Ginger Cake with Candied Oranges and Orange Cream

I'm elated to share with all of you that the ongoing holiday bonanza around here has finally concluded. We had our second Christmas celebration on Monday complete with roasted pig, tamales, and 3 decadent desserts.

As happy as I am to be done with all the non-stop cooking and cleaning, I'm a little sad to see some things come to an end, such as putting away the tree.  I bought a new artificial tree this year, which I'm really enjoying.  You see there was this moving incident in which some unnamed person (HDD) was being too lazy to move our old one and it got given away.  So I decided last year to buy a fancy real one, it was tall, full, and looked glorious all decorated.  Until two weeks later when all of the branches fell like a cake yanked from the oven too soon.  Bulbs started falling off on the tile floor and I was cleaning up glass every other day so the dogs wouldn't cut their feet. 

In previous years I've left the tree selection up for family debate and usually I'm overridden, so this year I didn't leave the tree up for discussion.  You see sometimes you just have to be the head honcho in charge and boss around the minions.  I informed the troops I'm the boss around here for a reason.  I take all the decorations down from the garage, I hang all the ornaments in an orderly, perfectly spaced fashion, I'm stuck with making sure all the most breakable ones are located high enough from little fingers, I make sure the lights are spaced 1.48 inches apart, I pack it all away when the fun is over, I vacuum pine needles for three weeks, so back the hell off I'm the boss.  (I know, super adultish to throw a tantrum.)  (Probably from lack of naps I might add.)

So when it came to deciding on what desserts to serve for the 6th, I put my boss crown on and made some executive decisions. I knew right off the bat I would serve a lime, raspberry swirl cheesecake, a pan of chocolate, pecan chess bars, but for the third I just decided to wing it. This cake has a few steps, but all of them can be done the night before and the cake can be assembled when needed.   

I don't make resolutions, but I am resolute on making some changes this year.  Don't fret though; those changes have nothing to do with giving up dessert.

Ginger Cake with Candied Oranges and Orange Cream 

Cake: 

1 cup milk 

1/2 cup molasses 

3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil 

3 large eggs 

1 teaspoon orange extract 

1 cup light brown sugar 

1 cup granulated sugar 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons ground ginger 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

Pinch ground cardamom 

Pinch salt 

Candied Cuties (Mandarin Oranges): 

3 mandarin oranges, sliced 1/4-inch thick (ends discarded)

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1 1/2 cups water 

Orange Cream: 

1 cup heavy whipping cream 

1/2 teaspoon orange extract 

Zest from 1 mandarin orange 

2 tablespoons granulated sugar 

8 ounces mascarpone cheese 

Garnish: 

Candied Cutie 

Toffee bits 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Combine milk, molasses, oil, eggs, orange extract, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt in a mixing bowl and mix until combined with no lumps. 

Pour the cake mixture evenly into two 8-inch or two 9-inch pans that are prepared with butter and flour or sprayed with no-stick spray and lined with parchment rounds (my favorite). I used two 9-inch pans and got thinner cakes, if you’d like thicker ones use 8-inch pans. 

Bake both pans on the same rack for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Note: 8-inch pans will take a few minutes longer to bake.

Add orange slices, sugar and water to a skillet and bring to a boil and let boil on medium-low heat for 20 minutes, until the liquid is thickened and syrupy. Remove pan from the heat, cover and let steep for a few hours. Remove the oranges to a rack to dry for a few hours and save the syrup. 

Combine heavy cream, orange extract, zest, and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and mix until stiff peaks form. Fold mascarpone into whipped cream. Set aside. 

To assemble cake, place one layer of cake on a plate, drizzle with half of the syrup, spread on half of the cream, add a layer of candied cuties (reserve 1 for top), add the second layer of cake, drizzle with second half of syrup, spread on the rest of the cream, top with a sprinkling of toffee bits and a candied orange. 

(The toffee bits added a little crunch, but are completely optional.)

Hoping all my friends caught in the Polar Vortex are keeping warm, I've seen pictures on the news and am reminded how grateful I am to live in a place that rarely dips below 30.

Gina

Meyer Lemon and Mascarpone Trifle

My husbands' family celebrates Christmas on January 6 and my husband roasts a pig for us every year.  I make plenty of side dishes but the party isn't complete without a couple of decadent desserts. 

Part of the pig gets shredded to make Tamales.  I made 5 dozen and they were demolished that night.  My daughter was a little peeved about that so I made another 2 dozen the next day so she could take some with her when she leaves to go back up to school.

I tried glamming him up by adding an apple to his mouth for you, come on it does make him a little bit cuter.

I made this chocoflan recipe I saw on Food Network.  It sounded great, it was pretty simple to make but taste wise it was a letdown.  I've had chocolate y flan cakes many times from the Mexican bakery and I think I'm just jaded by those.  Everyone grabbed a slice of the cake, but I saw a lot of it left on plates.

I also made a Meyer Lemon - Mascarpone Trifle that disappeared without a trace.

The trifle has a couple of components, but you can make them in stages and assemble the trifle the night before you need it.  Slip on that sequined mini-dress and stilettos and pull that gorgeous creation from the fridge like the rock star hostess that you are, or wear your sweat pants and slippers, who am I to judge.

I have this small Meyer lemon tree I brought with me from my old house, it sat in the front yard for 6 years and barely got leaves let alone lemons.  I didn't want to give up hope that one day this tree would come back and produce fruit.  A few weeks ago I was rushing by the tree on my way to the mailbox, looked down and saw a bunch of lemons, I couldn't believe my eyes.  See there really is hope after all.

Luscious Lemon Cake

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1/4 cup lemon juice - I used Meyer lemons, but feel free to substitute

1 cup low fat buttermilk (or 1 cup low fat milk + 1 teaspoon white vinegar)

Combine oil, butter, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lemon zest, sugar, whole eggs, egg yolks, lemon juice and buttermilk in bowl of a mixer and mix until combined.

Pour the batter into 2 - 8" round cake pans that are buttered and floured or sprayed with no-stick spray and lined with parchment.  I decided to use 8" inch pans because that size fit well inside my trifle bowl, if you have a larger bowl you can use a larger pan, just bake a little less time.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Set aside.

 Meyer Lemon Curd

3 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Fill a small pot with a couple inches of water and place a heat proof bowl on top of that and bring the water to a boil.  You don't want the bowl touching the water.

Place the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar into the top of the double boiler and whisk until blended. Add the lemon juice and mix well.  Reduce the heat until the water is at a gentle boil.  Whisk the mixture constantly for seven minutes until the mixture is very thick.   Don't let the curd boil.

Immediately strain the curd through a fine sieve set over a medium bowl.  Use a spatula to push the curd through and discard any bits.  Add the cold butter to the curd and whisk until melted. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd.  Once completely cooled store in the fridge until needed.

Mascarpone Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 pound mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon Meyer lemon zest

Place the whipping cream in the bowl of a mixer or use a hand mixer to whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In another bowl add the mascarpone cheese, sugar and lemon zest, mix till combined.  Fold the whip cream into the cheese mixture.

To assemble the trifle:

1)  Remove the lemon cakes from their pans and slice each cake in half.  Use a long serrated knife and make a cut half way down from the top of the cake, rotating the cake as you cut.  I placed the cakes on a baking sheet, so I could move them easier to the bowl.  Don't worry if they break because you are layering them anyways.  You will have 4 layers when you are finished.

2)  Place one of the cake layers on the bottom of the bowl.

3)   Divide the curd into four portions visually.  Spread a fourth of the lemon curd on top of the cake layer.

4)  Divide the mascarpone cream into four portions visually.  Spread a fourth of the mascarpone cream on top of the curd and make sure you push it to the edges.

5)  Add another layer of cake and top it with another layer of curd and then follow with the mascarpone cream.  Repeat.

6)  For the top layer I put the remaining mascarpone cream into a piping bag with a 1M tip and piped the top, and then I put a small amount of the curd into a piping bag and piped small dots on top of the cream to resemble flowers.

I served the trifle with a raspberry-lime coulis on the side, just to add another tongue tickling facet to this trifle.

Whoa - wait a minute there lady, you said there was 3 desserts.  There were 3 desserts indeed and the third one came out so spectacularly I'm keeping the recipe to myself for a while.  I will give you a hint though; it gives new meaning to putting the lime in the coconut.

As much as I enjoy making this Christmas, I sure am glad when it's over and I'm able to put away all the decorations and clear out all the calorie laden treats.  At least for a couple of weeks anyways, come Valentine's Day - all bets are off.

Enjoy,

Gina