Grasmere Gingerbread

Last night my wandering husband returned - which actually makes it sound a lot worse than it was given that he spent three weeks of long, long days working in the library rather than ... well, any other kind of wandering that one's husband might do.  One of the things he brought back for us was some gingerbread from Sarah Nelson's shop in Grasmere in the Lake District in Northern England.  Grasmere is one of those quaint towns filled with beautiful gardens and stone houses.

Grasmere, Lake District

Sarah Nelson began selling gingerbread in 1854 from her home in Grasmere in order to add to the family income. The gingerbread were a great success and have since become associated with Grasmere. 

Sarah Nelson's Gingerbread shop being sold at The Village School

The poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy lived in Grasmere in the early part of the nineteenth century and Dorothy recorded in her journal that they went to buy gingerbread - they had a choice of thick or thin and wanted to buy thick, but could only find thin. 

Can you believe my husband actually saw a lonely cloud when he was in Grasmere.

The gingerbread from Sarah Nelson's shop were nothing like any gingerbread I had tasted before.  They were thin and crumbly and almost like a very gingery shortbread rather than the customary thicker and softer and more cake-like gingerbread. 

They tasted amazing.  

I did some Googling to try and find the recipe (or something close to it).  It wasn't easy - not only because the recipe is a carefully guarded secret and is locked in a bank vault, but also because I needed to have the recipe in North American measurements.  I attempted to make them (twice), but mine really tasted nothing like the original.
If you want to give the ones I made a try here are my recipes.  Everyone really liked them and a few liked them better than the original (I think because they aren't huge ginger lovers).
Version#1Ingredients:1 cup (125 gm) flour (I used half whole wheat and half white)1 cup (125 gm) fine oatmeal (and since I didn't have this I used steel-cut oats which made it very crunchy)3/4 cup (125 gm) light brown sugar1 tbsp golden syrup (or honey)1 tsp minced ginger 1/4 tsp baking powder3/4 cup (150 gm) butter or margarine 
Method:1. Combine ingredients with a fork.2. Press lightly into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.3. Bake for 30 minutes at 325.4. Score the squares as soon as you take them out of the oven, but don't remove from the pan until they are cool.

Gingerbread Version #1

Version #2
Ingredients:



1 cup (125 gm) whole wheat flour 1 cup (125 gm) quick cooking oats 3/4 cup (125 gm) light brown sugar1 tbsp golden syrup (or honey)3 tsp minced ginger 1/4 tsp baking powder1/2 cup (150 gm) butter or margarine 




Method:1. Combine ingredients with a fork.2. Press lightly into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.3. Bake for 20 minutes at 325.4. Score the squares as soon as you take them out of the oven, but don't remove from the pan until they are cool.

Gingerbread Version #2

Neither of my versions are as gingery as the original.  You might also try here, here, and here for other recipes.  Anyone else like gingerbread?  It's one of those flavours that some people love and others are not so keen on.
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Oh, and in other news I'm making headway on the bedroom.  The minions even helped me at crucial moments - well actually son minion appears to be admiring the sunset rather than working.

The walls are painted, but I'm waiting to show you the room until I fix the bottom of the curtains, get a new light, and a new bed frame. In the meantime - here's a corner of the room.