Gingerbread Tea Cake

Great for a ladies' brunch or luncheon or just a breakfast/dessert! Sprinkle with edible flowers! (For a broader gender audience, add a cinnammon stick, pecans, chunks of gingerbread snaps for garnish instead. Can be iced with cream cheese or pecan flavoured icing...see some of my icing recipes! Allow about an hour for cooling time.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 35

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup butter
• 2  eggs
• 2 1⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1  teaspoon ground ginger
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
• 1  cup  mild-flavored molasses
• 1 1⁄4 cups cold water
•  powdered sugar
•  fresh edible flower (optional)

Directions

1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cloves; set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until well combined. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add molasses; beat until well combined. Alternately add flour mixture and water to butter mixture; beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Serve warm sprinkled with powdered sugar and garnished with edible flowers, if you like.