Chocolate-Swirl Gingerbread

A week is up! In my Not Your Everyday Cucumber Sandwich post, I mentioned trying out at least one new recipe every week. Yesterday I made a lasagna but it was more of a re-make of a previously blogged lasagna recipe. So what'll it be today? I found a beautiful recipe for exotic fruit gelées but need to pick up some ... exotic fruit. Or how about a chocolate-swirl gingerbread? OoOoooO I do have all the ingredients for that.... A friend of mine just posted this cozy quiche with an unconventional tart recipe that I'm itching to try.... After an hour of perusing cookbooks with my toasted peanut butter and Nutella topped English muffins, I decided to go with the chocolate-swirl gingerbread. The recipe is from Great Food Fast: From the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living (slight adaptations in parentheses).

Prep: 15 minutes     Total Time: 45 minutes

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups (unbleached) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten (I used an extra-large egg because I didn't have a large egg)
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled (I used semi-sweet because I didn't have bittersweet)

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter an 8-inch square pan (I like to use the butter wrapper). In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, ginger, baking powder, salt, pepper, and cloves.
2. Melt the butter in 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat (I used a glass bowl in the microwave), and stir the mixture into the dry ingredients until smooth. Stir in the molasses and lightly beaten egg (I re-used the glass bowl the butter was melted in, to beat the egg).
3. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. With a spoon, drizzle half the chocolate over the batter. Pour the remaining batter on top, and drizzle the remaining chocolate over the batter in a decorative pattern.
4. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.