Gingerbread with Cheesecake Layer

February Theme: Indulgence.



I'm taking a little break from the policy theme (which I attempt to connect my recipes to, however tangentially) for the month of February to focus on a very important quality of food: richness.



I love gingerbread, and this recipe allows you to eat it in soft, brownie-esqe form. To up the richness ante, these have a layer of cream cheese in the middle, which actually ends up seeming very crucial as it counter-balances the spiciness of the gingerbread. Delicious.



One note: the recipe calls for very hot water of 190 degrees F; I didn't take the temperature of the water I used, but microwaved it to about the temperature that you would for tea.

Gingerbread with Cheesecake Layer
Serves 6 to 8
Slightly adapted from The Splendid Table

Cheesecake Mixture
1 egg
4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 C sugar
2 t lemon juice
1/2 t vanilla extract
Gingerbread
2 C less 2 T unbleached all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
Generous 1/2 t salt
1 T ground ginger
3/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t cardamom
6 T unsalted butter, melted
3/4 C dark molasses
3/4 C very hot water (190 degrees F)
1/3 C packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg

1. Before starting the gingerbread, make the cheese mixture. Beat together the egg, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square light-colored metal or ceramic baking pan.

3. Make the gingerbread. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, molasses, hot water, and brown sugar. When the mixture is almost frothy, beat in the egg, and gradually add the flour blend. Stir until thoroughly blended, but no more.

4. Pour half of the gingerbread batter into the pan. Drop spoonfuls of the cheese mixture over the batter. Then cover with the remaining gingerbread mix. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

5. For a moist gingerbread, cool it in the pan on a wire rack. For a drier consistency, cool the gingerbread in the pan for 10 minutes; then turn it out of the pan and set it on the rack to cool.