Ginger-Lime Tea Cake with Crème Fraîche Frosting ~ #TheCakeSlice Bakers

This cake is a classic citrus cake with a little ginger spice kick. It would make a wonderful afternoon

tea treat and the crème fraîche frosting is a fantastic contrast to the sweet-tartness of the cake.

Dutch Speculaas Bundt Cake ~ #BundtBakers

The warm aromatic spices of this Bundt cake whilst it is baking will warm your kitchen and your soul.

Allspice Applesauce Cupcakes with Spiced Brown Sugar Frosting ~#TheCakeSliceBakers

These Allspice Applesauce Cupcakes have just enough spice to make your tastebuds tingle

and are topped with decadent Spiced Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting.

Honey-Ginger Sour Cream Cake ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

The honey and ginger in this Honey-Ginger Sour Cream Cake just pair stogether so perfectly, providing a sweet and spicy baking 

match made in heaven. The lemon and honey syrup adds a wonderful stickiness to the cake and the addition of

some candied ginger adds a nice textural element.

Pineapple, Ginger & Saffron Syrup Cakes ~ CakeSliceBakers

"Cakes are healthy too, you just eat a small slice."- Mary Berry     

Sticky Ginger Cake with Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

New Year - New Cake Cookbook!

Honey Jumbles ~ #CreativeCookieExchange

Stay true to yourself. An original is worth more than a copy. This may be true 

in most cases, but not necessarily for homemade cookies.

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

Advice from a pumpkin - be well-rounded, get plenty of sunshine, have thick skin, keep growing, be outstanding in your field, think big, make spiced pumpkin cheesecake.

New Delhi Crumb Cake - Zingerman's Bakehouse

The crumbs may just be the best part of this cake.

Ginger-Chile Caramel Cookies ~ #CreativeCookie Exchange

Boom! Pow! Bam! When you add a chile pepper to a cookie the result is an in-your-face
explosion of flavor. And with these cookies, the ginger and chile is a match made in heaven.

Glazed Cranberry, Lemon & Dried Ginger Loaf

Hands up if you still have a bag of cranberries in your refrigerator. I may have more than one.  And a few in the freezer.  And maybe a few of the bags are in the freezer are from last year.  What can I say?  I panic that I will run out of cranberries throughout the year so I always stock up.  Anyway I saw this recipe from PassThe Sushi and knew that I had to make it straight away as it has three of my favorite ingredients - cranberries, lemon, and ginger.

Spiced Ginger Bundt Cake with Caramel Brandy Sauce ~ #BundtBakers

It is a great feeling to be baking once again, especially with the talented bakers in the #BundtBakers group. A bundt cake is one of my favorite cakes to make, whether it be plain or decorated, and they always seem to keep so well.  A little whipped cream, ice cream, or vanilla custard served on the side never hurts either. There are so many fantastic bundt cake pans out there that it is easy to become a collector of them.  The pan I used in this recipe, the Chiffon Bundt Cake Pan, has special meaning to me.  It was sent to me by two special friends to lift my spirits during a difficult time.  I had no idea it was being sent to me until the box arrived at my door. For this reason it will always be my favorite bundt pan.

Fresh Ginger Apple Chai Cake

Last week I made an amazing Classic Green Mint Chutney from Spices & Seasons, and this week I wanted to try something sweet from the book.  A couple of recipes caught my eye, but there was one I just could not resist - a Fresh Ginger Apple Chai Cake.

Honey-Ginger Spiced Pecans

This is a super quick recipe that I whipped up to decorate my November cake from the Cake Slice Bakers. A quick search revealed a honey-glazed pecan recipe, and I added some ginger for an added kick.  They paired really well with the Applesauce Spice Cake, and I could not stop nibbling on the leftovers.  I think they would be a great addition to a salad too.

Honey-Ginger Spiced Pecans
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1½ cup pecans
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. Whisk together honey and ginger, add pecans, tossing to coat well. 
3. Spread pecans in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and sprinkle with sugar. 
4. Bake in middle of oven 15 minutes, then stir and bake 5 minutes more.
5. Transfer while still warm to a sheet of parchment paper or foil and, working quickly, separate pecans with a fork. 
6. Cool completely (about 1 hour) and remove nuts from parchment, breaking up any large pieces.
7. Pecans keep, layered between parchment or wax paper in an airtight container, at room temperature 3 days.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

The Cake Slice April 2011 - Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake

It is time for another cake from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. This month the Cake Slice Bakers chose a Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake.  I think that what I enjoy most about being part of this group is the friendship and how much I have learned from this wonderful group of bakers.  It challenges me not only to try new recipes, but to look at them in a different way.

My first thought when I saw this this recipe had been chosen was "well, this sounds interesting".  My second was "holy cow, am I going to be able to follow the directions and not open the oven door".  I am notorious for needing to check on things whilst they are baking.  It doesn't help that the light in my oven doesn't work very well.  It is what you would call, temperamental, to say the least.  However, I am a big fan of the pound cake so I was looking forward to it.

This cake has such a rich and creamy batter.  It really is quite golden in color, and I loved the addition of the lemon and ginger.  I like both flavors so much that I added a little more of each than what is called for in the original recipe.  This couldn't be any easier to put together.

I did what I was told and did not open the oven during baking, but I have to say that the suspense nearly killed me.  I was in for a big surprise when I did finally open the oven door - my cake had really risen and formed a weird-shaped top.  It didn't mater nearly as much when I realized that the top of the cake was actually going to be the bottom when I turned it out of the pan.  Once I turned it out of the Bundt pan I did have to trim the cake, but what a bonus this was because I got to snack on the cake early!  It was good, really good.  Everyone kept coming into the kitchen to grab one more little piece.

This cake is gorgeous on its own, but I decided that I would reinforce the ginger a little more and make a drizzle for the top.  To do this I simply sifted some powdered sugar, added a little warm water and some ginger paste to taste.  Once the cake was cool I simply drizzled it over the top.  It really did add a nice finishing touch to the cake.

I realized one funny thing about the book Cake Keeper Cakes.  Most of the cakes I make from it don't make it to the stage where I need a cake keeper - they are eaten before then.  Links to all of the members of the Cake Slice Bakers blogs can be found here.  Please take a few minutes to check out what they thought of this cake, and to get some wonderful new ideas.

Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2½ cups sugar
• 6 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest

Preparation

1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower – middle position.
2. Grease a 12 cup Bundt pan and dust with flour (I sprayed with Baker's Joy). 
3. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
4. Combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary.
5. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. 
6. Beat in the vanilla, ginger and lemon zest.
7. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, half a cup at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Then mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.
8. Spread the batter into the Bundt tin and place the cake in a cold oven.
9. Turn the oven to 325F and bake, without opening the oven door, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 65 to 80 minutes.
10. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
11. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Makes one large Bundt cake

(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

To Try Tuesday - Calamansi-Ginger Scones

 

It is that time of the week again where I need to glance through my To Try recipes and choose something to make.  The problem is the list just keeps growing and I don't think there are enough days in the week to try them all.  This week I chose a scone recipe that I had printed out from Epicurious.  It is funny though how the recipe I printed out isn't exactly what I ended up making.  Originally this recipe was a Meyer Lemon and Dried Blueberry Scone, which I will be making and blogging about this weekend.  However, I had signed up to do a baking class last weekend at KCC, and I had about 30 minutes to spare before class, so I wandered around the Farmers' Market.  I saw some wonderful little calamansi and they were calling my name.


Calamansi (also known as calamondin) is a small citrus fruit that resembles a lime, but it is orange inside. I always thought they were a fruit from the Philippines, but according to Wikipedia they are actually a hybrid, possibly being a cross between a mandarin orange or tangerine and a kumquat. I was surprised that something so small could have such large seeds.  Mine had four seeds in each (and a few smaller pieces that looked somewhat like a seed) and they were as large as a lemon seed.  Also be warned to watch out for your knuckles when you are zesting them - there isn't much to grab on to when you are running that microplane across the peel.  To me they taste like a lime that has a hint of mandarin orange.

I was very pleased with the end result.  I barely let them cool before I glazed one so I could bite into the yumminess.  They are so tender, with just a hint of spice from the ginger and tartness from the calamansi juice, and I just loved the sweet-tart glaze on top.  Buttermilk helps to produce a softer texture in baked goods, and it definitely worked its' magic here.  I doubt these are going to last long around here.

Calamansi-Ginger Scones

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 3 cups self-rising flour 
• ½ cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar   
• ¾ cup (11/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes 
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk 
• 1 ½ tablespoons calamansi zest
• 2 tablespoon crystallized ginger, finely minced
• 3 tablespoon calamansi juice, divided
• ½ cup of powdered sugar, sifted.

Preparation

1. Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 425°F. 
2. Line large baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.
3. Whisk self-rising flour and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl. 
4. Using fingertips, rub in chilled butter until pieces are size of small peas. 
5. Mix 1 cup buttermilk,  1 tablespoon calamansi juice, and calamansi zest in glass measuring cup.
6. Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and stir until dough begins to form (some of flour will not be incorporated).
7. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and gather together. 
8. Knead dough briefly, about 5 turns. 
9. Divide dough in half. Form each dough half into ball and flatten into 1-inch-thick disk. Cut each disk into 6 wedges.
10. Transfer scones to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. 
11. Brush tops with remaining 1 tablespoon buttermilk and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar. 
12. Bake until scones are golden brown on top and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes (watch them because mine were done in about 18 minutes).
13. Allow to cool.
14. While scones are cooling make glaze by combing powdered sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons of calamansi juice. Brush over scones with a pastry brush.

Makes 12 scones.

Recipes adapted from this recipe at Epicurious.com

To Try Tuesday - Triple Ginger Chocolate Cookies

I am a big fan of ginger, especially in baked goods.  On my trip to Australia a few months ago I discovered a new taste sensation in the form of dark chocolate coated ginger.  I brought a box back with me but it didn't last long.  When I saw this recipe for Double Ginger Chocolate Cookies on I'll Have What She's Having I knew I'd have to try it.

Recently I placed my first order with King Arthur Flour. I received a packet of their baking chips once as a gift and since that time I have been ogling the catalog and fighting with myself - should I or shouldn't I?  I am so glad that I finally caved as not only do they have excellent products, but their customer service is probably the best I have ever encountered.  Without going into details let me just say that I came away from the experience as a customer for life.  And no, I did not receive any free products, just excellent customer service, something that seems to be lacking in some other businesses these days.  And my order shipped quickly too, which is always a bonus.

One of the products I purchased was Black Cocoa Powder.  It is described on their site as "super-dark, super-rich Dutch-process cocoa that will make the darkest chocolate cake or cookies you've ever seen".  This was exactly how I wanted these cookies to look.  You only have to use a small amount to achieve this.  Also, to boost the ginger flavor I decided to add an additional ingredient - finely chopped crystallized ginger.  I love the sweet bite of crystallized ginger, and I love adding it to cookies as you get nice little bits in each bite.

These cookies did not last long.  They looked liked a dark chocolate cookie, but smelled just like a ginger cookie - the best of both worlds!  I think that they would make a great base for ice cream sandwiches.

So tell me, what are some of your favorite companies to order from online?

Triple Ginger Chocolate Cookies

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon King Arthur Flour Black Cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses (I used golden syrup)
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger (I used Gourmet Garden Ginger)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. In a bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. 
4. Mix in the molasses, egg and fresh ginger until well combined.
5. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet.
6. Using a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop, drop dough onto a cookie sheet about two inches apart.
7. Bake for 13-15 minutes.
8. Remove cookies from tray and cool on a wire rack. 
9. Makes about 36 cookies.

Adapted from I'll Have What She's Having via Bon Appetit