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Recipe for Black pudding (a.k.a. gingerbread)

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THIS STORY APPEARED IN

December 21, 2011

(Food styling/Sheryl Julian…)

Makes one 10-inch Bundt cake

Bradford resident Sarah Chase makes this family recipe, which her mother found blowing around a store parking lot when they were vacationing in Maine in the 1970s. We loved this cake, with its strong molasses flavor and taste of coffee, so we doubled the recipe that Chase sent in to bake it in a Bundt pan. The hot coffee gives this cake an extra depth of flavor; the high proportion of molasses and coffee makes a moist crumb.

Butter (for the pan)

Unsweetened cocoa powder (for the pan)

4 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 cups molasses

2 cups very hot black coffee

Confectioners’ sugar (for sprinkling)

1. Set the oven at 325 degrees. Butter a 10-inch Bundt pan, and dust the pan with cocoa powder, tapping out the excess.

2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon.

3. In an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar. Add the egg and beat until well combined.

4. In another bowl, stir together the molasses and coffee.

5. With the mixer set on its lowest speed, add the flour mixture to the batter alternately with the molasses mixture, beginning and ending with flour.

6. Transfer the batter to the pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

7. Cool completely on a rack. Turn out and set right side up on a cake platter. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and cut into thick slices. Adapted from Sarah Chase