Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cake

Last Christmas I made a gingerbread cake and wanted to make the same one this year for Ryan's family Christmas party. Unfortunately I didn't post the recipe and couldn't remember where I saved it. After some looking around on the internet and in my saved files, I finally decided I made this one posted on allrecipes. After I made it, I flipped through some of the reviews and realized it wasn't exactly the same- I had made some of the modifications they suggested. So for the Christmas Eve party at the Wright house, I searched through my STACKS of recipes and found the printed copy where I made all the changes. (As a side note - we got 7 cookbooks for Christmas at our house this year!- 4 for Adria and 3 for me) Because Adria was doing dairy free I made a couple of other changes this year. So for comparison sake here are the recipes I made:

Original Recipe                                Modified Recipe 

Strong Molasses flavor                    Spicier (more flavorful)

Darker color                                      lighter color

1/2 cup sugar                                   1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter                                  1/2 c butter

1 egg                                                   1 egg

1 cup molasses                               3/4 cup molasses

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour         2  1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda       1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon    2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger           2 teaspoons ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves      1/2 teaspoon cloves (this year I did 1 tsp)

1/2 teaspoon salt                        1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (this year I did 1 tsp)

1 cup hot water                             1/2 teaspoon salt

                                                          1/4 c hot water

                                                           1 c buttermilk (this year I did all water)

                                                         5 to 6 TBSP crystallized ginger (forgot it

                                                         this yr)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan. Cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses. Add the spices and salt. Mix in the flour then stir in the hot water. Pour into the 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.  (The modified recipe only cooks for 45 minutes - I think I only cooked the original recipe for 50 minutes.)

The modified recipe cracked more on the top when I made it. Not really sure why. Guess I need to do more studying on the chemistry of cooking! 

I made dairy free caramel for Adria too - it turned out well:

13.5 oz coconut milk 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1 tsp pure vanilla 

1/4 tsp sea salt (optional)

Combine coconut milk and brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Let it boil for around 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously, then lower to a simmer. Let it simmer—stirring as needed—until it cooks down to about half its volume and thickens. This usually takes around 50-60 minutes, Turn off the heat, stir in the vanilla and salt, and let it sit for about an hour. Cover and refrigerate overnight – it continues to thicken as it sits.

Dairy Free Peppermint Cupcakes and other desserts

The past few weeks Adria has complained of a stomach ache - more so than usual. We have suspected she is lactose intolerant like Ryan for awhile now, and she had been taking the same pills he takes, but she still complained a fair amount. We finally took her to the doctor and he said she needed to go a dairy free diet for 2 weeks. At the end of 2 weeks we can try her on some hard aged cheese. If she does ok with that, we will know it's a lactose intolerant problem. But if that bothers her stomach than it's a milk protein allergy. So the 2 weeks ends on Christmas day, but in the meantime we have been working on diary free food for her. She isn't very happy about it! We have tried to find substitutes that she can eat: Dairy free (AKA vegan butter), dairy free whipped cream (coconut milk), and dairy free chocolate (Trader Joes). After some internet searches we found Earth Balance buttery sticks are the best for cooking and so far they've been great- I have a gingerbread cake in the oven right now made with it, and I used it for all the other recipes too. 

So for Christmas Adria wanted a panettone. We had bought one before we found out about doing the dairy free diet and it has milk in it. So I made some instead. I tried 2 different recipes. They both turned out great. The hard part was making my own Panettone molds. I did that with some card board, staples and flour glue. I go the idea from this website here. I tried a recipe from Zoe Francois. She has published several cook books and I have watched some Craftsy classes she taught. The second recipe I tried was from King Arthur Flour. They both turned out well. But they both really browned. I think next time I will cover them with foil sooner. I did use a thermometer to make sure they were cooked to 190 degrees. 

We are going to John and Andrea's house for a Christmas Party tonight. Grandma Andrea always buys whatever dessert they have at Costco and they aren't milk free. So I told Adria I would make here whatever dessert she wanted. She wanted cupcakes with frosting. I didn't think she really liked chocolate that much, but I was wrong- that is the one thing she has complained about the most during the last week or two. She's not a dark chocolate fan either but I think she's learning to like it more now that she can't have milk. Last night she said the Trader Joe's chocolate was really good. 

Adria asked for vanilla cupcakes and chocolate frosting. I suggested adding peppermint and she thought would be great - with CANDY CANE Sprinkles! 

Cupcakes

1 and 3/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup soy milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbsp white vinegar

In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the soy milk, vanilla, oil and vinegar and mix briefly to remove any big lumps. Line a 12-cupcake tray with cupcake liners and divide the batter evenly between them. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Peppermint Frosting 

I used this as a guide, but mostly just added stuff until I had enough frosting that tasted like we wanted -Pretty much how I always make frosting. 

1/4 cup vegan butter

3 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

3 to 4 Tbsp soy milk 

Crushed candy canes

Cream the powdered sugar with the butter. Add the cocoa powder and peppermint extract. Mix well. Add milk a little at a time to get the right consistence for frosting. Add more sugar if needed and more cocoa powder if you want a darker chocolate flavor. Put frosting into a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. 

Since I made these on our anniversary, Ryan bought me a cupcake holder for an anniversary gift! I told him that's what I wanted. 

Thanksgiving Desserts - Pecan Pie Bars and Cranberry Apple Cake

We spent Thanksgiving in Spokane WA with Elizabeth and Family. We even got to see Steven and Kellie and family while we were there. We made some yummy desserts for Thanksgiving- I've had them sitting on my desk for nearly a month waiting to post them but it never quite happened- so here they are now!

The pecan pie bars I got from Leslie Hegseth who moved here from CA. We had a welcome to the neighborhood party in August and she brought these. I LOVED them, so of course I had to have the recipe. I got brave and asked her for it and this is what she sent me:

Ingredients:
Crust-
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cups packed brown sugar
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Topping-
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 pan with foil leaving enough for a 2 inch overhang on all sides. 

First make the crust by creaming together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add in flour and salt and mix until crumbly. Press the crust into the foil lined pan and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. 

While the crust bakes prepare the filling by combining the butter, brown sugar, honey and heavy cream in a saucepan, stirring it over medium heat. Simmer the mixture for 1 minute, then stir in the chopped nuts. 

Remove the crust from the oven and immediately pour the pecan filling over the hot crust spreading it to cover the entire surface. 

Return the pan to the oven and bake an additional 20 minutes. 

Remove the pan and allow to cool fully in the pan. Use the foil overhang to lift the bars out and transfer to cutting board. Peel off foil and cut. 

Enjoy!
Leslie

Everyone liked them so much- I only got 1 quick picture while they were still in the pan. 

The next recipe is one Libby and I found on the internet. She bought fresh cranberries to make sauce. But NO ONE likes sauce so we decided to do something else with them. We tried a Cranberry Apple Cake recipe from Ina Garten and it was really good. Libby said she likes recipes from Ina Garten and when the cake was done Rob said he really liked it.

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced - we used what ever we had
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (2 oranges) - We used clementines
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice - clementines again
1 1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine the cranberries, apple, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. With the mixer on medium, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the butter, vanilla, and sour cream and beat just until combined. On low speed, slowly add the flour and salt.
Pour the fruit mixture evenly into a 10-inch glass pie plate. Pour the batter over the fruit, covering it completely. Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle it over the batter. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and the fruit is bubbling around the edges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

We had a great time and didn't even miss the pies! They were still in the freezer and we never ate them. Thanks for the fun Elizabeth and Rob!