Gingerbread Cakes

Gingerbread and a cup of tea. 

This is what comes to mind when I think of my father's mother.  Sitting in her kitchen, eating a slice of gingerbread and having a cup of tea while she leaned against the sink with the sunlight shining in through the window on her smiling face.

The memories I have of her are few and far between.  She lived in Newfoundland and I lived in Ohio.  Spending time with her and getting to know her wasn't very easy given the 1600 mile separation.  I was about 16 years old when I asked her for this recipe, somehow even back then I related through food.

If you know nothing at all of Newfoundland,  this is one thing I experienced over and over:  
Visiting is practically an Olympic sport and they excel at it.  You are offered a cup of tea as soon as you cross the threshold and of course something to eat with the tea... whether it be toast, cookies, cake, etc.

At first I thought this was just something that my relatives did.  Then I quickly realized after nearly bursting out of my jeans, it was what everyone did.

The recipe below is slightly tweaked (although not much) from Nanny's original recipe. I had thought about adding a ganache or a creme anglaise to it, but decided to leave well enough alone.  

As you go "visiting" this holiday season, take a few of these with you to share as you make the rounds... 
Put the kettle on, stay for a cup of tea and make some memories.



Gingerbread Cakes

2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup molasses
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup strong tea
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour a mini bundt pan (or muffin pan) and set aside.
In a small bowl, add baking soda to tea, stir and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt; set aside.

Using paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add egg and beat until incorporated.  Add molasses and tea mixture.

At this point, the batter will appear broken.  Don't panic, it will come together once flour mixture is added.

Scrape down bowl, add flour mixture and beat until combined.

Divide batter evenly, filling about 2/3 up.  Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until knife comes out clean, about 15 - 18 minutes.  Let cakes cool slightly in pan.  Remove cakes and place upside down to cool completely on wire rack.

Dust with powdered sugar.

 

Hello Cupcake...

For weeks I've been craving cake... so, enough talk and a little more action.   I decided that since I had been to the farmer's market and had eaten a relatively healthy lunch that cupcakes were definitely in order.

If I'm going to make cupcakes, more often than not I would go all in.  Chocolate.  The darker & richer the better...  however since it is spring and this weekend marks the "un-official" start to summer I wanted to lighten it up a bit and do something a little different.

If you are anything like me, sometimes you forget all the little treasures you have stashed in your kitchen.  I buy things that interest me and then put them away for when the mood strikes, but the unfortunate truth is that occasionally they are forgotten until I stumble upon them (usually when I'm looking for something else).

Well, the latest treasure to be unearthed was candied ginger.  I thought it might make an interesting garnish for the cupcake and that was basically my jumping off point.
(well, that and my persistent sweet tooth...)

If you are attending (or hosting) a BBQ this weekend, these would make a great finale.  They are light and not overly sweet and another plus is that the cake can be made ahead and frozen for a few days, then thawed and frosted the day of. 

For ginger flavor, I would normally add ground ginger, however I've decided to infuse them with a ginger syrup in lieu of the adding the powder to the batter. I wanted a lighter ginger flavor and to avoid a "gingerbread" taste.  If you prefer to use ground ginger, 1/2 - 1 tsp will do the trick.

Ginger Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream
- cake recipe adapted from the kitchn

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup room temperature butter
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 3 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers,  you'll need approximately 22
3. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and beat until thoroughly incorporated then beat in flour, salt and baking powder.
4. Stir in milk and vanilla. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then on high for 3 minutes.
5. Scoop batter into cupcake pan, I always use a cookie scoop to ensure uniformity.
6. Bake for approximately 15 - 18 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
7. Cool slightly, then using a thin skewer pierce a few holes into the top of the cupcake and lightly brush with the ginger simple syrup.  Try not to be too heavy with the syrup, or you will end up with mushy cupcakes. 
8. When completely cooled, frost with lemon buttercream and top with finely sliced candied ginger.

Ginger Simple Syrup

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger,  sliced into coins

Combine everything in a small pot and bring a boil, stirring occasionally.  When sugar has completely dissolved, remove from heat and cool completely. 
Once the syrup is cooled, strain the ginger & discard.   Leftover syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
(I like to boil it down until it is very thick & syrupy and drizzle over vanilla bean ice cream or use it in cocktails!)

Lemon Buttercream

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup room temperature butter
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat on low speed until combined, then on medium until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes)

Thai One On... Again (and once more after that).

I am starting to think I missed my calling as a mixologist...   I enjoy coming up with new drinks and playing around with flavors to see what the end result is and there is no pressure to get it right because I'm just having fun.  Luckily there have been no casualties as of yet and surprisingly no bad drinks either.
The "Thai One On" post featured the flavors of Thailand and I adore those flavors.  They are complex yet so clean and they hit every part of your palate.  I thought  "Why not make a drink with that flavor profile?"

So I started thinking of what goes together and what flavors I enjoy...   It is fairly straight forward, nothing too complicated,  yet unusual.

This is a drink I plan to break out when I want to impress. It is light and goes down quite easily... perhaps a little too easily.

Ginger Lemon Fizz

First thing is to start with the simple syrup:

• 1 whole piece lemongrass,  cut into 4 
• 10 quarter-sized slices of ginger
• 4 leaves fresh basil
• 1  1/2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar

(I used the thinnest piece of the lemongrass as a straw.  Waste not, want not and it looks cool. To do that, peel the outside layer of the thin part of the top off to make a straw BEFORE you bruise the lemongrass)

With the BACK of the knife blade, bruise the lemongrass pieces. They should be slightly beat up, not pulverized.
To take the skin off of the ginger, use a spoon and scrape down.  The skin will come right off.

Once your lemongrass & ginger are ready to go, put everything in a small pot and bring to a simmer,  then shut off the heat & let it steep for 15 - 20 minutes.  Strain and chill the syrup.

Use a lemon to wet the rim of your glass and dip it in sugar.   Fill the glass with crushed ice & add:

• 2 shots limoncello
• 2 shots simple syrup
• 1 shot lemon seltzer

These last few days have been so warm again that I wanted something frozen.  I am NOT a frozen drink kind of girl but sometimes you just have to have one.  I had plenty of the simple syrup left from the drink above, so I decided to make this one a 2-fer.

A colleague gave me a bottle of Pama and I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do with it and like I said before,  making drinks is just fun for me so I decided to throw it in with the syrup & limoncello and a STAR was born.   This drink is soooo good I may have to re-think my stance on frozen drinks.

Lemon Pomarita

• 2 cups crushed ice
• 2 shots limoncello
• 2 shots pomegranate liqueur
• 2-3 shots of simple syrup

Blend on highest speed for about a minute until smooth. 

Lemon Pomarita