Ginger Creme Caramel Food

CARAMEL CUSTARDS WITH GINGER (CREMES CARAMELS AU GINGEMBRE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Bring water, 1/2 cup sugar, and fresh ginger to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, washing down any sugar crystals from side of pan with a brush dipped in cold water. Boil gently, without stirring, 6 minutes (syrup will be foamy).
• Transfer ginger with a slotted spoon to a small bowl. Cook syrup remaining in pan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it becomes a deep caramel. Divide caramel among ramekins, tilting to thinly coat (caramel may not cover bottoms completely).
• Whisk together yolks, whole eggs, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Bring milk, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and cooked ginger just to a boil in cleaned pan. Add half of sweetened milk to eggs in a slow stream, whisking constantly but gently, then stir in remainder. (Excessive whisking incorporates air and will result in a custard with many holes.)
• Pour custard through a very fine sieve into a bowl and discard solids. Divide custard among ramekins and cover each tightly with foil. Put ramekins in a water bath and bake in middle of oven until set around edges with centers still wobbly, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer ramekins with a slotted spatula to a rack and cool crèmes caramels to room temperature (centers will set as they cool).
• Serve in ramekins or inverted onto a plate. To invert, run a thin knife around edge of each ramekin. Invert a plate over each ramekin and, holding plate and ramekin tightly together, invert crème caramel onto plate

POURED CARAMEL CAKE WITH GINGER CINNAMON STREUSEL AND CREME FRAICHE

Steps:

• For the streusel: Stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger in a small bowl.
• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter, then dust twelve 6-ounce ramekins with the streusel mixture. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan.
• Combine the buttermilk and vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
• Combine the granulated sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat on low speed until well blended. Add the oil with the mixer running on low speed; once that is evenly distributed, add the butter a tablespoon at a time, beating until fully incorporated. The mixture will have the consistency of coarse sand.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop to scrape down the bowl. On medium speed, gradually add the buttermilk mixture, mixing until the batter just comes together. Do not overmix.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins halfway, then sprinkle about 2 teaspoons streusel evenly on the batter in each. Spoon more batter on top to fill each ramekin three-quarters of the way. Use a table knife or skewer to gently swirl the streusel into the batter, as though you were making a marble cake. Bake until a tester inserted in the center of the ramekins comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer the sheet pan to a wire rack; let the cakes cool completely.
• For the quick creme fraiche: Stir the heavy cream, sour cream and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• For the caramel sauce: Meanwhile, mix the granulated sugar, lemon juice and salt in a deep saucepan and place on medium heat. Have a pastry brush and a small bowl of water nearby to wash the sides of the pan of any granules of sugar. When the sugar starts to brown, swirl the pan to ensure even browning. Once the sugar is amber in color, pour in the bourbon (step back, because there will be sputtering). Add the butter in 4 pieces. Swirl the pan to melt the butter, then add the heavy cream, cinnamon and ginger. Remove from the heat. The caramel will continue to thicken off the heat. Stir before serving.
• Turn the cakes out of the ramekins. To serve, place a cake on a serving plate. Spoon the caramel over the cake with a dollop of "creme fraiche." Garnish with the crystallized ginger.

GINGER CREME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan; stir well. Cook over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil; cook, without stirring, until mixture is caramel-colored or candy thermometer reads 340 degrees.
• Remove from heat, and immediately pour mixture into an 8-inch round cake pan, tilting to coat bottom evenly; set aside.
• Place milk in a heavy saucepan; cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated. Combine egg substitute and 1/2 c sugar in a medium bowl; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Gradually add warm milk, stirring well. Stir in ginger. Pour into prepared pan.
• Place pan in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; pour hot water into baking pan to a depth of 1 inch. Place in a 350 degree oven, being careful not to slosh water into the 8-inch pan. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake 1 hour or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Remove pan from water and let cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill overnight. Unmold onto a serving platter.

CARAMELIZED GINGER AND GINGERED CARAMEL

Steps:

• Caramelized Ginger: Cut a ginger root to fit into a plastic bowl with a lid.
• Cover the ginger root pieces in sherry.
• Let this sit until the ginger is fully soaked through with sherry, which can take a month or more.
• The ginger will be dark tan in color and firm and somewhat stringy in texture.
• It will be almost translucent.
• Remove the ginger root from the sherry and set the sherry aside for later.
• Cut the rind off of the ginger root and cut the inner portion into pieces about the size and thickness of 1/2 a dime.
• Put the small ginger pieces into a bowl and cover completely with sugar.
• I had about 1/4 cup of ginger and I put in about 3/4 cup of fine grained white sugar.
• Add back about 2 tablespoons of the sherry.
• The resulting mixture, with the ginger pieces in it, is a thickish but runny syrup.
• Put a mound of sugar (at least a cup) on a plate or in a small bowl and set it aside where you can reach it when you are standing at the stove.
• Cook the ginger/sugar/sherry mixture on the top of the stove until it boils but not until it darkens, (i. e., remove it from the heat before the sugar starts to burn).
• Stir a couple of times while the mixture is heating.
• Use a slotted spoon and remove the ginger pieces from the boiled liquid and plop them onto the sugar mound, keeping them separate from each other as much as possible.
• Spoon more granulated sugar over the top and let this sit for about 1 minute.
• Then stir the whole thing to coat the ginger with sugar.
• Let it sit for 5 minutes, then remove the ginger pieces and set them on a piece of baking paper to air dry.
• Gingered caramel: The boiled sherry/sugar stuff that's still in the pan can be boiled up again for about 30 seconds.
• Just as it starts to brown, remove it from the heat and add two or three tablespoons of butter.
• Let it cool for a few minutes and then pour the now very thick caramel onto more baking paper.
• This is fantastic caramel!
• Notes: This recipe starts with about 2 four inch pieces of ginger root and the yield is about 1/4 cup of caramelized ginger and about 1/3 cup of gingered caramel.
• I happened to have cooking sherry on hand so that is what I used.
• I had purchased two or three small (maybe 4 inches long) pieces of ginger root and I had not used them for anything.
• I had heard that you can soak your ginger in sherry to preserve it so I had cut the roots into 2 inch pieces, give or take, and covered them in sherry in a plastic bowl with a lid.
• I forgot about the ginger and it sat on my kitchen counter for 4 or 5 months.
• Possibly it would have been ready to caramelize a lot sooner than that but it was in perfect condition for this recipe after months of sitting.

CRèME CARAMEL

Steps:

• Put the sugar in a small frying pan, preferably non-stick, and add the water. Heat slowly, stirring gently with a metal tablespoon until the sugar has dissolved. The base of the pan will no longer feel gritty when you run the spoon over it. (Step 1)
• Increase the heat under the pan and allow the syrup to bubble. As the water is driven off, the syrup will become thicker and the bubbles on the surface will get bigger. Do not stir the syrup during this time. (Step 2)
• Watch the syrup carefully and when it starts to turn golden at the edges, swirl the pan to ensure even colouring. Do not stir it. When the syrup has turned a rich golden caramel colour, remove from heat. (Step 3)
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Pour the caramel into ramekins. Bring the milk to simmering point.
• Put the eggs and yolks in a bowl with the sugar and whisk lightly together.
• Gradually whisk in the hot milk. Strain into a clean jug and add the vanilla, and liqueur, if using. Pour carefully into the prepared ramekins.
• Pour boiling water from the kettle into a roasting tin to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 15-20 mins until the custards are just set. Leave to cool, then chill for at least 4 hrs, or even overnight. The caramels can be made up to 3 days in advance.
• To turn out each caramel, run the point of a sharp knife around the top edge of each ramekin, place a dessert plate on top and invert. Give the ramekin and plate a sharp shake and carefully remove the ramekin.