Gingerbread for the Stout Hearted

So I texted son number 2 and asked him who makes a good stout. "Aaah... never mind," I texted back. "I see that Obsidian is a stout and it is a few pennies cheaper than this other stout." My choice was met with texting approval.
Son number one was impressed when he saw a bottle of the good stuff on my kitchen counter. And then I shocked him when I popped the top and poured half the bottle into a saucepan and brought it to a boil. If that was not hard enough on the dear boy he really went into shock when I added baking soda, brown sugar, and molasses to the hot stout. "NO! MOM, NO!!!!" Too late. I was on a quest to make the world's best gingerbread. I did not want that wimpy stuff that sinks in the middle or lacked strong, straight ginger zing. Oh no! If visions of gingerbread are going to dance in my head then I want the good stuff. I had my reasons for adding alkali baking soda to acidic beer, molasses, and sugar and I had my reasons for adding these taste boosters to my precious gingerbread. But I am sure you are much more interested in the final product than the science behind it. It took 2 batches to get a perfectly level, luscious, and tasty pan of gingerbread.
So here is the recipe. Be sure to serve it with a generous dollop of whipped cream. This is not a gingerbread for the faint of heart!

Gingerbread for the Stout Hearted

¾ cup stout

½ teaspoon baking soda

⅔ cup molasses

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1½ cup flour

2 tablespoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper

2 large eggs

⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour an 8 inch square baking pan.

Bring stout to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. remove from heat and stir in baking soda. This will cause the stout to foam. When the foaming subsides, stir in the molasses, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until dissolved; set mixture aside.

Whisk the flour, ground ginger, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pepper in a large bowl; set aside.

Transfer the stout mixture to a large bowl. Whisk in eggs, oil, and grated ginger until combined. Whisk wet mixture into flour mixture in thirds, stirring vigorously until completely smooth after each addition.

Transfer batter to prepared pans and gently tap the pan against the counter 3 or 4 times to release any large air bubbles. Bake until the top of the cake is just firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 35 to 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on wire rack, about 1½ hours. OK. You do not really have to wait that long. It takes me about 15 minutes to dive into it. I love it when it is still so warm that it fairly melts my freshly whipped cream into a puddle!