It’s my birthday and most people have cake on their birthdays, right? I also discovered that today is National Gingerbread Day. So my birthday cake is what you see in the photo: a ginger CAKE made with fresh ginger, which gives a real spicy, peppery warmth to this version. Especially when you add a piece of crystallized ginger on top (which I do!). Here’s the recipe:

FRESH GINGER CAKE
3/4 cup butter
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour·
2-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
1/4 cup grated fresh ginger
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9”x9” cake pan. Place the butter, molasses and brown sugar in a saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until the butter has melted. Stir to blend ingredients thoroughly. Set aside to cool. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together. Pour the liquid mixture over the flour mixture and beat the ingredients to blend them thoroughly. Add the ginger and eggs and beat them in. Pour in the milk and mix until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 8-10 servings

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