Cooking's...The Best of Fine Cooking: Comfort Food
Fine Cooking, January 2004

Congratulations on having your recipe included in Fine Cooking's...The Best of Fine Cooking: Comfort Food. This...edition contains a collection of our favorite classic American comfort food recipes published in Fine Cooking Magazine over the last ten years.

OLD-FASHIONED GINGERBREAD WITH MAPLE WHIPPED CREAM
Yields one 8x8 inch cake.

If you like, dust the gingerbread with confectioners' sugar and present it on a platter. It's homey enough though to serve straight from the baking dish.

1-3/4 cups plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
2-1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Pinch salt
5 Tbs. butter, softened at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup dark molasses
3/4 cup cold water
1 cup heavy cream (not ultra pasteurized, if possible)
1/4 cup maple syrup

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8x8 inch cake pan. Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and creamy. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pour in the molasses in a slow, steady stream, beating all the while. Add half of the sifted dry ingredients and mix just until well combined. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Slowly pour in the cold water and stir until well incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan about 1 hour before serving.

Beat the cream until thickened. Slowly pour in the syrup and continue beating until the cream holds soft peaks. Cut the cake into squares; serve with the whipped cream.

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