new year, new blog - and chocolate stout ginger cake

i would be lying if i said that this year didn't knock me flat.

somehow within these twelve months, there have been two apartments, three countries, more than a thousand photographs in pixels and film, eight airplanes, breakups, makeups, makeouts, many goodbyes, oceans and deserts, hundreds of cups of coffee and text messages and hours worked.

this is a familiar story, of not having enough. not enough time to divide among too many places and obligations, pages to read, words to write. not enough time to spend time working, to scrape by after bills and rent with enough to remain at equilibrium.

so this year, the new blog will be about food. it will be about trying to have it all - about eating healthily, about the pleasure of making and consuming small things from nothing, about buying food ethically, about being conscientious and taking care.

oh, and of course, about spending as close to nothing in the process.

sometimes it's too tempting to want to crumple and give up. but when that's not an option, what do you do? you make do. you make it work. you make cake.

Chocolate Stout Ginger Cake

[adapted from the Sassy Radish]

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups stout
1 1/8 cups molasses
1/2 tbsp baking soda
3 large eggs
1/8 cup dark cocoa powder, plus an extra pinch
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp grated, peeled fresh ginger


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt pan with dark cocoa powder to avoid having white specks on your cake.

Mix stout with molasses over high heat. Bring to a boil, remove, and add baking soda. Mixture will bubble, so do this first to give it time to settle and cool.

Beat together eggs, brown sugar, white sugar. Add oil.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, spices, baking powder) in a separate bowl.

Whisk the stout mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients.

Add the egg/sugar mixture, and ginger.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick come out clean.