Gingerbread With Fresh Fruit Food

GINGERBREAD WITH FRUITED COMPOTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 9-inch round cake pan; set aside.
• Combine all gingerbread ingredients in bowl. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.
• Pour into prepared pan. Bake 25-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2-quart saucepan; add all remaining fruit compote ingredients except orange sections. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes or until fruit is tender. (Compote sauce will be thin.) Stir in orange sections. Serve over warm gingerbread.

REAL GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.
• Whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl.
• Beat together butter, molasses, brown sugar, eggs, and ginger in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture until smooth, then add hot water and mix until combined (batter may appear curdled).
• Pour batter into pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool to warm in pan on a rack.

GINGERBREAD I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). Grease and lightly flour one 8 inch square baking pan.
• Cream shortening and sugar until light. Add the egg and molasses and beat thoroughly.
• Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, ground ginger, and ground cinnamon.
• Bring water to a boil and add alternately with flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy.

FAVORITE OLD FASHIONED GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan.
• In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses.
• In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Blend into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water. Pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan before serving.

GINGER SIMPLE SYRUP FOR FRESH FRUITS

Steps:

• Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan over moderate heat. Add ginger and reduce heat to simmer. Stir until sugar dissolves and ginger infuses syrup, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and take out ginger. Cool and pour over chunks of pineapple, sliced kiwi, sliced bananas, or any of your favorite fruit combinations.

GINGERBREAD WITH FRESH FRUIT

Steps:

• Mix together shortening, sugar and egg. Blend in molasses and water. Sift together dru ingredients and stir in beating until smooth. Pour into 9-inch square pan. Bake at 325F for 40-50 minutes.
• When cooled, serve with your favorite fruit, or fruit cocktail.

FRESH GINGER FRUIT SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix ginger with juices. Toss lightly with fruit and chill for 2 hours.
• Wine Suggestion: Grosset Polish Hill Riesling, 1997

GUILT-FREE GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the lower third of oven. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with waxed paper, then spray the paper. Dust the entire pan with flour and shake out the excess.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, turbinado sugar, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together molasses, eggs, oil, and buttermilk.
• Dissolve baking soda in the cup of boiling water. Fold the baking soda and molasses mixtures into dry ingredients until combined. (Do not overmix.) Fold in the minced ginger.
• Scrape batter into the prepared baking pan; bake until cake is set around edges and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar.

GINGERED RICH FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1. Lightly oil a 71⁄2cm deep, 25cm round cake tin, and line it with a double layer of baking parchment.
• Mix the dried fruits, ginger and syrup, Cointreau, spices and lemon zest. Put the olive oil, sugar and eggs in a bowl, whisk together until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and tip in the fruit. Fold and stir together well.
• Spoon the mixture into the cake tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for 2-21⁄2 hrs, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cover with foil if the cake begins to over-brown. Take from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Remove, leaving the baking parchment in place until you decorate.
• For the topping: warm the jam and Cointreau together until the jam is liquid, allow to cool. Arrange the fruit on the cake and brush with the jam.

GINGER BANANA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
• Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt together in a bowl.
• Beat butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Stir bananas, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla extract into creamed butter mixture until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until batter is just combined; pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes. Cool bread in the pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

SCOTTISH FRUITED GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Grease and line a deep 7-inch square cake tin.
• Sift the flour, ginger, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together.
• Place sugar, butter, syrup and milk in a pan and warm gently until melted and blended.
• Do not boil.
• Add to the flour with the eggs and mix thoroughly.
• Stir in orange zest and apricots.
• Turn into the baking tin and bake at 325ºF for 60-65 minutes or until firm to the touch.
• Turn out and cool.
• The flavour of this cake improves with age.
• Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days before serving.