Gingerbread With Raisins And Ginger Bits Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour an 8" square pan. Grease a piece of parchment paper to place inside the bottom of the pan and dust that, too, with flour.

Place the raisins and water in a small pot, cover it, and heat until it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and set this aside so the raisins absorb the liquid and plump up. (I had to pour off just a drop of water before mixing the raisins in.)

In another small pot heat the butter and molasses together over a low heat to melt them together. Pour this mixture into a mixer with the paddle attachment and let it cool for at least five minutes - prepare your dry ingredients while this one cools.

Mix in the sour cream and orange zest.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt into a bowl. Gently mix this together with your fingers just to blend.

Slowly add this mixture into the molasses mix and process just until incorporated.

Drain the raisins and add them and the crystalized ginger into the mix and stir in with a spatula so they don't get broken up.

Pour this batter into the pan and bake about 35 minutes, until a tester comes out dry.

Set this aside to cool for a few minutes on a rack and then flip out onto cooling racks - rightside up. Let cool completely before adding the glaze.

When the cake is cooled mix together the orange juice and confectioners' sugar. I found letting this set a moment let it thicken a bit. Pour this over the top of the cake and drizzle down the sides.

When this sets up cut the cake into 9ths and serve.

Yes - some whipped cream would be wonderful or some ice cream wouldn't hurt, either!