Nigella's Fresh Gingerbread with Lemon Icing

It's not often that I make decadent cakes, but for special occasions I can be persuaded to make exceptions and certainly cannot resist a few bites myself. But I am decidedly a savory girl who nonetheless enjoys baking.

The occasion this time was my husband's birthday. It used to be a tradition for him to have gingerbread cake on his birthday when he was a child. The ones he remembers were made with mixes, but whenever possible I make everything from scratch. This recipe, that I adapted from Nigella Lawson's glorious and truly tempting collection How to Be a Domestic Goddess, was especially appealing because it calls for fresh ginger rather than the powdered stuff.

I made several substitutions to match the ingredients I had on hand and it worked out even better than expected. Nigella is indispensable to novice and experienced bakers alike. As an added bonus, this cake — closely related to a brownie really — takes very little time to mix up. If you wish to impress your friends and loved ones, you just can't go wrong with this one.

Baking tip: To prevent brown sugar from drying out and clumping together, store in an airtight jar with a clay disc. I don't go through very much sugar, and I've found the little disc keeps the sugar soft and fresh for months.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 2 tablespoons warm water
• 2 1/3 cups + 2 tablespoons unbleached white flour

Icing:

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
• approx. 1 tablespoon warm water

Instructions:

• Grease a 12 × 9 inch pan and then line with parchment paper.
• In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter combined with the brown sugar, honey, molasses, ginger and cinnamon over medium heat, stirring often. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a wire whisk and then add the yogurt and baking soda and water. Whisk a few times and set aside.
• When the butter is melted, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the yogurt and egg mixture.
• Put the flour in a large bowl and add the liquid ingredients to the flour. Beat together until everything is well combined. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake in a preheated 325° oven for roughly 45 minutes, or until the gingerbread rises and firms up. Nigella says to not overcook, as the gingerbread is especially nice when sticky and she also notes that it continues to bake a bit when removed from the oven. I tested it with a cake tester at the 45 minute point and it seemed just right.
• Let cool completely before icing the cake. To make the icing, whisk together the lemon juice and icing sugar and then gradually add as much water as you need to get a nice thick icing. Spoon over the cake and smooth out with a knife. Once it is set, cut into squares and serve.

Makes 20 squares

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