Fiction-Food Café: Gingerbread

Tara Sim's debut young adult novel TimeKeeper is one of my favorite reads of 2016! It's a Victorian London fantasy with clock spirits and boys' romance, and I'm over the moon about it and can't wait for book 2. There's a lot of food and drink mentioned in the book (haha, a lot of it being tea and pints), and a couple of instances that stood out to me were when gingerbread was mentioned, because it was in a nostalgic/meaningful family context for the main character, Danny.

In the kitchen, a square of gingerbread wrapped in a cloth sat waiting on the table.
"You can't eat all of it," his mother scolded from the past, even as he had grabbed for it with the small greedy hands of a child. "Save some for after supper."
But then she would turn from cooking and find his face sticky with crumbs and the gingerbread completely gone, and she'd laugh helplessly.
The echo of laughter faded until the kitchen was silent and cold. He touched the edges of the cloth.
Nothing was ever simple.

–TimeKeeper by Tara Sim

(TimeKeeper character cards with art by Vasira)

Gingerbread

Ingredients:
Gingerbread
1 3/4 Cup Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 tsp. Ground Ginger
1 1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/4 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/3 Cup Butter
2/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Molasses
1/4 Cup Honey
3/4 Cup Hot Water or Hot Apple Cider/Juice
1 Egg
1/3 Cup Crystalized/Candied Ginger, minced (optional)
Drizzle (optional)
12 oz. Soft Cream Cheese
1 1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
1/2 Cup milk
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Gold & Silver Sprinkles (optional)

Directions:
1. Gingerbread: Pre-heat your oven to 350ºF, & grease & flour a 9" baking pan. Whisk together the flour, baking powder & baking soda, plus the spices & salt.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter & then add in the brown sugar & blend until fluffy. Beat in the molasses & honey. Slowly pour in the hot water or cider/juice & blend until smooth. Add in the egg until fully combined, & then stir in the dry mixture in increments.
3. Pour the mixture evenly into the pan & bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let cool & sift powdered sugar on top, or top with the creamy drizzle topping below.
4. Drizzle (optional): Mix the cream cheese on high & then turn to low & add in the sifted powdered sugar, turning up to high & mixing until smooth. Add the lemon juice & milk on low & then high again until well combined. Adjust the measurements to get your desired consistency (more milk for thinner, more powdered sugar for thicker). Pour onto gingerbread in pan, or on individual pieces. Optionally top with sprinkles.