Boys of Cooking

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°. Line bottom of 9-inch round cake pan with 3-inch sides or 9½-inch spring form pan with parchment paper.

Mix together

1 cup mild molasses

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut or vegetable oil

In another bowl, sift together

2½ cups flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

In a small saucepan, combine

1 cup boiling water

2 teaspoons baking soda

Stir. Mix the hot water into the molasses mixture. Stir in

4 ounces fresh ginger, peeled sliced and finely chopped

Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into batter. Add

2 eggs, at room temperature

and continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into prepared cake pan, and bake for about one hour, until top of cake springs back lightly when pressed or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. If the top of the cake browns too quickly before cake is done, drape a piece of foil over it and continue baking.

Cool cake for at least 30 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen it from pan. Invert cake onto a cooling rack, and peel off parchment paper.

  Peel ginger with a potato peeler. Slice finely across the grain before chopping into smaller pieces so you don’t end up with any long threads in the cake.

Adapted from The New York Times (from Room for Dessert by David Lebovitz)