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Rhubarb Orange and Ginger Cake

Posted on Posted in Cakes .

Rhubarb Orange and Ginger Cake

Rhubarb Orange and Ginger Cake recipe

I had a rhubarb and apple crumble the other day and this got me thinking that I have never baked before with rhubarb which is such a shame as its such an amazing tasting and interesting little…vegetable? It doesn’t have seeds or pips so I take it its one of the unique vegetables disguised as a fruit with its sweet and soft flavour…

After a bit of taste testing I ended up deciding that orange and ginger was the best combo to complement the robust rhubarb taste, while still ensuring the focus was on rhubarb.

The outcome = my Rhubarb Orange and Ginger cake.

This cake definitely stars the Rhubarb where the orange and the ginger provide a refreshing and gentle delectable taste.

Rhubarb Orange and Ginger Cake recipe

Ingredients:

Batter:

  • 300g rhubarb
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tsn vanilla essence
  • 125g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 + ½ cup self raising flour
  • ¼ cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsn baking powder
  • 1 + 1/2 tsn ground ginger
  • 2 tsn orange zest

Icing:

  • 90g butter
  • 1 tsn vanilla
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 1 tsn ground ginger
  • 2 tsn orange zest
  • 2 tsn milk

 

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 160c and line a 23cm-baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Cut the rhubarb into 2cm pieces and place in a saucepan with ¼ of the sugar and 2 tsn’s of the vanilla essence. On a medium heat stir for 10 minutes or until the rhubarb is soft and smooth.
  3. With electric mixer beat the butter, zest, and ground ginger, remaining vanilla essence and remaining sugar for 7 minutes until the mix is light and fluffy.
  4. Add eggs, beating in between each addition.
  5. Add the milk and flour and fold gently.
  6. Using a spatula carefully fold in the rhubarb mix until only just combined where ripples of rhubarb have occurred.
  7. Carefully spoon mix into the baking tin and bake for 55 minutes of until a skew inserted in the center comes out clean.
  8. Place on a cooling rack to cool.
  9. To make the icing combine all ingredients together and beat with electric beaters for 10 minutes until light and fluffy.
  10. On a cooled cake spread the icing all over, serve.

 

Notes:

  • You can always use milk instead of buttermilk but the cake wont be as dense.
  • I have decorated with some grated white chocolate and left over orange zest.
  • You will need 1 large orange for the zest required for this cake.

 

Rhubarb Orange and Ginger Cake recipe

Ingredients

Rhubarb Orange and Ginger Cake recipe

Step 2

Rhubarb Orange and Ginger Cake recipe

Step 7

 

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Pomegranate Orange Ginger and Cardamom Cake

Posted on Posted in Cakes .

Pomegranate Orange Ginger and Cardamom Cake

Pomegranate Orange Ginger and Cardamom Cake

So I have never cooked with Pomegranate before, nor have eaten it from memory. This fruit has been getting lots and lots of exposure lately so I decided that I wanted to make a cake with this ingredient.

It is quite an interesting fruit that I felt would lead to a good challenge for me as I am so unfamiliar with its flavour and texture.

After doing some research on flavours that may work with this fruit I ended up baking 3 very different cakes. These being:

  1. Chocolate and pomegranate
  2. White chocolate, cranberry and pomegranate
  3. Orange, ginger, pomegranate cardamom (and almost cinnamon but thought that was going too far).

The outcome, as much as I wouldn’t have thought this the Pomegranate Orange Ginger and Cardamom Cake was amazing! It tasted like Christmas Cake without the fruit in it. I’m no fan of Christmas cake but this cake it very very tasty indeed!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g dark brown sugar
  • 110g golden syrup
  • 3 pomegranates
  • 100 grams butter
  • 1 orange
  • 2 tsn ground ginger
  • ½ tsn ground cardamom
  • 3 cups plain flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sifted
  • ¾ cup white sugar

 

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 30cm cake tin with baking paper.
  2. Using electric beaters beat together the buttermilk, eggs, sugar, golden syrup, 2 tbsns pomegranate juice, butter and zest of the orange in a bowl.
  3. Sift in the ginger, cardamom, flour and bicarbonate of soda and beat until just  combine.
  4. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 1hour 15 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  5. Leave the cake to cool in the tin.
  6. Place the remaining  pomegranate juice into a pot with the white sugar on the stove and mix to combine, cooking on medium until the syrup starts to slightly thicken.
  7. Pour over the cooling cake until the cake is cool, then you can remove from the tin.
  8. Scatter the pomegranate seeds on top of the the cake and well as a few orange zesting’s.

 

Notes:

Pomegranate Orange Ginger and Cardamom Cake

Step 3

Pomegranate Orange Ginger and Cardamom Cake recipe

Step 4

Pomegranate Orange Ginger and Cardamom Cake

Step 5

Pomegranate Orange Ginger and Cardamom Cake

 

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German Spice Biscuits

Posted on Posted in Biscuits, German, Traditional .

German Spice Biscuit recipeGerman Spice Biscuits

I am a big fan of spices and saw a recipe for Chai biscuits that sparked my interest. Following, a traditional German Spice biscuit recipe caught my eye and I noticed the ingredients were pretty much the same. The only difference was the German biscuits used eggs instead of butter and they had 1/2 tsn pepper and nutmeg which the chai biscuits didn’t have. Looking at these 2 recipes I was more drawn to the traditional and more spiced flavoured biscuit.

These biscuits are very very similar in flavour to gingerbread men, they even have the same icing but are easier to make and take much less time.

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 + ¼ cups plain flour
  • ¼ tsn baking powder
  • 1 tsn ground ginger
  • ½ tsn nutmeg
  • 1 tsn ground cardamom
  • 1 tsn cinnamon
  • ¼ tsn finely ground black pepper
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 + ¼ cups icing sugar

 

Method:

  1. Preheat an oven to 180c and line a baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Sift flour, baking powder, spices and pepper in a bowl.
  3. Place the eggs (less 1 egg white) and sugar in a bowl and beat until thick and creamy.
  4. Stir in the flour mix until a dough is formed.
  5. Shape the dough into 1 tbsn sized balls (20g) and place on the baking tray. Flatten the top slightly with fingers.
  6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes of until just firm.
  7. Transfer onto a cooling rack.
  8. Lightly beat the egg white and add in enough of the icing sugar to form a smooth icing.
  9. Using a pastry-brush brush the icing over the top and sides of the biscuit until they are thickly coated. Leave them to set.

 

Notes:

  • The traditional way of icing these biscuits is pouring the icing over them, however you will find this don’t work and you waste majority of the icing and only get some biscuits covered.
  • These biscuits are not very extremely sweet, but super tasty. They would not taste as good if they were a sweeter biscuit.

German Spice Biscuit recipe

German Spice Biscuits recipe

German Spice Biscuits recipe

German Spice Biscuits recipe

 

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Spiced Pumpkin Pie

Posted on Posted in America, Pies, Traditional .

Pumpkin Pie

Spiced Pumpkin Pie

I have mentioned before that zucchini is one of my favorite veggies, in addition to this though I LOVE pumpkin. This recipe could actually be classified as a traditional cultural recipe as Pumpkin Pie is renown as a sweet treat in America (especially at Halloween).

Similar to zucchini cake there are many many pumpkin pie recipes but this one is my favorite and has great spices incorporated.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of pumpkin that has been cooked then pureed in the food processor
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 + ½ thickened cream
  • 200g brown sugar
  • 2 tsn ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsn ground ginger
  • ½ tsn nutmeg
  • ½ tsn ground cloves
  • ½ tsn all spice
  • 1 28cm sweet short crust pastry shell or store brought sweet crust pastry

Method:

  • If using store brought pastry, roll out on a lightly floured surface then transfer pastry onto a lightly greased 25cm loose bottomed tart pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. If you are using a bought tart shell omit this step.
  • Preheat the oven to 180c.
  • Line the pan with baking paper and fill with rice (this is called blind baking which stops the center of the pastry in the tart rising).
  •  Bake for 10 minutes.
  • Increase the oven temprature to 220c.
  • Place all ingredients (how simple is this) into a food processor and process until smooth.
  • Pour batter into the tart case and cook for 10 minutes.
  • Now reduce the oven to 150c and bake for a further 30 – 40 minutes
  • Cool, then its ready to serve. I suggest serving with a dollop of cream and a good drizzle of maple syrup.

Notes:

  • This is not the most amazing tart in the world as its not as sweet as a choc pie (clearly) but it is very tasty, different and a must if you love different spices (also if you love pumpkin like me).
  • You can make your own pastry by placing 250g plain flour, 110g icing sugar and 110g chilled & cubed butter in the food processor for a few seconds until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add an egg until the mix comes away from the walls of the processor and place in plastic wrap in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then transfer pastry onto a lightly greased 25cm loose bottomed tart pan

 

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