ginger Archives - Page 2 of 3

Ginger Cake with Meringue

3|12|2014

Has your kitchen started to smell like Christmas? Mine has been smelling so much of spices and vanilla and brown sugar….all of the warm and nice things that go hand in hand with this time of the year. In the southern hemisphere, we don’t have a white Christmas. We are well into summer by then.Our Australian markets are flooded with the best of summer produce that allows us to be as diverse as possible with our Christmas baking and cooking. Our Pavlovas are loaded with juicy peaches and plums and raspberries and all the fresh fruits we can get our hands on. I have a few coming up for you but that does not stop me from dreaming up recipes with meringue, marzipan or nougat. My favourite bits of Christmas baking has to be the coming together of sugar and spice. Spices are a part of my heritage so popping open a container of powdered ginger or nutmeg delights me to the core. It fills up my senses with nostalgia.

I can see gingerbread recipes all over the Internet. I love so many of them especially the ones dripping with caramel sauce, white chocolate or lemon icing. I did not notice any with meringue though meringue is so perfect for Christmas. I have an individual soft spot for ginger cakes and meringue so I wanted to pair them. I was happy with the outcome. A soft, gooey spiced ginger cake with crispy sweet torched meringue. I have added a touch of ginger to the meringue as well. The cake has powdered ginger and glace ginger which gives it a bold punch of flavour.

A few weeks back I had made a rose cake for my twins birthday. It was a cake meant for a special occasion so I did not feel like cutting it open and styling it before the birthday and hence I did not post it. The rose-like appearance appealed to many so I had made a mental note to make another one along the same lines for the blog. I was excited at the idea of piping meringue roses and torching them to get the striped white-brown look. Even if you are not comfortable with piping it, spreading it on the cake like a frosting and torching will also give you a beautiful effect. I say this with conviction because at the very same time I piped this, I was covering another beauty with meringue for a Baked Alaska. You will get to see that too.

The cake itself is easy. One of the easiest I have ever made. No creaming butter or need to use a mixer. You can actually make it in a single bowl. In this case, a large saucepan maybe. The ingredient that gives the cake it’s rich brown colour and warm flavour is Treacle. If you like a good ginger cake or make a few during the year, Treacle is a great thing to have in your pantry. The intense caramel-like flavour is hard to replicate. I generally don’t replicate recipes…I try come up with my own. But this ginger cake from Good Food is a really good recipe. The only change I have made is add in a few spices. I have also provided the tentative measurements in cups for some of the ingredients that could help if you not always in the mood to weigh every little ingredient. This recipe will make a tall cake, enough to share with a a large group of people.

Ginger Cake with Meringue (cake recipe adapted with variation from Good Food)
Serves 8-10

200g butter
200g dark muscovado sugar (about 11/3 cup)
200g black treacle (about 1 1/3 cup)
2 large eggs, beaten
300ml milk
350g plain flour (about 3 cups)
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
few chunks crystallised ginger/glace ginger, chopped

Meringue frosting
4 egg whites
1 cup castot sugar
cream of tartar, a pinch
powdered ginger, 1 tsp

Heat oven to 160 degreec C (140 for fan-forced). Grease and line a 19 cm round cake tin. Put the butter, sugar, treacle and syrup in a large pan and gently heat, stirring until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and cool for 10 mins.

Stir in the eggs and milk, then sift in the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, crystallised ginger and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well, then pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until the cake is firm to the touch and springs back when pressed in the centre. Cool in the tin for 15 mins, then turn out, peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack.

Once completely cooled, frost the cake with meringue frosting. Fill up a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe roses all around the sides and top of the cake. Alternatively, spread the frosting all over the cake. Using a blowtorch, toast the meringue.

To make the meringue, place the eggwhites, sugar and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl that is placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk continuously till the sugar dissolves (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat and whip up the mixture with a electric or hand mixer to stiff peaks. Fold in the powdered ginger.

Chocolate Almond Ginger Cookies

24|10|2014

I just wanted to bake cookies. For no rhyme nor reason. Do you really need a reason to make a cookie or a reason to eat one? If I am not doing anything else, I just have to get my hands whisking some kind of dough. I have to be cleaning away bits of dough, wiping away tiny drips of melted chocolate or scraping bowls till I am convinced I cannot scrape out any more for a cookie, brownie or cake batter. The mousse and cheesecake variety have a different outcome where scraping can be replaced with licking and I have takers. My kitchen and countertops tell a story that I like to see and experience every day. I like to keep a tab on my stock of chocolate, sugar, butter and eggs so I can shop for refills before I run out of them. My head, heart and hands are so in tune with this that I don’t feel like myself if I go for several days without baking my favourite things…or rather just baking something sweet.

So I took out chocolate, rummaged through my cupboards for almond meal (I blame that on moving houses several times), studied my spice rack and in minutes I was mixing together a luscious, thick batter. There is huge sense of satisfaction that comes with rolling balls of dough between your palms. You know you are in your final stages of giving shape to something spectacular from a few things that were mere ingredients minutes ago. The thrill of opening the oven door as you are greeted by the whiff of freshly baked goods.

These cookies are like little brownie bites. The batter is similar as well. Almond meal adds a slight nutty texture while powdered ginger gives it a warm, spicy feel. You could replace the almond meal for the same amount of plain flour or leave the ginger out if you want plain chocolate cookies. I have also used glace ginger pieces in the batter which tastes amazing with the chocolate. The recipe makes a lot of cookies but they were gone quite quickly in my house. I baked them in two batches, one slightly longer than the other. The first batch resulted in soft chewy cookies while the second one came out to be crisper ones. I prefered the chewy ones as they did taste like brownies.

Chocolate Almond Ginger Cookies
Makes 24 medium cookies

120 g unsalted butter, chopped
120 g dark chocolate, chopped
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 firmly packed cup brown sugar
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 cup glace ginger, finely chopped
toasted whole almonds (10-12), roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let bowl touch water) and stir until melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs, vanilla and sugars with electric beaters until thick and pale. Add the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Sift over the flour and cocoa. Add the almond meal and ginger. Fold in the glace ginger and chopped almonds. If the batter is too sticky to handle, stick it into the fridge for 15-20 minutes.

Roll tablespoons of dough into balls and place onto the baking tray, leaving room between them to expand (about 4 cm). Bake, rotating tray halfway, for 14 minutes or until set. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Milk Chocolate and Ginger Baked Custards

24|01|2014

One of the significant things that has changed ever since I started blogging is the way ‘days’ have assumed an importance in my life. I guess it’s because I have so many to share it with. It makes me feel belonged…makes me feel like a part of the food blogging community. And very responsible too. I certainly don’t start a countdown but I make a mental note if a celebratory day is coming up.

And when the occasion or theme is love, (Valentine’s Day) it is equally easy and difficult to come up with something. At home there is no major fan fare… we express love for each other through food. That’s convenient and enjoyable too. It’s like any other day save that there will be more food on the table. Favourite dishes. Not necessary, home cooked. A Chinese takeaway or even a good pizza. And dessert for sure! One of the rare opportunities to force a dessert on my other half. I grab the opportunity with both hands.

The key to a good Valentine’s day dessert for me is based on 3 principles- make-ahead, chilled and spiced. Add chocolate to it and I am ready with a recipe. I know there’s going to be dark chocolate everywhere so my pick is Milk chocolate. Milk chocolate can be really sweet but when balanced with spice or a tart fruit, it can turn into the most exotic flavour. I am yet to take a count of the number of ginger recipes I have in my blog and I am yet to outgrow my love for it. Possibly never! My very first blog post happened to be a ginger infused sweet. Which brings us back to the topic of love. Love for ingredients…love for flavours..love for cooking…love for desserts! I shall reserve that topic for another upcoming celebratory day in my life. My blog anniversary.

These custard pots are one of the simplest things to bake. Little effort and grand results. If you haven’t tried out this combination before, it’s really worth a try. Sweet, creamy with earthy notes of ginger. In case you haven’t attempted a baked custard before, the cooking takes place in two stages. The first during baking and the second while refrigeration. To get the right consistency, that is smooth and creamy you need to remove the ramekins from the oven while the centres are not completely set..slightly wobbly. The edges would be firm. You can check this by giving the ramekins a gentle shake. The custards will totally set once they chill in the refrigerator. Needless to say they are Gluten free and Paleo.

This recipe makes 4 servings. Perfect for our family of four. If you are making it for yourself and your date, lucky you! Because chances are high that you’ll be going in for seconds. I happily polish off the remaining from my little ones if they struggle to finish it.

Milk Chocolate and Ginger Baked Custards
Serves 4

11/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
100g good-quality milk chocolate, roughly chopped
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp. castor sugar (more if you require it sweeter)
2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
Raspberries or any fruit of your choice to serve
Whipped Cream, to serve (optional)

Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.

Combine cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until hot (do not allow to boil). Remove saucepan from heat. Add chocolate and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes. Stir till smooth.

Whisk egg yolks, sugar and spices in a heatproof bowl until well combined. Pour the warm cream mixture over the egg yolk mixture, little at a time whisking constantly until smooth. Take care not to add the entire cream to the eggs together as it can overcook the eggs resulting in scrambled eggs.

Divide the custard into four lightly-greased, ramekins or ovenproof cups. Place in a deep baking tray. Pour boiling water into baking tray until halfway up sides of ramekins.

Bake custards, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until just set (while the centres are slightly jiggly when shaken). Remove from the oven and take the ramekins out of the water bath. Leave to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with fruit and/or whipped cream.

The custards can be made up to 3 days in advance. and stored in the refrigerator.

Ginger and Chilli Chicken Dumpling Soup

23|11|2013

Every time I talk about rains in my posts, it is followed by comfort food. Today is no different. It has rained all of this week keeping us indoors, craving for some fresh air. The little sunshine that followed almost tricked me into believing that the weather has improved and twice I found myself caught in the middle of a heavy downpour, racing home to save my head.

In such situations, I have learnt to treasure a warm bowl of soup. Especially the ones which make a meal by itself. More importantly, the ones that come together quickly. This Asian flavoured soup has no added fats…the chicken dumplings are put together in minutes and poached in the broth. I did tell you how much I rely on minced meat or chicken to come up with simple and quick meals. While I am making the dumplings, the noodles gets cooked on another burner…drain, rinse and add to the broth. That simple. The flavours are gorgeous..ginger-y…so refreshing and warm.

If you are sharing this with children, remove the chillies. Add them separately to your meal like I do. If you find the mince mixture too soft to shape into dumplings, add a tbsp of rice flour. The dumplings cook pretty fast. Take care not to overcook them. 3-4 minutes on either side should do. You can break open one to check. If cooked correctly, they will be juicy and soft. Kecap Manis is a sweet Indonesian Soya Sauce..if not available at hand, you can use equal measures of regular soya sauce and palm sugar or honey. Bok Choy also referred to as Chinese cabbage is extensively used in Asian cuisine. If you do not have access to it, substitute with spring onions, basil or coriander.

Ginger and Chilli Chicken Dumpling Soup
Serves 4

For the dumplings
400 g chicken mince
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 egg white (small)
a handful, coriander leaves, finely chopped

For the broth
4 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp red chillies, finely sliced
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp Kecap Manis
Salt to taste

To Serve
Noodles (Udon or rice noodles cooked as per instructions on the pack..I used Udon Noodles)
4 baby Bok Choy, leaves separated
Extra red chillies, to serve

Prepare the noodles following packet directions or until tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, place the chicken, egg white, ginger, coriander and sweet chilli sauce together in a bowl. Using wet hands shape a tablespoon of mixture into a ball. Repeat with the remaining chicken mixture.

Place the stock, lime juice, Kecap Manis, ginger, sliced chilli, in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the chicken balls gradually and cook turning once in between (3-4 minutes on each side) or until cooked through.

Add the Bok Choy to the pan and cook for 30 seconds or until Bok Choy just wilts. Divide the noodles and dumpling soup among serving bowls. Garnish with extra chillies. Serve immediately.