Old Fashioned Maritime Gingerbread

This old fashioned gingerbread is the kind of simple, one-bowl cake that quietly makes the whole house smell amazing. It bakes up soft, dark, and nicely spiced, with a flavour that feels like it’s been on Canadian tables for generations. It’s as comfortable in a city apartment oven as it is in a woodstove-warmed kitchen on a tiny New Brunswick island, sliced thick after coming in from the cold.

This is the kind of gingerbread that shows up on church-basement dessert tables, at the Irving Big Stop, and at your granny’s potlucks: dark with molasses, tender enough to eat with a spoon, and simple enough to stir together in one bowl. Our Gingerbread Spice+Sugar keeps the ginger and warm spices are balanced, giving you even less work to get that homey flavour.

Ingredients notes

• Gingerbread Spice+Sugar: Our blend of ginger and warming spices comes in both Spice+Sugar and sugar-free versions. Use a little less if you’re using the sugar-free blend, since it delivers an even bigger punch of gingerbread flavour.
• Molasses: Lex always grabs Crosby’s Fancy Molasses for this—she’s a Saint John girl after all. It’s a classic East Coast choice and brings deep caramel, a little bitterness, and that unmistakable gingerbread aroma.
• Brown sugar: Doubles down on the toffee notes and helps keep the crumb moist.
• Boiling water: Hydrates the flour and activates the baking soda for a tender, almost pudding-like crumb.
• Baking soda: Together, the boiling water and baking soda do the old-school magic trick, loosening the batter so it bakes up soft and light instead of dense and stodgy. Remember—baking soda, not baking powder, for this one.
  

Texture, flavour and serving

Baked in an 8‑inch square, this gingerbread rises high with a fine, velvety crumb and a gently domed top that springs back when touched. The flavour skews more “gingerbread cake” than “gingersnap”: soft spice, rounded sweetness, and molasses depth rather than a sharp ginger burn. Serve it warm in big squares with lightly sweetened whipped cream, a spoonful of vanilla ice cream, or a drizzle of lemon or orange sauce if you like that bright, old-school contrast. For breakfast or brunch, Lex will settle down for a bit of gingerbread with her coffee, crown it with yogurt, and dust over a little extra Gingerbread Spice+Sugar for crunch.

Tips, swaps and make-ahead

• Pan prep: Grease and flour the pan well, or line with parchment so you can lift out cleanly for neat squares.
• Spice level: For a bolder, more grown-up spice profile, you can add an extra teaspoon of Gingerbread Spice+Sugar to the batter, or finish warm slices with a light sprinkle over top.
• Molasses: You can use any molasses you like, but avoid blackstrap. It's not as sweet and definitely more bitter. 
• Make ahead: The flavour actually deepens by the next day. To store, wrap the cooled cake well and store at room temperature, then warm individual pieces in a low oven just before serving. Or serve cold. Lex loves them on a picnic.