For many of us, warm gingerbread slathered with delicate dollops of whipped cream or teamed with sauteed apples or poached pears is comfort food at its all-time best. Not to be confused with the dense, brittle cookies cut into fanciful shapes, cake-style gingerbread is dark and moist, generally baked in square pans and served warm.
For gingerbread fiends, the scent of warm cake redolent with ginger, molasses and cinnamon is one of life's great pleasures; the taste divine.
Making gingerbread from scratch isn't at all complicated, but to ensure the best results, use the freshest and best ingredients available.
Fragrant, fresh ground ginger is very important. If you have a half-consumed bottle of ground ginger that has been hanging around since the Reagan administration, give it the boot. Ground ginger loses its gusto after nine months to a year.
As for molasses, it comes in three basic forms: dark molasses is darker, thicker and less sweet than the milder-flavored light molasses; blackstrap molasses is very thick, dark and on the bitter side. Blackstrap molasses is rarely used in baking.
The robust flavor of dark molasses makes it perfect for gingerbread; however, light and dark molasses are interchangeable in most recipes. Whether molasses is labeled "sulfured" or "unsulfured" has to do with how it is processed. In general, unsulfured molasses is lighter and has a cleaner sugar-cane flavor.
Although the square configuration is most typical, gingerbread can assume a log shape when baked in a jelly-roll pan. Rolled warm in a towel that has been dusted with powdered sugar, the made-from-scratch gingerbread is allowed to cool completely. Unfurled, it can be filled with sauteed apples and whipped cream; rolled back into a jelly-roll shape, the log can be refrigerated for several hours.
But you can whip up a simpler version using a packaged mix and a simple cream-cheese frosting.
Gingerbread mix? Gingerbread aficionados might scoff, but for those of us in the kitchen trenches juggling Herculean schedules, it's not bad. Really.
I add a pinch of ground ginger to the packaged mix and add flavor pizazz with cooked apples and pears. The fruit seems to perfectly showcase the spices in the gingerbread.
A wedge of gingerbread-from-the-box becomes downright elegant when served with a pear that has been poached in a sauce made from red wine and frozen raspberries. The warm gingerbread rests in a puddle of syrupy, claret-colored sauce so delicious it would be tempting to serve it in a soup bowl. The poached pear, now crimson from it's poaching, rests beside the cake. A spoonful of whipped cream and a sprig of fresh mint
finish the dish. Palate nirvana.
Glamorous gingerbread? It can happen. Baked in a jelly-roll pan, a thin sheet of gingerbread can be filled with cream-cheese frosting, whipped cream or sauteed apples and sweetened whipped cream. For the most elegant presentation, arrange nonpoisonous leaves on top of gingerbread and a few surrounding the gingerbread (flat, smooth leaves are the best), with the top side of the leaves placed down. Place powdered sugar in a small sieve and shake it over the cake and surrounding leaves. Carefully, using the tip of a small pointed knife to help you lift one edge, remove the leaves. Garnish with clean, nonpoisonous leaves and edible flowers, if desired.
Here's the recipe for the made-from-scratch version. The faster version, made using a packaged gingerbread mix, follows.
Gingerbread Log With Sauteed Apples
Makes 10 servings
butter or margarine for greasing pan
parchment paper (see note)
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar, divided use
pinch of cream of tartar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup molasses, unsulfured preferred
powdered sugar, to dust towel and for garnish
FILLING:
Sauteed Apples (recipe follows), cooled
2 cups whipping cream, chilled and whipped until stiff with 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a jelly-roll pan (15 1/2 -by-10 1/2 inches) with butter or margarine. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the short sides; grease the paper.
In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy and light-yellow color. In a separate medium bowl, combine cornstarch, flour, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon; stir to combine. Fold dry ingredients into egg yolk mixture. Add molasses and fold in until well-blended.
In a separate, clean bowl, using a clean beater, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar a little at a time, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form. Fold 1/4 of egg-white mixture into the batter, then gently fold in the remaining egg-white mixture.
Smooth mixture into prepared jelly-roll pan, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake in middle of a 350-degree oven for 15 to 17 minutes or until paper pulls away easily at the sides of the pan.
Dust a clean, smooth kitchen towel with powdered sugar. Invert cake out on towel and remove parchment paper. Use towel to help roll into a log, rolling the towel up with the cake. Cool 1 hour. Meanwhile, prepare the apple filling and whipped cream. When apples are cool, fold them with the chilled, whipped cream.
Unroll the cake and spread on apple-whipped cream. Roll up cake from the long side, using the towel to aid support, but be careful not to roll it up, too. Chill completely.
For the most elegant presentation, dust with confectioners' sugar as above and serve chilled.
This can be prepared 8 hours in advance of serving and stored in the refrigerator. If dusting with powdered sugar, do it no more than 1 hour before presentation.
Parchment paper is sold in rolls and individual sheets. In supermarkets, it's often stocked next to the cheesecloth or in the baking section.
Sauteed Apples: Peel, core and dice 2 Pippin or Granny Smith apples. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine in a large skillet. Place diced apples and 3 tablespoons sugar in skillet and cook over medium-high heat until sugar starts to caramelize on the edge of pan. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until apples are tender, about 3 minutes.
If desired, add 2 tablespoons of Calvados (apple brandy) during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Remove from heat and cool completely.
Easy Gingerbread Log With Cream Cheese Filling
Makes 10 servings
butter or margarine for greasing pan
1 (14 1/2 -ounce) box gingerbread cake and cookie mix
pinch of ground ginger
1 cup lukewarm water
2 eggs, separated
pinch of salt or cream of tartar
powdered sugar, about 1/4 cup
cream cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Sauteed Apples, optional
Grease a jellyroll pan, 15 1/2 -by-10 1/2 inches, with butter or margarine. Line with parchment paper. Grease paper. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Place gingerbread mix and ground ginger in a large bowl. Mix until well-blended. Add egg yolks and water; beat until well-blended; set aside.
In a separate clean, large bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. Add a pinch of salt or cream of tartar; beat on high speed until stiff and glossy. Fold egg whites into batter mixture. Pour into prepared pan and smooth with a rubber spatula.
Bake in a 350-degree oven 15 to 17 minutes. Cake should feel springy to the touch. While cake is in the oven, dust a clean kitchen towel with powdered sugar. Invert cooked gingerbread sheet onto sugared towel. Peel away parchment paper and discard.
Starting with the long side, use the towel to help roll into a log, rolling the towel up with the cake. Allow to cool 1 hour. Meanwhile prepare the cream cheese frosting (recipe follows).
Unroll the cake and spread on cream cheese frosting. Roll up cake from the long side, using the towel to support, but be careful not to roll it up, too. The cake will probably crackle and look like bark. Chill completely. Can be prepared 2 days in advance of serving and stored airtight in the refrigerator.
Garnish with sprigs of fresh mint and edible, pesticide-free flowers, such as pansies. Serve chilled. If desired, accompany with Sauteed Apples.
Cream Cheese Frosting: In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine 8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature, preferred) and 4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) butter -- cut into 4 pieces; process until smooth. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; process until smooth. If you don't have a processor, use an electric mixer.
Gingerbread With Pears Poached in Red Wine
Makes 4 servings
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 firm but ripe pears, Bosc preferred
1 bottle (750 ml) red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen raspberries (with sugar)
1 cup sugar
1 box (14 1/2 ounces) gingerbread cake and cookie mix made according to package directions
mint leaves and small edible, pesticide-free flowers, for garnish
sweetened whipped cream (optional garnish)
Add lemon juice to a bowl of cold water. Peel pears, leaving stems intact. Use a melon baller to remove core from the bottom end. Place pears in lemon water.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine wine, raspberries and sugar. Boil on high heat; strain and return strained liquids to pot. Drain pears and add to wine mixture. Using medium to medium-low heat, simmer pears until tender, rotating frequently
with a slotted spoon. Simmering times will vary depending on degree of ripeness and size of pears. Remove pears using a slotted spoon and cook until liquid is reduced to about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups.
Bake gingerbread according to package directions in an 8-inch square pan.
Sauce, pears and gingerbread can be made a day in advance; refrigerate the pears and sauce. Store gingerbread at room temperature. Pears can be served cold, room temperature or warm. Reheat sauce, adding a little water if necessary if the sauce is too thick. Reheat gingerbread in a 300-degree oven until warm, about 5 minutes. If reheated, be sure to serve it with a little whipped cream.
On individual dinner plates, pour a generous puddle of sauce; tilt plate to cover it with sauce. Place a wedge of gingerbread on one side of plate. Place a poached pear on the other side. Brush pears with sauce. Place a dollop of whipped cream on top of the gingerbread. If desired, place a small flower next to the stem and a small mint leaf next to it. Serve and enjoy.