I've got a great passion for background and also have. I frequently like to find out about food from past occasions too, and so i was happy to find this recipe that Mary Washington designed for both her boy, George, as well as General Lafayette. Gingerbread is among the happy traditions we have stored today.
Studying through Mary's recipe helped me instantly hungry. Adding the orange within the gingerbread is brilliant. Like a prepare, I figured it quite interesting to determine the couple of variations in method. For instance, the "soda" is dissolved in water prior to it being stirred in to the batter. I suppose their sodium bicarbonate was quite different than ours. She also mentions that raisins create a "good addition", something Irrrve never might have considered putting into my gingerbread.
Mary Washington's Gingerbread recipe:
"Chop up inside a pan 1/2 cup of nice sweet butter with 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Beat to some cream having a paddle. Add 1 cup of the extremely best India molasses and 1/2 cup of warm milk. For this add 2 teaspoons of finely powdered ginger root and 1 heaping teaspoon of cinnamon, mace and nutmeg (powdered and mixed), and 1 wine glass of brandy.
Beat 3 eggs till very light and thick, 3 glasses of flour and 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar sifted using the flour and stirred alternately using the beaten eggs in to the batter. Last, add the juice and grated rind of just one large, ripe orange. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of soda inside a little tepid to warm water and stir in. Beat until very light. A mug of large seeded raisins is a great addition. Bake inside a moderate oven until done. Serve with brandy or lemon sauce."
Source: Naturally Scrumptious Desserts and Snacks by Faye Martin, printed 1978 by Rodale Press, Corporation.
If you want to do this recipe, I found this recipe with increased modern instructions here. I'm thinking about giving it a go myself. It may sound so scrumptious!