove?
I can’t wait to hear what you’ve come up with!
As for the gingerbread. There’s no contest at all about the topping. Lemon Cream Cheese for me please!
Elizabeth, they were interesting – and tasty. But I think I roasted them too long. They were too small for my thermometer to work (or something). I have to say I look at the doves flying from our trees a little differently now…..