Gingerbread
Irish cakes without borders
Gingerbread in Ireland has a rich, though often understated, presence in Irish baking history. It represents a fusion of imported spices with local baking traditions, evolving from both English, European, and American baking. It is an Irish cake without borders.
Though ginger first arrived in Ireland in the medieval period through trade, it was not until the 17th century that gingerbread cakes (and biscuits) became common festive, or market-day treats in Irish towns. Early gingerbreads were often treacle-based, dense, and used for fairs or religious feast days. Irish bakers adapted English-style gingerbread cakes, especially in areas with strong Anglo-Irish or urban culinary influences.
In the 1600s, English gingerbread was more akin to a spiced confection than the soft cakes we know today. A typical recipe involved boiling honey and mixing it with breadcrumbs and spices like ginger, cinnamon, and sometimes sandalwood for colour. This mixture was then pressed into moulds and left to harden. As well a festive treat, such gingerbread was often used medicinally.
Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747) includes a gingerbread recipe that brings us closer to modern Irish versions. Her recipe called for flour, sugar, butter, treacle, cream, and spices like ginger and nutmeg. The ingredients were mixed into a stiff dough, rolled out, and baked. In American Cookery (1796), Amelia Simmons provided several gingerbread recipes. One notable version used molasses, flour, butter, eggs, and a blend of spices, resulting in a soft, moist cake. This adaptation reflects the American preference for a cake-like gingerbread, influenced by available ingredients like molasses. The contrast in these historical recipes highlight the evolution of gingerbread from a dense, spiced confection to the softer cakes that we enjoy today in Ireland.
With increased access in the 19th Century to molasses, treacle, and spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves), gingerbread cake recipes became popular in Irish domestic cookery. The Industrial Revolution and rise of middle-class domestic baking meant gingerbread became more accessible and often featured in cookbooks and newspaper recipe columns. Practical Cookery and Domestic Economy (1856) by Elizabeth Hall includes a more cake like gingerbread.
In 20th century Ireland, gingerbread played a cultural role at teatime, and especially on Sundays as a sweet treat. The cake was also made for harvest and autumn fairs in rural communities and was common during winter or Christmas, often spiced more richly in festive versions and perhaps a little closer to Christmas cake.
In terms of Irish food memories and nostalgia, gingerbread cake often appears in memoirs and fiction as a symbol of homely warmth and maternal care. The short story “Gingerbread” by Betty Wahl Powers (1950) published in The New Yorker offers a poignant glimpse into Irish domestic life and the role of the gingerbread. While Wahl was American, she spent significant time in Ireland, and her writings often reflect Irish settings and sensibilities. In “Gingerbread” the titular treat serves as a symbol of comfort and tradition amidst the complexities of family dynamics. The story captures the nuances of everyday life, where something as simple as baking gingerbread can evoke deep emotional resonance, bringing people together.
In terms of mid-century Irish cookbooks, All in the Cooking (1946) includes a gingerbread recipe (198), taught to girls in domestic science classes across Ireland. Maura Laverty’s Full and Plenty (1960) contains a gingerbread recipe featuring treacle and spices. Laverty’s writing frames gingerbread as a comforting, everyday cake suitable for tea.
In the 21st century, there have been a modern revival of gingerbread. Artisan bakeries, chefs, and restaurants in Ireland have both revived interest in gingerbread cake. Contemporary recipes incudes the use of stout, while in restaurants gingerbread has features as a dessert paired with elements like whiskey caramel sauce and poached pears.
Presently in Ireland, gingerbread is seen as a literal treat and a symbol of Irish heritage baking, enriching stories of Irish food with its connotations of warmth, nostalgia, and the complexities of human experience beyond geographical borders.
What are your memoires of Gingerbread?
Jp
29th May, 2025.
Ginger biscuits were always very hard and we would usually dip them in hot tea to save our teeth!
One of my mother’s aunts used it instead of sponge at the bottom of a trifle. Tinned apricots also featured if I recall correctly.