Ginger and molasses cake + Christian Bale (again)

I know that by telling you again how much I adore Christian Bale I might sound like a broken record, but what can I do? Not only is he an amazing and versatile actor – one of my top favorites – he’s also been making headlines these past few days for all the right reasons – how can one not love the guy? :)
“The Dark Knight Rises” opens tomorrow here in Brazil and my tickets were bought a long, long time ago; anxiety has been building up and I cannot wait to watch the movie.

***
This incredibly tender cake, deliciously perfumed with ground ginger and dotted with little nuggets of crystallized ginger has become a favorite: it has a wintry feel (perfect for July), can feed a crowd and besides being easy to make it is prepared in one saucepan (less washing up). ;)

Ginger and molasses cake
slightly adapted from the always fabulous Donna Hay Magazine

2 1/3 cups + 1 tablespoon (335g) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
pinch of salt
2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, chopped
2/3 cup golden syrup (I used corn syrup)
2/3 cup molasses
2/3 cup (116g) dark brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon hot water
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk*
2 eggs
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, ground ginger and salt.
Place the butter, golden syrup, molasses, brown sugar and crystallized ginger in a large saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring, until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat.
In a teacup, combine the baking soda and the water and add to the saucepan, stirring to combine. Add the buttermilk and eggs and mix to combine. Add the sifted ingredients and stir until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until risen and golden and skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely, then dust with icing sugar to serve.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Serves 12-15

Spiced brown sugar cookies

As much as I love cooking and baking I understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea – so you can imagine how happy I felt when I noticed that my sister loved cooking and baking, too – I swear I never pushed her towards it: it all began with her passion for brownies and cookies. :)

After tasting some of these cookies she told me they were delicious and she needed the recipe “asap”; she also told me she’d already imagined them covered in chocolate, which I thought sounded like an amazing idea – should I be proud of my sister or what? ;)

Spiced brown sugar cookies
from the always beautiful and delicious Donna Hay Magazine

Sugar coating:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cookies:
2 1/3 cups + 1 tablespoon (335g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
½ cup + ½ tablespoon (120g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (175g) brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup (80ml) golden syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
Make the cookies: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.
in the large bowl of an electric mixer combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup and beat in medium speed for 2 minutes or until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. In low speed, add the dry ingredients at once and beat until just combined – you might want to finish mixing by hand; the dough was too soft, so I added 1 ½ tablespoons of flour.
Roll 1 leveled tablespoon of dough into balls and place onto the prepared sheets, 5cm (2in) apart. Bake until lightly golden on the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on the sheets over a wire rack for 10 minutes. Toss the cookies in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat then set on the rack to cool completely.

Makes about 50

Baby spice and strawberry butter cakes

After making the strawberry crostata – with such great results – I started searching for the rhubarb recipes I’d been keeping forever in order to make them using strawberries.

It reminded me of when I watched “Heat” and then started looking for everything Michael Mann had done before. :)

Baby spice and strawberry butter cakes
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Cakes:
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) soft unsalted butter
¾ cup golden syrup
3 eggs
1 ½ cups + 1 ½ tablespoons (225g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves

Strawberry compote:
300g strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
¼ cup (50g) caster sugar
1 tablespoon water

Start by making the strawberry compote: combine strawberries, sugar and water in a saucepan, and bring to the boil over high heat (give it a little stir just to dissolve the sugar). Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 2 minutes or until softened, then cook, uncovered, for 8 minutes, mixing occasionally, or until liquid has reduced and strawberries are soft – while mixing, squash the berries down using a silicon spatula to release all their juices. Cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; butter nine 2/3-cup capacity mini loaf pans*.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and golden syrup until pale, then add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition, until incorporated.
Sift over flour, baking powder and spices and beat in low speed to combine – batter will be thick.
Spoon into prepared pans and spoon 2 teaspoons strawberry compote down center.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until just cooked. Allow to cool slightly, then turn out onto wire racks and cool.
Cakes will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

* I halved the recipe above, used 1/3 cup (80ml) muffin pans and got 8 cakes

Makes 9

Honey and golden syrup meringue cupcakes

I’ve realized something really important: there’s a huge lack of cupcakes on this blog! Shame on me! :D

I’m determined to change that and my mission has already begun: these tender cupcakes I found on DH mag #41. The meringue topping was a wonderful way of using the egg whites I had left after making stracciatella ice cream for Joao - for the 10th time. :)

Honey and golden syrup meringue cupcakes
from Donna Hay magazine

250g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200g) caster sugar
½ cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons (370g) all purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted
1 cup (240ml) milk, room temperature

Golden syrup meringue icing:
1 ¼ cups golden syrup - I used corn syrup
¼ teaspoons cream of tartar
3 very fresh egg whites

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF; line 24 ½ cup-capacity muffins pans with cupcake papers. Place the butter, sugar, honey and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 10-12 minutes or until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Add the flour, baking powder and milk and beat until well combined. Spoon into prepared pans and bake for 18-20 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool on wire racks.

To make the golden syrup meringue icing, place the golden syrup and cream of tartar in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until soft peaks form. While with motor is still running, gradually add the golden syrup mixture and beat for 4-5 minutes or until thick and glossy.
Spread over the cupcakes with a palette knife.

Makes 24 – I halved the recipe, used 1/3 cup-capacity muffin pans and got 12 cupcakes with high tops; I also got about ½ cup of icing left, even though I halved it too.