Good Eats from Helen, Danielle, &
Brenda of the SHMM Education Department
Saturday, December 1st, was a wonderful day on
the grounds of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and a great start of the holiday
season. We hope those of you who visited
Eliza’s kitchen at the Woodland Home had as much fun sampling our holiday goodies
as Danielle, Brenda, and I had making and serving them. Several people have requested the recipes for
the gingerbread which is an old traditional dessert. According to several sources, gingerbread was
served to General Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, a French military
hero who fought with and significantly aided the American Army during the
American Revolutionary War.
Two recipes were served in the kitchen the first is Best
Ever Gingerbread submitted by Charlene Peck from a local cookbook and the
other, The General’s Gingerbread by Doris C. Schulte.
Best Ever Gingerbread
¾ cup molasses
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup melted butter
2 eggs
2½ cups flour
2 teaspoons soda
¾ teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cloves and nutmeg
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup boiling water
Mix sugar, butter and molasses;
add beaten eggs. Sift dry ingredients
together and add to mixture. Add boiling
water. Bake at 350° in 9 x 13-inch pan for 25-30
minutes. Take out of oven, split and
butter.
The General’s Gingerbread by Doris C. Schulte
“In central and western Tennessee, sorghum is
an important field crop used for silage (green fodder stored in a silo) and for
making sorghum molasses. Sorghum was
grown at the Hermitage, which consisted of 1,050 acres at the time of Andrew
Jackson’s death in 1845. Sorghum
molasses was and still is used as a sweetener on cereal and pancakes, in
beverages, and in cooking.
Our gingerbread recipe, or ‘receipt’ as it
was called then, is one hundred sixty years old and thus was used while Jackson
was still alive. It calls for sorghum
molasses and is a very dark, spicy cake.
We call it the General’s Gingerbread in honor of our seventh president.”
¼ cup shortening
½ cup sugar
½ cup sorghum or other type of
molasses
1 egg
1½ cup flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 350° F. In large bowl, cream together the shortening
and sugar. Add the molasses and
egg. Beat thoroughly. Sift the flour and add the baking soda and
spices and sift again. Gradually add the
flour to the first mixture, alternating it with the buttermilk. Beat well until the batter is thoroughly
blended. Grease and flour the baking pan (8 by 8 by 2-inch), then pour the
batter into the pan. Bake the cake for
30 minutes. Cut it into squares and
serve it either warm or cold.
Both gingerbreads
were wonderful but Danielle and I agreed The General’s Gingerbread had a more traditional
old fashioned flavor and our favorite.
A good lemon sauce
or a rum sauce is fantastic served with a dollop of whipped cream on a square
of warm gingerbread. Yum!
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We have served the same wassail in the kitchen the last
two years and really like it.
Mrs. Fantroy's Hot Wassail
3 oranges
3 lemons
1 ounce cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon allspice
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 gallon sweet apple cider
Squeeze the juice from the
oranges and lemons, and reserve. Place rinds and spices in a saucepan. Add the
water, cover, and simmer 2 1/2 hours.
Strain the liquid and pour over the sugar. Add the fruit juices and apple cider. Heat almost to boiling, but do not boil. Serve very hot.
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The Education Staff of the
Sam Houston Memorial Museum wishes everyone a wonderful holiday season and good
eating!
