Grandma Tillie's Gingerbread

So simple, so easy. It's not fancy, but it is spicy delicious, great in the Fall and Winter.

GRANDMA TILLIE'S GINGERBREAD

• preheat oven to 350 degrees

• butter well a 9 x 9 baking pan
  

In a large bowl, whisk together:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (note: reduce this amount by half if you use salted butter in the next step)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking SODA
Set aside for now.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat:
1 stick unsalted butter (if you use salted butter, reduce the salt in the flour mixture above by half)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar

Beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy.

Add:
1 egg
Blend well.

Then, slowly add in:
1/2 cup molasses (I highly recommend Brer Rabbit Molasses -- nothing else is quite the same)
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
Mix until well blended.

Scrape the bowl down.

Add the flour mixture on low speed until smooth, then add:
1/2 cup hot water
Beat for 1 minute. (mixture may look curdled, but that's ok.) 

Scrape the bowl and mix a little longer if there are unincorporated bits.

Spread in the well buttered 9 x 9 pan, then bake for 40 - 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack.

Cover tightly with foil when cool. Cut into large squares and serve with a dollop or so of whipped cream.

Pavlova!

Hands down, one of our absolute favorite desserts. It's Australia's national dessert, much like apple pie is our American national dessert. 

Even people who *say* they don't like desserts love this. It's beautiful and looks impressive. It has a deep, dark secret, too: It looks like it took hours to make, but actually it's very easy and takes very little time. 

Angela's Pavlova

6 egg whites
pinch of salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 pint (16 ounces) heavy cream

A pint of fresh red raspberries
A pint of fresh blueberries
A pint of fresh blackberries
2 cups fresh sliced and sugared peaches
Note: this is the fruit I use; you may substitute your own fresh favorites.

Beat egg whites intil foamy; add the salt, then add the sugar gradually. Mix in vinegar, then add the vanilla last. Beat until stiff but not dry peaks have formed.

Cover a LARGE rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper, and lightly butter the parchment paper.  Pile the meringue into an 8" mound in the center, making an indentation in the top. (It should look like a volcano crater with it's top blown off.) The meringue will spread out a lot while baking, so be sure to make the meringue very tall and the indent quite deep. 

Bake for 40 to 43 minutes at 300 degrees, --do not peek!-- then turn off the oven and leave the meringue in it for an additional 40 minutes longer, making sure not to open the oven door. Remove from oven to cool completely. Very carefully remove the pavlova shell to a very large round serving platter.

At serving time:
Whip the heavy cream until stiff, and mound the whipped cream into the center crater of the meringue. Top the whipped cream with the fresh fruit; not all of it will fit onto the top of the pavlova. Slice into generous wedges and add additional fruit to each serving. 

Bliss!

Serves 8 to 10 with generous slices and lots of fruit


Any leftover pavlova can be refrigerated overnight, loosely covered. It must be eaten within 24 hours; the whipped cream is fairly fragile. 

A Cake Among Cakes: Yes, it's Nicki's Carrot Cake!

Hard to believe this recipe hasn't made it up here yet! Thanks to Claire, it's finally getting its place of honor.  I tried a lot of carrot cake recipes, and slowly evolved my own over time. This one, if I do say so myself, is perfect. We've been making it for a couple of decades now. It's a darn big cake, so it's a good recipe to use for a big birthday party or family gathering.

NICKI'S CARROT CAKE

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Grease and flour 3  8" round cake pans

combine and set aside for 30 minutes or so:

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel (fresh orange zest is best, but dried peel can be used)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil (Wesson!)

4 eggs

sift together:

2 1/2 cups flour (I use King Arthur All Purpose flour)

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg OR mace

pinch of ginger

pinch of cloves

pinch of allspice

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 cups grated carrots

3/4 cup shredded coconut

3/4 cup finely cut or chopped walnuts

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat together the sugars and oil until well blended. Add eggs, one at at time, beating well after each addition. SLOWLY  add sifted ingredients and beat well. Add soaked orange peel and any remaining juice, then the carrots, coconut, walnuts, and vanilla.  

Pour into the greased and floured pans, and stagger the pans on the same middle rack of a preheated 325 degree oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the center is not sticky. Remover from oven, cool 7 minutes (no more!) then remove from pans and finish cooling on a rack.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

one 8 ounce brick of cream cheese PLUS one 3 ounce brick of cream cheese

1 1/2 pounds (24 ounces) confectioners sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks butter (6 ounces), melted and room temp

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat the cream cheese bars together well, then add the confectioners sugar and salt slowly on very low speed. Gradually increase speed and combine well. Add the melted butter very slowly, incorporating the butter as you go, and then add the vanilla. Beat the frosting on high speed for several minutes until smooth and creamy, then spread between the cooled cake layers and on top and sides of cake. 

Makes a large 3 layer 8" cake, serving at least 12

You Know It's Fall When .... Marlboro Crisp

... apples, squash and pumpkins are in abundance at the farmers markets and orchard stands. Here is our Fall favorite:

Marlboro Crisp

preheat oven to 350 degrees

8 x 8, or 7 x 11 pan, well buttered 

3 to 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

1 TBLSP. flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. (or so) cinnamon

2 or 3 TBLSP. butter

Mix the dry ingredients together, add apples and stir together. Pour into prepared pan. Dot the top with the butter, broken up into bits.

Topping:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup brown sugar

pinch of salt

2/3 cup flour

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

A good quality vanilla ice cream

Stir together the dry ingredients, then add the butter and mix thoroughly with a large spoon. Spoon over the apples, but do not press the topping down. It will settle as it bakes. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes; increase heat to 375 degrees and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer; topping will be sizzly and golden brown. Let stand at least a half hour before serving. Serve in individual bowls with a scoop of ice cream on top.

A deeply delicious dessert for 6.

Shades of Summer: Blackberry Cobbler

Blackberry Cobbler: A summer favorite. At least at our house. It doesn't take a summer day for us to break out the blackberries, either. Warm from the oven, with a big dollop of Ben and Jerry's Vanilla atop it, it is a rich and satisfying treat.

BLACKBERRY COBBLER

1 full quart fresh blackberries -OR- 2 bags frozen blackberries

Zest from 1/2 an orange -OR- 1 tsp. grated orange peel, soaked in 2 tblsp. orange juice for 20 minutes

1 cup sugar

3 tblsp. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Mix berries and next four ingredients together and pour into a well-buttered oven proof 2 qt. casserole dish or deep 7 x 11 pan. Dot with 2 or 3 tblsp. butter, and set aside while making the dough for the topping.

Topping

2 cups flour, sifted with:

3 tsp. baking POWDER

1/2 tsp. salt

3 tblsp. powdered sugar

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

3/4 cup PLUS 2 tblsp. milk

Blend the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or 2 knives (as for pie pastry) until the mixture appears mealy. Add milk, mixing gently by hand, to form a soft, rough dough. Drop by tablespoons onto berries, covering them completely to the edges of the pan. DO NOT COMPRESS DOUGH.

Bake at 375 degrees (Farenheit) for 40 -45 minutes or until topping is pale golden brown. Let stand at least 20 minutes after baking, then serve with ice cream.

Serves 4 to 6, easily.

Aaaahhhhhhh!