Ginger Cakes
They’re moist and chewy with a bit of spice from the ginger. They’re perfect to eat as the weather turns cool.
I recently sponsored a refreshment break for the St. George Tucker Society meeting, an interdisciplinary academic association that studies Southern history and named after the founding father St. George Tucker.
St. George Tucker is one of my favorite founders, although he is not nearly the most known. He studied law under George Wythe, My Armo’s favorite founder, and later became a judge and law professor. I like him because he was level-headed, humble, and helped someone who greatly needed it, risking public scrutiny. As a bonus he was friends with my boy Patrick Henry, so obviously I am partial to SGT.
Since SGT lived during the turn of the 18th century, I chose a drink and snack that was representative of the era. I went with bumbo, a rum punch that was often served during elections so I thought it was fitting to have that drink prior to the business meeting (bummer no elections this year). Bumbo has cinnamon and nutmeg in it which pairs so well the ginger, nutmeg, and molasses notes in the ginger cakes.
As with any historic recipe it’s best to go to a really good historic foodways organization like Colonial Williamsburg where I found this recipe. Historic recipes are written with many assumptions so it’s best to let the well-trained people do the deciphering.
The only thing I amended (besides giving more details) is I doubled the amount of ginger and nutmeg. I thought the flavors were very muted otherwise. I justified that change on the basis that different cooks use different amounts of spices, but also remember that spices were expensive so maybe not accurate (lol!).
Please note that this recipe has no leavener in it; it is not a mistake. — Baking is easier and quicker to be accurate when weighing ingredients. If you don’t have a scale, Google is on standby.
Ginger Cakes Ingredients
340 g AP flour
113 g sugar
2 Tbl ground ginger
1 Tbl ground nutmeg
113 g butter, room temperature
1/2 c molasses
2 Tbl heavy whipping cream
Ginger Cakes Directions
Preheat oven to 375.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together 340 g AP flour, 113 g sugar, 2 Tbl ground ginger, and 1 Tbl ground nutmeg.
Cut the butter into about 16 pieces. Put it in the bowl with the dry ingredients and squeeze the butter between your fingers to break it up. The butter pieces should be about pea size or smaller when it’s ready.
In a small sauce pan on medium to low heat, warm ½ c molasses and 2 Tbl of heavy whipping cream. It only needs to be warm enough for the cream and molasses to incorporate. You can test it by giving it a quick stir.
Make a well into the center of the dry ingredients and pour the molasses mixture into the well. Use a spoon to mix the ingredients. When it is fairly well-mixed, use your hands to make sure there are no flour pockets and all of the flour is hydrated.
The dough should be stiff, but not crumble. Add 1-2 tsp of cream at a time until the dough can form a ball.
Use a 1 ½ Tbl cookie scoop and space them on a greased cookie sheet. These cookies will not spread but still about 1 ½” of space between them for air flow.
After the dough is portioned, use the palm of your hand to gently push down the the ball of dough. You want to flatten the dome, but the cookie should be thick.
Bake for 8-10 minutes and turn the pan halfway. The edges of the cookie should be set and the top should have a light crust but still soft when they’re ready. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
