Missions of Love

Here is the first in what I hope to be a series of Haitian Recipes.  I have several “How To Cook A Goat” Recipes to include in here too!

Haitian Gingerbread – Bonbon Jenjanm

4 cups syrup:  2 cups molasses and 2 cups dark Karo syrup – use more molasses for a stronger flavor

3 tsp. cinnamon

3 tsp. graded fresh ginger – heaping

½ tsp. baking soda

7 cups flour – divided

2 Tbsp. peanut butter – heaping

1 tsp. butter

With a dough hook attached to your stand mixer, pour in syrup, ginger, butter and peanut butter.  Mix until smooth.  While that is mixing, stir together in a large bowl, 6 cups of the flour (reserving one cup) with the cinnamon and baking soda.

SLOWLY add the flour mixture into the syrup mixture.  This will take a fair bit of time to get all the flour worked in.  Scrape the sides of the bowl with a large spatula.  When the mixture is smooth, continue to add in the last cup of flour.  If your mixer has trouble you may need to mix in the rest of the flour by hand.  You will have a very thick, very sticky batter.

Grease two 9 X 13 pans.  Pour half of mixture into each pan and smooth down the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.  Metal pans have a tendency to brown quicker around the outside edge.