Erin Mann is baking a new cake every week for a year from the "All Cakes Considered" cookbook and shares her adventures here on AnnArbor.com. Read past columns here.

With spring right around the corner I thought two weeks of Gingerbread might be a tough sell. Would friends and family really want to nosh on slices of this cold weather treat? Maybe we'd all eaten enough gingerbread men and lebkuchen a few months back to tide us over until next Christmas...

The first of two gingerbread recipes in "All Cakes Considered" is a basic gingerbread. This recipe also introduced me to its all-star ingredient; blackstrap molasses.

What exactly is molasses? Where does it come from?

Molasses is the byproduct of refining cane sugar into table sugar. It can vary in color and taste depending on how it has been processed. Molasses is a thick, viscous syrup with a dark-brown hue and a robust, bittersweet flavor.  Blackstrap molasses is most commonly used in cooking and can be found at your local grocery store or health food store.  Molasses has a higher nutritional value than refined sugar. Because of its vitamin and mineral content, it's sold as a health supplement.

I really tried not to make a mess with the molasses, but it's darn near impossible! Drips here, drops there. Thank goodness it was nothing like the Great Molasses Flood of 1919 (Yes, that really happened.) I was sure to clean them up as soon as possible, because that stuff sure is sticky.

The last ingredient mixed into the batter is hot water. I'd never added hot water to a cake before, but after googling some other recipes, I found it's a common step in making gingerbread.

Still warm and fragrant from the oven, I admired the deep, dark-brown color and smooth, shiny top of the gingerbread cake. Just like molasses, I'm going to slow down and enjoy each tasty bite. When June 5 rolls around, I'll be ready to celebrate.

Erin Mann is a contributor for AnnArbor.com and ruining diets one cake at a time. Email her at SheGotTheBeat@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter.