Molasses Layer Cake

I made some gingerbread today (without ginger) and the Wengers were over for pinochle tonite.  Are using red sugar now - sort of like molasses in our cooking and baking - its much cheaper.  Have certainly cut down on our cakes - haven't had a pie for months.  - Annette, April 1943

I have always loved gingerbread.  It breaks my heart a little that we consider it a 'seasonal' flavor, because I could eat gingerbread any day of the week.  My dad loved ginger snaps, and anything molasses-based.  I wonder if his love of molasses came from Annette.  Many of her recipes use molasses - perhaps, because it was cheaper and easier to acquire in China.  Maybe she continued to bake with molasses once they were stateside.  In honor of Father's Day today, I baked this Molasses Layer Cake from his mother's recipe.  I wonder if he grew up eating this very same cake.

Once again, Annette's recipe is not the most forthcoming.  I made a small adjustment with the amount of butter - the entire cake only used 2T!  I doubled that amount, to better facilitate creaming the butter and sugar.  I'm guessing the baking soda dissolved in buttermilk gives it lift while adding a bit more fat.  I baked the cakes at 350degrees for 30min, then turned off the oven and let the cakes sit for another 4 minutes.  After 2 minutes of resting in the pans, I turned them out onto a wire rack, then let them cool completely.  The cakes are so tender and fluffy.  I made a quick Cinnamon Buttercream Icing, to compliment the cinnamon in the cake.  Recipe and photos below!

Molasses Layer Cake

1 cup sugar

2 tablesp butter (I used 4T - half a stick)

2 eggs

1 teasp cinnamon

1 teasp soda diss. in 1 cup sour milk

1 cup molasses

2 1/2 cups flour

Cream together butter + sugar.  add eggs and molasses and flour + milk alternately.  Bake in 2 layers.

Standard ingredients shot. I added a bit of salt to the batter, just to balance the molasses sweetness.

Pans greased and floured.

Baking soda - buttermilk mixture. I love that it used to be called ‘sour milk’!

I added the cinnamon to the dry ingredients for more even incorporation.

Go mixer go!

Batter evenly spread between the two prepared pans.

The cakes were so light and delicate, but packed with big molasses flavor.

Cinnamon buttercream to finish it off! Yum!