Grown Up Gingerbread Cake With Orange Mascarpone Cream Food

GINGERBREAD LAYER CAKE WITH CREAMY MASCARPONE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment. Butter parchment and dust with flour, tapping out excess.
• Combine boiling water and baking soda in a medium bowl. Sift flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and 3/4 teaspoon salt into a large bowl.
• Beat butter with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy. Add brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in molasses, grated ginger, baking soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in eggs.
• Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of each comes out with moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans set on wire racks for 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks and let cool completely.
• Trim top of each cake using a serrated knife to create a level surface. Transfer 1 cake to a platter. Spread 1 1/4 cups frosting over the top. Top with another cake. Spread 1 1/4 cups frosting over the top. Top with remaining cake. Spread a generous 1/2 cup frosting in a thin layer over top and sides of cake to create a crumb coat. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake using a mini offset spatula to make small swoops on top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

GINGERBREAD CAKE ROLL

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan with cooking spray; line the bottom with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a medium bowl.
• Whisk the egg yolks, melted butter and molasses in a large bowl. Beat the egg whites and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 5 minutes. Stir the
• flour mixture into the yolk mixture until smooth. Stir one-third of the whites into the batter with a rubber spatula, then fold in the remaining whites in two batches. Spread the batter in the prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Immediately sift confectioners' sugar generously over the top of the warm cake and loosen the edges with a knife; lay a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) over the cake. Place another baking sheet over the towel and flip the cake with the baking sheets to invert it onto the towel. Remove the top baking sheet and parchment. Starting at a short end, roll up the cake and the towel together into a spiral. Transfer seam-side down to a rack and let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Beat the heavy cream and 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar with a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in the mascarpone and vanilla. (Do not overbeat.) Fold in the chocolate chips and candied citrus with a rubber spatula.
• Make the topping: Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, the cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg and cloves in a bowl. Gently unroll the cake. Spread the filling over the cake about 1/4 inch from the edges; reroll (without the towel). Trim the ends with a serrated knife. Transfer to a platter; dust with the spice mixture.

CARROT CAKE WITH GINGER MASCARPONE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400˚. Grease 2 (9-by-2-inch) round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease and flour the pans.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, oil and eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light yellow and thickened. Stir in the vanilla. In another bowl, sift together the 2 cups of flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones.
• In a medium bowl, toss the carrots, raisins, walnuts and the 1 tablespoon of flour. Stir into the batter with a rubber spatula. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 10 minutes, lower the heat to 350˚ and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, turn out onto a baking rack and cool completely.
• Place one cake on a flat serving plate, rounded side down. Spread half the frosting on the top (not the sides). Place the second cake on top of the first cake, rounded side up. Frost just the top of the second cake. Sprinkle with the ginger and serve at room temperature.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, cream and vanilla together for about 1 minute, until light and fluffy. Add the crystallized ginger and salt and beat for 30 seconds more.

GINGERBREAD CAKE WITH MASCARPONE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
• Pour in the maple syrup and whisk to combine.
• Add the light brown sugar, mix well and set aside for about 15 minutes.
• In a bowl, mix the egg and the milk. Add this mixture to the melted butter. Whisk.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking soda and baking powder. Mix.
• Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients, then mix until everything is well incorporated.
• Add the lemon juice and gently stir.
• Line an 8 inch round cake pan. Pour the cake batter into the pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then gently remove the cake onto cooling racks.
• Let cool completely before storing.
• Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
• Place a large mixing bowl, whisk attachment, mascarpone and the heavy whipping cream in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes to chill.
• Add the cold mascarpone, cold heavy cream and powdered sugar in your cold large mixing bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form. It takes 2-3 minutes.
• Cut the cake layer in half.
• Add half of the frosting in the center. With a spatula, spread the frosting out and a bit over the edges of the cake.
• Replace the 2nd layer and use remaining frosting to spread all over the top of the cake.
• Dot the bare sides of the cake in random places.
• Add a little bit of powdered sugar to create snow.
• Sugared decorations: I use sugared rose hips and sugared fresh rosemary. (No rose hips? Use cranberries.) Make a simple syrup by add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves and bring to a boil. Let it cool. Dip the rose hips and rosemary into the syrup. Then, roll them in the sugar. Gently shake off excess sugar.

CARROT CAKE WITH GINGER MASCARPONE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and grease and flour the pans.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, oil, and eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light yellow and thickened. Stir in the vanilla. In another bowl, sift together the 2 cups of flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones.
• In a medium bowl, toss the carrots, raisins, walnuts, and the 1 tablespoon of flour. Stir into the batter with a rubber spatula. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 10 minutes, lower the heat to 350 degrees F, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, turn out onto a baking rack, and cool completely.
• Place one cake on a flat serving plate, rounded-side down. Spread half the frosting on the top (not the sides). Place the second cake on top of the first cake, rounded-side up. Frost just the top of the second cake. Sprinkle with the ginger and serve at room temperature.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners¿ sugar, cream, and vanilla together for about 1 minute, until light and fluffy. Add the crystallized ginger and salt and beat for 30 seconds more.

MOLASSES-GINGERBREAD CAKE WITH MASCARPONE CREAM

Steps:

• Make the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the flour with the ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the canola oil with the brown sugar, molasses, honey, eggs and lemon zest until smooth. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined. Whisk in the boiling water. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Set the pan on a rack and let the cake cool completely, about 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, Make the Orange Confit: In a medium saucepan, combine the strips of orange zest with the water and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat until syrupy and the orange zest is soft, about 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the orange confit to a plate; discard the syrup.
• Make the Mascarpone Cream: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the mascarpone with the cream, orange zest, confectioners' sugar and salt until soft peaks form.
• Cut the molasses-gingerbread cake into squares and transfer to plates. Dollop the mascarpone cream on top, garnish with the orange confit and serve.

GROWN-UP GINGERBREAD CAKE WITH ORANGE MASCARPONE CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°; spray a 9-inch square metal baking pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt.
• Add eggs, molasses, butter and oil to flour mixture and whisk until blended and smooth.
• Whisk in boiling water until just blended (batter will be thin).
• Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
• Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a pick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
• Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
• Serve at room temperature with a dollop of Orange Mascarpone Cream.
• Orange Mascarpone Cream-in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat powdered sugar, mascarpone, cream, orange zest and orange juice until soft peaks form.