Tag: Chocolate

Chocolate Meets Molasses in our New FREE eBook


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Chocolate and Molasses free eBook

Chocolate, meet molasses

I have a cupboard full of dark chocolate for snacking and baking. My kids call it “Mommy Chocolate” and often ask if they can have a piece as a treat. They’ll swipe other things from the cupboard without asking (where have all the marshmallows gone?) but it’s as though my chocolate stash is sacred.

I’m not much for candy but dark chocolate is a standard grocery item in our house. I love that there are things about dark chocolate that are healthy-ish and I can’t resist the intense flavour.

How I discovered the molasses-chocolate connection.

It all started in 2012 with a batch of brownies. I wanted to make them fudgier in texture so added a few tablespoons of molasses. The molasses made them extra fudgy in texture and flavour.

Molasses is a terrific flavour complement to chocolate and has a way of making chocolate taste more intensely of chocolate.

Of course there are all sorts of recipes out there that combine molasses and chocolate so it’s not like it was my invention. I was happy to stumble upon this perfect pairing though.

Chocolate and Molasses free eBook

Chocolate & Molasses: 14 recipes for perfect pairings

In this easy-to-download eBook we have a collection of 14 recipes that pair molasses with chocolate for delicious results. From cakes and cookies to muffins and sauce you’ll see how with molasses, chocolate has met its match.

Download our FREE eBook here

 

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Double Chocolate Whole Wheat Banana Muffins Recipe


Servings: 14 serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

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Not too sweet, these muffins have no refined sugar and just 1/3 cup of molasses. That’s it – the bananas take care of the rest.

double chocolate whole wheat banana muffins

Bake double chocolate whole wheat banana muffins on weekend mornings for a sweet start to a leisurely day.

Early morning is a lovely time to bake…

I can hear the birds outside as I work and the morning light is best in our kitchen.
This is how I spent the Monday morning of our lazy long weekend. It was drizzly and suddenly lush with the fleeting sun and heat of last Friday and Saturday. I set aside thoughts of weeding and gathered the mixing bowls to bake Double Chocolate Banana Muffins.

Not too sweet, these muffins have no refined sugar and just 1/3 cup of molasses. That’s it – the bananas take care of the rest.

double chocolate whole wheat banana muffins
There is a lovely poem by Mary Oliver titled “Why I Wake Early.”
It’s in one of her books at my bedside and I think of the poem often during the spring and summer, when the sky lights early and I wake effortlessly at dawn with barely a yawn and a stretch. It’s the most peaceful time to wake, especially on weekends…The kids don’t need to be woken and my husband sleeps just a little longer.

double chocolate whole wheat banana muffins

Why I Wake Early
by Mary Oliver

Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who make the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories,
and into the windows of, even, the
miserable and crotchety–

best preacher that ever was,
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease us with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light–
good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness, in kindness.

double chocolate whole wheat banana muffins

Double Chocolate Whole Wheat Banana Muffins Recipe

Adapted from Sweet Sugartbean
Makes about 14 muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole wheat or spelt flour (spooned in)
  • 1 cup white flour (spooned in)
  • 6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 2 medium bananas, mashed
  • 2/3 cup oil (olive, grapeseed, canola, coconut…)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ½ cup chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375*F.
  2. Line muffin tin with papers, or grease well.
  3. In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until light and frothy.
  4. Whisk in the milk, molasses, mashed banana, oil and vanilla.
  5. Gently stir the wet mixture into the dry, add the chocolate, and continue mixing until just combined.
  6. Scoop the mixture into muffin cups.  Bake for 18 – 20 minutes, until set

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Double Chocolate Rye Muffins and Food Revolution Day


Servings: 12 serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

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double chocolate rye muffins

Since when can double chocolate anything actually be considered a muffin?

I was skeptical but this recipe was recommended to me by a friend of sound food judgement. She’s good at combining the nutritious with the delicious and her recipe radar is always tuned to “healthy”.

We all know that the muffin world is rife with imposters, especially all those cupcakes masquerading as muffins. This is one instance where the reverse is actually the case. They look like rich, dense chocolate cupcakes but as soon as you take a bite you know they’re muffins.

Not too sweet, with an earthy texture from the whole rye flour and studded with dense nuggets of dark chocolate, these muffins let you have your sweet fix, or your chocolate fix, without going over the top.

double chocolate rye muffins

This muffin’s good looks worked against it with my kids. Even though I said chocolate “muffin” their eyes saw a dozen chocolate cupcakes cooling on the counter which set them up for profound disappointment when they each took a bite.

Well, too bad for them.

They can make their own chocolate cupcakes. And they can, they have done it before. Not many kids can though.

Tomorrow I’m teaching 24 grade 8 kids at my son’s school how to cook. It’s my Food Revolution Day project. Chef Jamie Oliver started Food Revolution Day to get kids in the kitchen and to connect them with real food.

On the menu:

Wish me luck!

double chocolate rye muffins

Double Chocolate Rye Muffins Recipe

Adapted from Green Kitchen Stories

Makes 12 large muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1 scant cup rye flour
  • 1 cup white flour
  • 6 Tbsp. cacao powder
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup milk or full-fat coconut milk
  • 2/3 cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 2/3 cup grape seed or canola oil
  • 100 g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped or ½ cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and prepare a muffin pan.
  2. In a large bowl whisk together all dry ingredients.
  3. In another bowl beat the eggs until frothy then add the milk, molasses and oil.
  4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
  5. Add the chocolate or add half of the chocolate and save the other half to sprinkle on top of the muffins before baking.
  6. Spoon batter into the muffin tins and top with remaining of the dark chocolate (if that’s what you chose to do).
  7. Bake for about 18 minutes.

If you’re looking for more wholesome muffin recipes you might enjoy our Carrot Cake Muffins, or our Banana Oat Muffins

banner-carrot1wholesome banana oat muffins with molasses

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Gluten Free Fudgy Molasses Brownies


Servings: 16 serving(s)

Prep time: 20 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

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You’ll love how wonderfully simple these gluten-free brownies are to make. 

Gluten free and fudgy molasses brownies

These have been called the perfect brownie.

“Fudgy and still a little cake like,” is how they were described.

We all have our definition of ” perfect” when it comes to brownies but I understand the praise. I want a brownie to be fudgy but I don’t want it to have that “uncooked” sort of texture. I also don’t want my brownies to be crumbly.

My ideal brownie, like the person who described hers to me, is somewhere in between.

Gluten Free fudgy molasses brownies

You’ll love how wonderfully simple these gluten free brownies are to make. My kids can make them. And they devour them no differently than they do regular brownies.

There’s something else, too…

The molasses helps to intensify the chocolate flavour and keeps the brownies moist for days. (Not that they’ll last that long.)

gluten free fudgy molasses brownies

You can substitute your favourite gluten-free flour blend for the brown rice flour called for below. If your blend already includes xanthan gum then you can omit it from this recipe.

Gluten Free Fudgy Molasses Brownie Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips or coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate
  • ½ cup butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/4 cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar (can be reduced to 2/3 cup)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 cup brown rice flour, spooned in

Instructions:

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-by-8-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. Combine the butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat, add molasses and let cool until just warm to the touch.
  3. In a large bowl whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla. Pour in the chocolate mixture and whisk until well combined.
  4. In a small bowl combine the xanthan gum, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and flour. Add to the chocolate-egg mixture and stir just until combined.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan (spreading it out and smooth the top). Bake about 30 minutes, until the middle no longer jiggles. Remove to a wire rack and let the brownies cool for at least 20 minutes.
  6. Cut into 2-inch squares.

If you’re a fan of brownies I bet you’d enjoy our Gluten Free Almond Brownies:

gluten free almond brownies

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Crispy Chocolate Gingersnaps


Servings: 24 serving(s)

Prep time: 35 minutes

Total time: 60 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

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Crispy Chocolate Gingersnaps studded with crystalized ginger
Crispy cookie lovers this is for you…

Winter has arrived again in Southern New Brunswick. Other places, too, I know, but since here is where I’m shoveling …

We enjoyed a real old fashioned snow storm on Sunday followed but two more storms. School was cancelled yesterday and today, and messy weather forecasted for tomorrow.

My kids have taken to jumping off the garage roof into the huge snow piles. It’s strictly forbidden of course but I did the same when I was their age so I’m having trouble policing it. And truth be told, I’d really like to jump off the roof into those mountains of snow myself.

Crispy Chocolate Gingersnaps studded with crystalized ginger

On these snowy evening I have been filling the house with the smell of cookies baking.  These chocolate gingersnaps are my latest discovery.

Made as icebox cookies they’re crispy wafers studded with crystalized ginger. You can store the dough in the fridge or freezer and bake them on a whim.

To mix up the dough the method will seem unorthodox at first, since you toss everything together at once rather than creaming the butter and sugar and adding from there. The dough will seem impossibly crumbly and bits of it might even fly around the kitchen as the beaters spin. But the dough will come together  and you’ll be able to shape it in a log and get on with the chilling and baking.

Crispy Chocolate Gingersnaps studded with crystalized ginger

Chocolate gingersnap Recipe

Adapted from From Away blog

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup cornmeal or corn flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
  • ¼ cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup candied ginger

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl combine flour, both sugars, baking soda, cornmeal, and cocoa powder.
  2. With the beaters on low add vanilla and butter. Pour in molasses.
  3. Mix until the dough comes together (it will seem very crumbly at first).  Stir in candied ginger.
  4. Form dough into a log, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.
  5. Preheat oven to 325.
  6. Cut dough into 1/4“ slices and place on a parchment lined cookies sheet.
  7. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet.

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Here’s to eating well, everyday,

Bridget signature

 

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RecipesCookiesCookies & BarsGingerbread

Chocolate Gingerbread Cut Out Cookies


Servings: 3 dozen serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 22 minutes

Cooking time: 7 minutes

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These chocolate gingerbread cut-out cookies have an intense chocolaty flavour but aren’t too sweet, making them perfect for decorating and sandwiching with icing.

These chocolate gingerbread cut out cookies have an intense chocolaty flavour but aren't too sweet. Perfect for decorating and sandwiching with icing.

I grew up baking cut out cookies with my mom and then we’d paint them with a simple milk and icing sugar frosting. My brothers, sisters and I would spend half a day at the kitchen table with bowls of tinted frosting, red and green sprinkles and little silver balls, decorating dozens of cookies and listening to Roger Whittaker’s Christmas album. To this day the song Darcy the Dragon takes me back to the kitchen table in the house where I grew up.

chocolate gingerbread cut-out cookies

I still love painting Christmas cookies and my kids consider it a sacred Holiday tradition so there is at least one day before Christmas when we all sit down to an afternoon of painting, usually with a few friends.

My kids are masters of the one-tonne cookie, a cookie that is so loaded with icing and sprinkles that you need a spatula to lift it off the table and onto a plate to dry.

cookie painting

Whatever you bake for the Holidays, you’ll notice that it’s not so much the finished product that creates the memories, but the whole process…

For me it’s digging out the cookie cutters, and having my kids by my side at the counter as we roll, press and lift the cut-outs onto the cookie sheet.  It’s the sweet and spicy smell of the house when the cookies are in the oven and the giggles in the kitchen as we paint and sprinkle away.

chocolate gingerbread cut-out cookies

This chocolate gingerbread cut out cookies recipe is a new take on gingerbread cut-out cookies. They have an intense chocolaty flavour but aren’t overly sweet, making them perfect for decorating and sandwiching. The dough is soft and barely needs flour for rolling. If you want the cookies to be harder just bake them a little longer.

chocolate gingerbread cut-out cookies

 

Chocolate gingerbread cut out cookies

From Food & Wine magazine

Ingredients:

  • 3 ¼ cups flour, spooned in
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 Tbsp. ground ginger
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. cloves
  • 1 Tbsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½ cup + 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
  • ½ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • ½ cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted

Instructions:

  1. In a medium bowl whisk the flour with the cocoa, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  2. In a large bowl beat the butter with the brown sugar until fluffy.
  3. Beat in the egg, then molasses, then melted chocolate.
  4. Add the flour mixture in three batches, incorporating well between additions.
  5. Scrape dough from bowl and divide into three equal pieces. Pat each piece into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled.
  6. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about ¼” thick.  (You really won’t need much flour.)
  7. Place cut-out cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  8. Bake at 350 F for about 7 minutes.

This lovely dough is a cinch to mix and roll:

 Chocolate gingerbread cut-out cookies

Chocolate gingerbread cut-out cookies

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Zucchini brownies with molasses and flax


Servings: 12 serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

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Too many zucchini in your garden?

I WISH I had that problem but so far I only have zucchini blossoms. Our local markets are teeming with them though and already I have more in my fridge than I can reasonably use in a week so I went looking for new ways to eat them up.

I call this a healthy brownie

After all, something that includes zucchini and flax seeds is bound to be good for you.  Molasses and unsweetened cocoa powder have nutritional value too. So I had one at breakfast this morning.

A couple of tips: I grate my zucchini on the coarse side of a box grater and then squeeze the water out a handful at a time. Also, the batter is dense so I used my hands to incorporate the zucchini.

Healthy tip: Feel free to reduce the sugar to 1 cup, reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp. and reduce the chocolate chips to 1/2 cup. Increase the cocoa by 2 Tbsp. (This is how I make them for my kids’ lunches).

Zucchini brownies

  • ½ cup oil or melted butter
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 2 cups flour
  • ¼ cup ground flax
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 cups shredded, drained zucchini
  • ¾ cup chocolate chips (optional)
  1. Line a 9”x9” pan with parchment paper or grease it well.
  2. Combine oil, sugar, vanilla and molasses. Add egg and mix well.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, flax, cinnamon, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
  4. Add this mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well.
  5. Fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips (if using).
  6. Spread in prepared pan.
  7. Bake at 350 F for 35 to 40 minutes

This recipe is loosely based on a recipe I found on the lovely baking blog,  iambaker.net.

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Chocolate jumbos and warm-all-over molasses memories


 

I love a good molasses story. They always involve happy memories of moms and grandmothers and what’s not to love about a story that makes you feel good all over? I bet you have your own molasses memories and may be reading this post will take you back to a warm kitchen.

That’s what this story did for me. It came from Sandy Bowers, a lover of molasses from New York State.

This is what she told me:

  • “When I was a little girl (back in the 1940’s) I used to always look forward to going to my grandmother’s house and help her bake Chocolate Jumbos. I think the recipe has been a family favorite for many years. Grandma would mix and bake the cookies and I would put the frosting on them. Everybody loved Grandma’s Chocolate Jumbos and they are still a favorite in our family today. A good old fashioned recipe and always made with lots of love!! I am so glad they were a hit with your family and friends and that the recipe will be passed on to others. God Bless!”

When Sandy sent me the recipe I made it right off the bat because I can’t resist family favourites. The recipe got me thinking about my grandmother’s soft molasses cookies and how my mom used to make them as jam-filled thumbprint cookies. Since we’re into jam season that’s how I made Sandy’s Chocolate Jumbos (this time). Next time I’ll frost them just as she does.

Chocolate Jumbos

  • 1 cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. allspice
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 1/2 cups of flour

Mix together molasses, sugar, shortening, spices & eggs. Then mix in cocoa dissolved in hot water. Fold in baking soda and flour. (Sandy says hand mixing makes a better batter than machine mixing).

Chill mixture until firm.

Turn out onto a lightly-floured surface and roll to ¼” thickness.

Using a donut cutter cut out cookies and bake at 375 F degrees for 9 minutes.

Let cool and then frost them with your favourite vanilla frosting.

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Five minute chocolate sauce


Servings: 6-8 serving(s)

Prep time: 3 minutes

Total time: 8 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

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This easy five-minute chocolate sauce recipe is an easy way to make a simple dessert extra special. Use it as a dip for strawberries, pour over a simple cake. When chilled it becomes dense and fudgy, perfect for sandwiching cookies!

fudgy five minute chocolate sauce

I was thinking this morning that I didn’t have the greatest weekend. I was thinking of all the things we didn’t get to do and feeling a little sad that my husband unexpectedly had to work all weekend. So no family hike, no car so no movie with the kids and no eggs so no baking cookies.

But then I thought, “Wait!”

What was I thinking? I have nothing to complain about. Nothing. It was sunny. We played outside. The street is now filled with chalk castles. There is a new bike ramp off the deck. Last night we crawled into freshly made beds, under sheets that that had blown dry in the sun and smelled like spring. My daughter lost a tooth and the Tooth Fairy made a credible recovery when the Toonie (initially) couldn’t be found. I made it to book club any way.

Today I saw this Facebook post: 15 Powerful Things Happy People Do Differently

It’s a matter of perspective…

No eggs, no cookies, which led me to this easy five-minute chocolate sauce.

Five-Minute Chocolate Sauce Recipe

  • 1 cup whipping cream (35% cream)
  • 8 oz dark chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 1/3 cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
  1. In a heavy bottomed pot, over medium heat, combine the cream and chocolate.
  2. Bring to a gentle simmer and stir until the chocolate has melted.
  3. Remove from heat and stir in the molasses and vanilla (if using)
  4. Stir well, cool and refrigerate.

This recipe works well with half chocolate chips and half unsweetened chocolate too.

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RecipesCakesGingerbreadGingerbreads & Cakes

Chocolate gingerbread cake – dressing up an old favourite


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chocolate gingerbread cake

A friend shared this recipe as a family favourite. The original is from Nigella Lawson’s Feast but my adaptation is a little less buxom than Nigella’s original. Of course there is always a time and a place for extra sweet and stickiness but my ideal gingerbread is something that you can grab off the counter to nibble as you’re heading out the door. No worries about dribbles down your front. I also prefer my gingerbread to be just on the edge of sweet. Something you could eat at breakfast without feeling guilty.

The beauty of this gingerbread (and any gingerbread really) is that it can travel from breakfast to dinner with confidence. That’s where you can layer in Nigella’s extravagances. But you don’t need them. A little cinnamon scented whipped cream alongside a warm slice of this bread is after dinner elegance.

Chocolate gingerbread cake

  • ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp. allspice
  • 1 ¼ tsp. baking soda dissolved in 2 tsp. of warm water
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 ¼ cups flour
  • ¾ cup cocoa
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
  1. Preheat the oven to 350
  2. Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper or grease and flour it well.
  3. Melt the butter along with the sugar, molasses and spices. Whisk it well and remove from heat.
  4. Whisk in the milk, eggs and baking soda-water mixture.
  5. Add the flour and cocoa and beat.
  6. Stir in chocolate chips.
  7. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 55 minutes to an hour, depending on the texture you prefer. If you’re planning to serve it warm for dessert with a little something alongside or poured over, it could stand to be a little sticky so you could pull it out after 50 minutes. But if you prefer it a little dryer (and if you plan to have some leftover for packing in lunches) then I’d recommend baking it longer.

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Gingerbread Cake with Coffee and Chocolate


Servings: 8-10 serving(s)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 1 hours 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hours

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Gingerbread cake with coffee and chocolate is a moist, flavourful cake that combines some of my favourite flavours: coffee, chocolate and ginger.Gingerbread cake with coffee and chocolate

I love baking birthday cakes, especially when I have a rainy Saturday afternoon free to bake. Too wet to enjoy work in the garden, too wet to get the kids out for a long walk in the woods and just wet enough for an afternoon of baking in the kitchen.

And not just any baking! It was my husband`s birthday so the ultimate baking challenge of the year.

My husband isn’t big on sweets so for special occasions I search out not-too-sweet cake recipes that taste wholesome and earthy. And I choose cakes that require no frosting, just a pretty dusting of icing sugar.

This is the perfect cake for those who love complex flavours and no fluffy frosting.

I found this recipe for gingerbread cake with coffee and chocolate on epiucurious.com and it fit my husband’s criteria: dense, spicy, and not too sweet. Made in a bundt pan, the cake is festive enough that the kids can tell, even without the candles, that this is indeed a birthday cake.

My brother ate four pieces. My mom ate two. I lost count with Quincy. Guy ate one piece, but that’s like two thumbs up from him.

Gingerbread Cake with Coffee and Chocolate

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. coarse kosher salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
  • 1 cup olive oil or canola oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup freshly brewed coffee (strong and hot)
  • 1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate (5 to 6 ounces)
  • 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger (optional)

Coffee whipped cream:

  • 1 cup chilled whipping cream
  • 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease and flour a large tube or bundt pan.
  2. Whisk 2 cups flour and next 5 ingredients in medium bowl to blend.
  3. In a large bowl combine sugar, molasses, oil, and eggs; whisk until well blended.
  4. Add dry ingredients and stir to blend.
  5. Add chocolate to coffee and add to mixture (there will be a few lumps of chocolate left).
  6. Pour batter into pan. It’s a thin batter so don’t panic, just place the pan on a cookie sheet.
  7. Bake cake about 55 to 60 minutes (until it starts pulling away from the sides of the pan).
  8. Transfer pan to rack; cool cake in pan 20 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool.

For coffee whipped cream: Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until peaks form.

If you love gingerbread you’re in the right place! We have a whole section on this blog devoted to gingerbread and a free Gingerbread e-Book too.

One more thing…

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