Gingerbreadland

I tried out a new recipe from a new cookbook my mother gave me. It's a cakey, molassesy gingerbread. It was a very odd way of making the batter as well, but it did work out very well. The recipe starts by creaming the fats and sugar together then adds hot water, which is odd. I did let the butter soften first, which the recipe doesn't mention. It suggests a "shallow pan" which I translated to a 9x13 pan, which worked out very well. I also sifted together the dry ingredients before adding them to the mixture. The gingerbread's texture turned out very nice and fluffy. By itself it is fine, but a little too molasses heavy for my taste. It made me think of Lebkuchen, a German gingerbread cookie.

Lebkuchen traditionally has a lemon glaze, so I figured I would try adding one. I mixed up a lemon's worth of juice and probably roughly a cup of powdered sugar and a little bit of milk. I poured it over the top of the gingerbread and let it soak in a bit. Eventually it will set up and harden a little, but for now it is all gooey and wonderful.