Buttermilk Ginger Cake With Fresh Fruit Sauce Food

BERRY BUTTERMILK CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-inch baking dish or pan (square or round is OK) with oil and line with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and 1 cup sugar. In a separate medium bowl, whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine. Whisk wet ingredients into dry until just combined. (Some small lumps are fine.) Toss berries on a plate with remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Fold into batter and transfer to the prepared baking dish.
• Sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 53 to 58 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. Cake will keep, loosely wrapped at room temperature, for about 4 days.

PLUM AND BLACK CHERRY BUTTERMILK SHORTCAKES WITH GINGER CARDAMOM WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• For the buttermilk shortcakes: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Chill 2 large mixing bowls, a pastry cutter, the flour and cubed butter in the freezer for 15 minutes before assembling the shortcakes.
• Add the flour to one of the chilled mixing bowls. Working quickly, cut the butter into the flour using the chilled pastry cutter (or your fingers); the goal here is pea-size balls of butter. In batches, add the buttermilk until the dough is cohesive yet still moist. (You may not need all of it.) Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and lightly press into a 1-inch-thick round. Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter or the business end of a dry measuring cup, cut out 8 biscuits.
• Preheat a cast iron skillet in the oven for 5 minutes.
• Swirl the oil in the bottom of the skillet and gently arrange the biscuits in the skillet, making sure they are all nestled up against each other tightly.
• Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with the sanding sugar. Bake until the tops are just slightly golden brown, about 15 minutes.
• For the plums and cherries: Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the plums, cherries, granulated sugar, lemon zest and juice, ginger and cinnamon. Cook, stirring very gently as the fruit releases its juice, until the fruit is slightly soft, a few minutes. Take off the heat and add the butter. Gently stir until melted.
• For the ginger cardamom whipped cream: In the other cold bowl, mix together the cream, granulated sugar, vanilla, cardamom and ginger. Beat to medium peaks.
• For assembly: Split a warm shortcake with a fork. Place the bottom on a plate or shallow bowl and spoon on some of the warm plum and cherry mixture. Dollop on some whipped cream and sprinkle with some candied walnuts. Top with the top of the shortcake. Spoon on some more of the warm plum and cherry mixture, dollop on more whipped cream and sprinkle with more candied walnuts. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 7 more.

BUTTERMILK COFFEE CAKE

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine flour, sugars, oil and salt; mix well. Remove 1/2 cup and set aside. To remaining flour mixture, add egg, buttermilk and baking soda; mix well. Pour into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. , To reserved flour mixture add all topping ingredients; mix well. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until cake tests done.

FRESH FRUIT SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, mix cornstarch and orange juice until smooth; stir in honey. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir until thickened, about 1 minute., Remove from heat; stir in fruit. Serve warm over ice cream. ,

APRIL BLOOMFIELD'S GINGER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees with a rack set in the center. Generously butter an 8-inch round, 3-inch high springform pan. Line bottom with parchment paper and place on baking sheet.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. In a small saucepan, stir together boiling water, molasses, and baking soda until molasses has completely dissolved.
• Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Reduce speed to medium-low and add egg; mix until combined. Add grated ginger and mix to combine.
• Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the molasses mixture, scraping down sides as necessary. Batter will be very wet. Pour batter into prepared pan and transfer to oven. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool slightly before removing ring from springform pan; serve warm.

BUTTERMILK GINGER CAKE WITH FRESH FRUIT SAUCE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour a 9 X 2in round cake pan (or equivalent springform pan).
• Sift together the flour. salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cardamom.
• Peel the ginger and chop it coarsely. Measure out about a 1/4 C of ginger pieces and mix 2 T of sugar in with them, then pulverize in a food processor or chop extremely fine.
• Combine the ginger, remaining sugar, and butter in the bowl of a standing mixer. Cream the mixture on medium high until pale and fluffy, 3-5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
• Add the eggs, one at time, and beat 30 seconds after each addition. Add vanilla and mix well.
• Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour and spices, alternating with the buttermilk, mixing until just blended. Then beat for an additional minute to fully incorporate, if the batter is very thick, add more buttermilk.
• Pour the batter into the pan and spread the top evenly with a spatula. Shake th pan gently to settle the batter. Place the cake on the lower oven rack and bake 45-50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean and the cake is golden brown and puffy.
• Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
• For the sauce: If using whole fruits, rinse, drain, peel, and cut into 1/2 in pieces, discarding the pits. If using berries, rinse and remove stems.
• Combine the lemon juice, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat until the mixture thickens slightly, about 3 minutes.
• Add the fruit, reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until the sauce is thick and syrupy, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the vanilla and liqueur, remove from the heat, and cool the sauce completely before serving with the cake.