Warm gingerbread cake with crème anglaise

Whisk the dry ingredients together: flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, fine sea salt and leavener.

Whisk 1 cup warm water with the molasses until the molasses dissolves into one uniform mixture.

Rub the zest of one orange into half a cup of granulated sugar with your fingers to release its oils.

In a stand mixer with the paddle, loosen 1 stick unsalted butter, add the orange sugar and fresh ginger, and cream until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes, scraping the bowl before it is done.

Add 1 large egg and the vanilla and mix on medium speed until incorporated; scrape the bowl well.

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and the water-molasses mixture alternately, about half at a time, until fully incorporated; scrape the bottom so no butter is left unmixed.

Pour into a greased 9 by 9 pan and spread into an even layer with an offset spatula. Sprinkle a layer of turbinado sugar over the top.

Bake at 350 until a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, about 35 to 40 minutes.

For the crème anglaise, put the milk and cream in a pot with half the sugar, which helps prevent scalding, a little fine sea salt, and the scraped seeds of one vanilla bean, plus the pod if you like.

Bring to a simmer without much stirring. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar in a heat-safe bowl, not too far ahead, since the sugar draws moisture from the yolks and turns them clumpy.

Whisk a portion of the hot milk into the yolks to bring them up in temperature, then pour the mixture back into the pot, whisking constantly.

Switch to a silicone spatula and cook over lower heat, moving in figure eights and scraping the bottom and sides, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; it thickens further as it cools.

Strain into a container set in an ice bath to remove any cooked egg and the vanilla pod, and cool quickly. Alternatively strain onto a baking sheet and cover directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin.

Let the cake cool 5 to 10 minutes, slice it warm and pour the chilled crème anglaise over.