Dessert again: ginger cake

I make no bones about it: I am a shameless borrower of recipes. Every cook is. The good ones admit it. The bad ones claim it's their own. There's a certain blond on TV who does that, and it ain't Paula Deen (she's one of the GOOD ones). My friend Dana, another blonde, another one of the GOOD ones, is always honest about it. Last year, in San Francisco, she served the best fig ice cream I had ever had. In fact, it was the ONLY good fig ice cream I had ever had. I told her "I have GOT to get your recipe" and she laughed and said "oh, it's in David Lebovitz's book, use that."

Now I DO have that book, and I cook out of it. It's his ice cream book. It was the second time a cook I respect had told me to go and make a recipe from it (the first time was the malted milk ball ice cream). I'm not much of a fan of chocolate, especially in ice cream, but having made the fig ice cream myself now, I may have to try it.

I have all of Chef Lebovitz's books, and I use them all the time. His ginger cake recipe is one that I make frequently. I don't make it during warmer weather, because I rarely make cake when we're all eating ice cream and cookies , but as things get cooler, that recipe comes out. And as he says in his book, the cake goes especially well, with plums. He suggests a plum compote with his recipe,and it works really well. But yours truly, ever a tinkerer was thinking "what about putting the plums IN the cake?" Know what? I may send this to Chef Lebovitz, because it's really a fabulous cake.

One thing at the start: this recipe does call for four ounces of fresh ginger. That's a LOT of ginger, and this is not a cake for people who, for example, don't like gingerbread. I LOVE gingerbread. I cannot tell you how many pans of it never made it out to the table in one piece, because I was nibbling it in the kitchen. With lemon sauce, or butter, or plain. This cake stands on its own. If you like the spicing. And it's easy. It really is.

You should get your liquid ingredients together first. Those are a cup of molasses (he calls for light molasses. I've never found that. So I either use plain, organic molasses, or I cut it , half and half with honey), a cup of vegetable oil, and a cup of plain white sugar. Mix all of this together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine two cups of flour, a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon, a half teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper, a pinch of salt, and a half teaspoon of ground cloves (I play with the spices in this cake, and I kick them up. For example, tonight I used allspice). Then, peel your ginger with as sharp a knife as you have, and then grind it in a food processor (The original recipe calls for cutting it finely with a knife. My skills aren't that good, and I'm not that patient, so I use the machine). Have two eggs ready, and also two teaspoons of baking soda. Finally have a cup of boiling water ready as well, and have your oven set to 350.

Line the bottom of a nine inch pan with parchment paper. You don't need to grease the pan, because of all the oil. Put the baking soda into the boiling water and watch it bubble up, then pour all of that into the molasses mixture and stir it to uniform consistency in color . It will take a few minutes. Then pour all of that into the flour, and stir it all together, with a few strokes, until it's evenly colored and blended. Now stir in the ginger, and then the eggs, one at a time. Pour all of this into the nine inch pan.

Now, my favorite part. Italian "prune plums" are in season, and they're nice and firm enough for this cake. Cut the plums in half and distribute them around the cake in an even ring, and then add some more, to fill in the center. Move all of this onto a baking sheet, and bake for at least an hour.

Without the fruit, an hour is enough time for this cake, all the time. With the fruit, you may need more. If it's a question of a really soft cake, bake it for another fifteen minutes, but if it looks "almost done," like just a little wiggly in the center, turn off the oven, and let the cake sit in there for another ten minutes. That should do it. Run the back of your knife around the cake, so it's loosened, and then let it cool.

I have never refrigerated this cake, and I never will. I have also never had it go bad on me. It's really good for someone who likes ginger, and who likes fruit. Who doesn't.

Thanks David