Black Bun (Gingerbread, Actually)

A true black bun is a pastry-clad fruitcake served by the Scottish on Hogmanay, the last day of the year. Tradition holds that black bun (and whisky!) be served to the person bringing luck by setting the “first foot” across the threshold after midnight. My so-called black bun is a rich and spicy gingerbread cake, which in our house performs the same festive seasonal function without the polarizing presence of dried fruit. Blackstrap molasses will make it truly black with a pleasingly bitter