Description
Adding a splash or two of brandy (or coffee or cream sherry dessert wine) is what made this gingerbread recipe served to George Washington himself a timeless classic. Don’t let another Christmas go by without trying this historic recipe flavored with not just ginger and spice, but molasses, brown sugar, and raisins as well.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground mace
- 1 large orange
- 1/4 cup brandy, coffee, or cream sherry
- 1 cup raisins, chopped
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 large eggs
- optional: whip cream for topping
Instructions
- Move an oven rack to the center and set the oven to heat to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray a 9X13-inch baking dish and set it aside. In a bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace.
- Remove the zest of the orange peel using a zesting tool. Juice the orange, then combine the juice with the orange zest (should be about 4-5 tablespoons) and the brandy. Stir in chopped raisins to soak while moving on to step 3.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, cream the butter with a mixer until lightened and soft. Beat in the brown sugar and molasses until smooth, then beat in the eggs, and milk. Add in the orange-raisin mixture along with the flour mixture and fold until no white streaks remain. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool for at least 20 minutes, then slice and serve with optional whipped cream.
Notes
If you’d like to substitute the brandy/coffee/cream sherry, I recommend two options: simply omit it and add an additional two tablespoons more of orange juice and two tablespoons milk, *or* add a tablespoon or two of brandy extract, which can be found online (along with two additional tablespoons of OJ).