Name: Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 3/4 hr
Yield: Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients: 1 cup oatmeal stout or Guinness Stout; 1 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap); 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 2 tablespoons ground ginger; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; Pinch of ground cardamom; 3 large eggs; 1 cup packed dark brown sugar; 1 cup granulated sugar; 3/4 cup vegetable oil; Confectioners sugar for dusting; a 10-inch (10- to 12-cup) bundt pan; unsweetened whipped cream

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Photo by Chelsea Kyle

The use of leavening in a cake is first recorded in a recipe for gingerbread from Amelia Simmons's American Cookery, published in Hartford in 1796; I guess you could say it is the original great American cake. Early-19th-century cookbooks included as many recipes for this as contemporary cookbooks do for chocolate cake. This recipe, from Claudia Fleming, pastry chef at New York City's Gramercy Tavern, is superlative—wonderfully moist and spicy.

Cooks' Notes:

•This recipe was tested with Grandma's brand green-label molasses.
•Like the chocolate decadence cake, the gingerbread is better if made a day ahead. It will keep 3 days, covered, at room temperature.

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