The Most Unlikely of Places - Gramercy Tavern's Gingerbread

What inspires us? It can be the smallest of things that triggers a memory or sparks an idea. I love writing for the blog, coming up with ideas and stories that are hopefully meaningful and thoughtful each week. I am intrigued by Stephen King's observations on writing. He writes his inspiration comes from an amalgam of ideas. But the key to writing is putting those disparate ideas together to make a cohesive story.

As a kid, I loved to play the computer game Tetris. In it, you slowly rearranged different shapes to make a pattern and watched them satisfyingly disappear from the screen. And like that, writing is about putting together words to create a compelling story.

Before Poet and Flower were born, which now seems like eons ago, we had dinner with friends before Christmas. We walked into their home to find the heady smell of gingerbread. It was like no other, warmly inviting and thoroughly of the season. Over wine and dinner, we talked about plans and the future. And for dessert, our friend had made this amazing gingerbread cake. It was dark, decadent, and dusted with just a small amount of confectioners sugar like light snow. The cake was marvelous, dark, rich, and not like any other. The gingerbread was filled with molasses, dark oatmeal stout, and spices.

My friend described how the recipe came from one of her favorite food blogs. And now one of mine, Smitten Kitchen. Deb writes about food, how she makes it her own. I love how her writing is enthusiastic and honest. This particular recipe came from Claudia Fleming while she was at the Gramercy Tavern in New York City. It was one of my first introductions to food blogs and how writing and food can come so marvelously together.

I continue to enjoy reading Deb's writing and that of other great bloggers. The gingerbread has become one of our favorites, replacing apple pie as our traditional Thanksgiving dessert. My mother would disapprove as apple pie was her absolute favorite, but I'd like to think I could win her over with the gingerbread. It's a wonderful dessert for the season.

As I made this cake over the holidays and other celebrations, it slowly dawned on me that I, too, have a story to tell—that of my family, my mother's food, and how food and life are ultimately intertwined. And so Poet and Flower r came to be. Inspiration comes from the most unlikely of places.

Gramercy Tavern's Gingerbread

This is a gingerbread like no other from the Gramercy Tavern. Molasses and oatmeal stout give it a rich and deep flavor. It will leave you wanting more.

Serves 8

From The Last Course by Claudia Fleming

• 1 cup oatmeal stout
• 1 cup dark molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch of ground cardamom
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• Confectioners sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a bundt pan. Be generous. You really want to get the corners as this cake tends to stick.
2. In a medium saucepan bring molasses and stout to a boil. Turn off heat and whisk in baking powder. Let cool to room temperature.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Whisk in oil, then the molasses mixture. Add to flour mixture and whisk until it is just combined.
4. Pour into bundt pan. Give the pan a few raps on the counter to get rid of any air bubble. Bake approximately 50 minutes until the a cake tester comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for five minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely.
5. Serve dusted with confectioner's sugar and whipped cream.