Fresh Ginger Cake and Fresh Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies
Deeba @ PAB
“Nose, nose, jolly red nose,
Who gave thee this jolly red nose?†
Nutmegs and ginger, cinnamon and cloves,
And they gave me this jolly red nose”
Anonymous
I’m on a GINGER high, or call it a roll, but my days are full of ginger. It’s a flavour, with sharpness, that I’ve come to love, and am surprised that the kids have taken to it so willingly too. Fresh ginger is far more pronounced in its gingery taste, and since it’s the season for fresh, wonderful young ginger root here, I’m taking full advantage of it!
Ginger has proven medicinal value, and I have been using it as a base for tea, with Indian basil/tulsi, for my flu ridden husband. Have also made a ginger-honey concoction for the family to heal the cough. I’ve really taken a long shot at it of late, and am very much enjoying using it. Winter means all hearty, spicy and full of warm wholesome flavour. This Ginger cake from David Lebovitz promises all this and much more. It satisfies a deep craving for that something which winter demands, as do these cookies I found at BHG Holiday Cookies.
I love the choice of names that Levobitz’s books have. Something entirely charming about them… and different. ‘Room for Dessert, ‘ Sweet Life in Paris, ‘The Perfect Scoop’, ‘Ripe for Dessert’ … This lovely cake recipe from his first book “Room for Dessert” can be found throughout the blogs and on Epicurious.
The author recommends serving it with stewed or poached plums and whipped cream in “Room for Dessert“, but it’s deliciously moist and flavoursome on it’s own and stores well for a few days. Must admit that a dollop of cream, with some candied orange and ginger ups the luxury on this cake!
Fresh Ginger Cake adapted from recipe byDavid Lebovitz from “Room for Dessert”
“This is the most often requested recipe in my repertoire, and I’ve passed it on to many, many people. It appears so often on Bay Area menus (sometimes called Dave’s ginger cake, which, I admit, amuses and flatters me) that I sometimes think I’m responsible for too much of a good thing. Then I order it, taste it, and decide not to worry: This simple cake is wonderful…”
Ingredients: 4 ounces fresh ginger 1/2 cup mild molasses (or 1 cup molasses, and omit the honey) 1/2 cup honey (I used honey because I had just 1/2 a cup of molasses) 1 cup sugar 1 cup vegetable oil, preferably peanut 2 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves ( I ground whole cloves with a little sugar & sifted them with the flour) 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 cup water 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 eggs, at room temperature
Method: Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 9 by 3-inch round cake pan or a 9 1/2 inch spring form pan with a circle of parchment paper.
Peel, slice, and chop the ginger very fine with a knife (I used my microplaner). Mix together the molasses, honey, sugar, and oil. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper.
Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan, stir in the baking soda, and then mix the hot water into the molasses mixture. Stir in the ginger.
Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the batter. Add the eggs, and continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 1 hour, until the top of the cake springs back lightly when pressed or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top of the cake browns too quickly before the cake is done, drape a piece of foil over it and continue baking.
Cool the cake for at least 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Remove the cake from the pan and peel off the parchment paper.
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
Onto the ginger cookies for which I used fresh minced ginger instead of ginger powder, and gur / jaggery instead of molasses. These cookies are especially for my sweet friend Susan @ Food Blogga for her Eat Christmas Cookies, Season 3 event. Do stop by here to see the round-up which is updated as the cookies come in..
Jaggery or “Gur” or whole sugar is a pure, wholesome, traditional, unrefined, whole sugar. It contains the natural goodness of minerals and vitamins inherently present in sugarcane juice and this crowns it as one of the most wholesome and healthy sugars in the world. In Mexico and South America, it is also known as panela.
Chocolate Gingerbread Drops Adapted fromBHG Holiday Cookies Ingredients 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground allspice 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup gur/jaggery (or molasses) 1 tbsp honey (omit if using molasses) 1 egg 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup dried tart red cherries 2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Method:
Preheat oven to 190C. In large mixing bowl beat butter, brown sugar, baking soda, ginger, allspice, and salt; beat until combined. Beat in jaggery, honey and egg. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer; stir in any remaining flour with wooden spoon. Stir in cherries and chocolate.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake about 8 – 10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
Makes 36 cookies.
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