Plantain Gingerbread
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I chose to make this recipe, but it wasn't what I got. What this produced was a heavy molasses bread, with barely any hints of ginger, and starchy, unappetizing plantain slices at the bottom. The plantain not only failed to add flavor - and truth be told, it'd be hard to compete with the molasses - but the starchy texture was very unpleasant. I cut them off. The bread itself was just too heavy. The flavor was pleasant, if you like molasses, which I do, but not particularly exciting. It's an old fashioned bread and probably best left to history.
I followed the recipe closely, but one plantain was enough. I also had to double the milk to get anything resembling a batter.
Plantain Gingerbread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large plantains, sliced into rounds
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup dark molasses
- 4 1/2 Tbsp butter, plus more for greasing pan
- 2 cups milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a loaf pan.
Place sugar, water and vanilla extract in a heavy saucepan. Heat over medium heat and add the plantain slices. Cook until the plantain rounds are tender.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and salt. Seat aside.
Heat butter and molasses in a medium saucepan over medium heat until just boiling, stirring to combine. Turn heat down to low and gradually whisk in the flour mixture and the milk, alternating between them. Beat until smooth, turn off heat and seat aside.
Layer plantain rounds at the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Pour flour mix on top. Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the middle comes out clean.
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Adapted from a recipe in Tami Hultman's The African News Cookbook
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