Second-Stab Saturday: Bangin' Bangor Gingerbread

This may the first brownie recipe that is better without chocolate.

Bangor Gingerbread 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder Pinch of salt Spices (adjust amounts to taste, and to what's in your kitchen): 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp cardamom ½ tsp cloves 1 tbsp ginger ¼ cup melted shortening 1 cup molasses 1 egg 1 cup nuts, if desired Heat oven to 325°. Spray a 9" round or 8" square pan. Line the bottom of it with paper cut to fit, firmly pressing it into place. Then spray the top of the paper. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside. Mix together the shortening and molasses. Then add the egg and beat well. Beat well. Then stir in the flour. Add nuts last. Pour into the pan and bake about 15-20 minutes, or until firmly set. Turn out of the pan as soon as you take it out of the oven, and cut with a sharp knife. These are better after letting them sit (tightly wrapped) for a day. The spices become stronger. adapted from The Metropolitan Cook Book, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, via Mid-Century Menu

When last we saw the molasses-filled Bangor Brownies, we had made the surprising discovery that chocolate and molasses do not mix. Given how well brown sugar harmonizes with chocolate, we had thought that molasses and chocolate would be like sticky brown poetry. Then we tasted the results.

As we discreetly sent the chocolate Bangors to the municipal hereafter, we speculated that this recipe was only a few spices from making really good gingerbread. And by "a few spices" I mean a lot of them. If you sniffed inside the bowl, it smelled like pumpkin spice season was back.

Just like the first time, the batter got unnervingly bubbly in the oven, but turned out all right in the end.

It is a fundamental truth that brown-colored foods rarely look pretty without a lot of photographic effort. But even by brown food standards, today's recipe looked ugly. The molasses turned it an unfortunately perfect shade of burnt. I promise, it's not even slightly scorched.

As is often the way with unphotogenic cakes, it looked better after cutting.

This was exactly as delicious as I hoped it would be. 

I called it gingerbread, but this recipe wants to be brownies. It has that perfect brownie texture, even though the recipe really doesn't welcome chocolate into the batter. Even though I didn't use the word "brownie," my grandmother called me a few days after I gave her some and said "Those molasses brownies were delicious!" And when people say they like something, you don't start a name dispute. 

I think this is the third time that we've improved a recipe by removing the main ingredient. Sometimes you have to follow a recipe even when it takes you away from its own written directions.