I’ve been thinking about gingerbread. From the weather fully dropping into the 30’s and 40’s and a host of Christmas products entering the cooking store, it has felt like the holidays already. My family also loves gingerbread, and I have fond memories of pouring hot chocolate fudge on top of fresh cake on Christmas. The combination of ginger and chocolate is classic and delicious. So, I decided to make chocolate covered gingerbread this week.

Chocolate Covered Gingerbread

I’ve been deep in the land of painting, taking on multiple art commissions. They always seem to come to me right before the holidays. My mom was on vacation, which was wonderful, and we watched movies, went out to eat, and visited the last farmers market of the season. Toy Story 5 was a big hit. On Tuesday we went out for lunch at a sports bar where a charming older woman worked the crowd of afternoon diners like a comedy show. We watched as she teased her regulars and we ate wraps with French fries.

I worked Wednesday and felt off. A little down in the dumps for no reason, and for the first time, slightly impatient with the rigamarole of working in retail. I got through it alright and came home to make burgers on the grill as the sun was setting. Probably for the last time this year. Then, we watched Survivor, as always, and I was too exhausted to sleep. So I caught up on some TV shows in bed and lit my favorite gingerbread candle. I drifted off to British accents and upbeat background music and slept like a rock.

The Last Farmers Market

Thursday was great. A little bittersweet, though. My mom and I visited the very last farmers market of the year. We bought chicken soup and mozied home for lunch. Then, I dove back into painting. I wanted to get started on my recipe, but my body was weary. So I decided to take it easy and relax. Painting made me quite tired, too. So I slept off the long week in the afternoon and dreamed of next summer. The excitement of the farmers market starting. Dogs playing in the grass. My bag is filled with fresh tomatoes and scallions.

I went to work Friday well-rested, thankfully. And I spent most of the shift organizing our new Christmas merchandise. A whole shelf of chocolate oranges, mince pies, and other imported British delicacies. I studied the Christmas crackers with curiosity and planned my purchases for December. Biscoff chocolate balls and my favorite – hobnobs. We were immersed in Christmas linens, Rudolph mugs, cookie cutters, and ornaments all day. So it felt like Christmas. Unwrapping each item to display reminded me of decorating our Christmas tree.

My Favorite New Pan

My favorite Christmas treat is gingerbread. It’s always been special to me and my family. My mom used to send me to buy lemon-glazed gingerbread tea cakes for her each week. My grandmother once gifted me chocolate covered gingerbread truffles and I still dream of them. And I’ve made gingerbread many times. Swiss rolls, layered cakes, and gingerbread cookies. This time I wanted to go classic since I haven’t eaten it in a while. Tender gingerbread cake baked in a square pan. Molasses thinned with baking soda and hot water. But I decided to chef it up a little bit.

I started the recipe on Sunday morning. I woke up refreshed and incredibly excited to make breakfast. Because I bought a new sauté pan at work – one that I’ve obsessed over and dreamed of for months now. I was going to save it for Christmas, but after driving myself silly with all the painting I’ve been doing, I decided to treat myself. The light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a Hestan pan. Titanium, beautifully designed, and virtually indestructible. Like the Ferrari of pots and pans.

Ginger, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Cloves

Somehow I forgot about it when I woke up, but I caught a glimpse of the light reflecting off it on my way into the kitchen. Visions of eggs and toast flashed through my head. So I put my chocolate covered gingerbread on hold to test it out. My new favorite toy. I made a French omelette and toasted some seriously delicious milk bread in olive oil. It was heavenly. And once the afternoon rolled around, I started my baking project. Collecting all of the warm fall spices, molasses, and fresh ginger I could find.

I made one tweak to the recipe – I decided to infuse the butter with the spices to wake them up. Brown butter, of course. I let it cool until it was spreadable again. An amber-brown speckled butter that smelled of ginger and cinnamon. Then, I broke out the stand mixer. It was a simple process, really. I forgot how easy it is to make. All it took was creaming the brown butter with brown sugar, adding eggs and vanilla, and then measuring dry ingredients and molasses.

Molasses Magic

I love when I get to mix molasses with baking soda and hot water. It goes from the most sticky substance on earth to pure silk. In a flash I had a beautiful thick cake batter tinted with red-orange and brown. The scent was nostalgic and warm and made me so excited to scoop it all out and spread it into the baking pan. I washed my new Hestan pan, which was a breeze, along with a host of other measuring cups, bowls, and spoons. And I waited impatiently for the cake to bake as the familiar scent poured out of the oven.

Much better than a candle. Finally, when it was done, I let it cook on the counter and took several sniffs. The cake had darkened into that beautiful deep-orange gingerbread color and I couldn’t wait to try it. So, before taking a short nap, I cut off a corner piece and studied the texture. Tender and fluffy. I could even see small specks of spices and flecks of shredded ginger in the crumb. I took a few bites and it immediately woke up my palate. Slightly spicy. Warm. Comforting. That beautiful dark molasses flavor and fresh gingery brown butter.

Chocolate Ganache

It was difficult to put it down. But I still had one step to go to turn it into chocolate covered gingerbread. I decided to use my new pan again to melt a dark chocolate bar. At first I contemplated making a ganache and whipping it. Dolloping it on top like whipped cream. And infusing it with more ginger or cinnamon. But after all the chocolate I handled at work this week I was craving something simple and rich. All I did was melt it and spoon it on the gingerbread, generously.

Part of me worried that it would mask the flavor of the cake. That it would drown out the spices and overpower the brown butter. But it accentuated it all. The flavor came alive even more and the warm chocolate sauce dripped nonchalantly over the squares. It was too dark outside to photograph. One thing I’m not looking forward to about Winter. So I finished the next day.

And I enjoyed a warm, toasted piece of cake for breakfast. It tasted so good that I kicked myself a little for not making it sooner. I almost wondered if it was too early to get into holiday recipes, but I’m so glad I did. Now that my work load has lightened a little, I’m looking forward to indulging in chocolate covered gingerbread, catching up on TV, and exploring the Maine fall.

Maine Autumn

I can’t begin to describe how beautiful the vibrant orange and yellow leaves are. Maybe I’ll go for a drive. To a cold beach or through a slow, woody road. I feel so lucky lately. Life is not perfect but it’s good. Simple. And to me, simple is perfect.

Thank you for reading! Be sure to check out my Etsy shop for 100’s of art prints and watercolor recipe cards. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off. Have a great week!

Print Pin

Chocolate Covered Gingerbread

A spicy and rich gingerbread cake covered in dark chocolate

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cake, chocolate, ginger, gingerbread

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 9

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 cups AP flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup boiling coffee
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 12 oz dark chocolate

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Cook butter until browned and add spices and grated ginger.
• Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl.
• In a stand mixer, beat together the cooled butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs.
• In another bowl combine molasses and baking soda and add boiling coffee while whisking.
• Alternate adding the molasses mixture and the flour mixture to the egg mixture combined.
• Bake in an 8×8 pan for about 25-30 minutes. Let cool and cut into 9 cubes.
• Melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave-safe dish.
• Spoon a generous dollop of chocolate on each slice of gingerbread and serve.

Notes

• I use 71% dark chocolate for my gingerbread, but feel free to use whichever darkness you like!
• You can cut the gingerbread smaller if you prefer. I chose to cut pretty large squares so the serving size is listed as 9.