Ginger-Cream Bars. I think I am in love. Totally, fully, and completely in love. So much so, that the first three bars of this that I cut . . . somehow disappeared. I am not confessing anything here.
But seeing as how I live totally by myself, there is nobody else to blame. I did it. I ate them. I am a really naughty puppy.
What you are looking at here is a cake type of bar very reminiscent of a ginger bread. Moist and filled with spice and molasses,
With plenty of cinnamon and ginger and cloves. But that's not where the pleasure ends.
Top that moist, dark and delicious cake with a lush creamy icing. A cream cheese icing. Rich and indulgent.
But the pleasure doesn't end there. Nope. There is more deliciousness to be found.
The next bit is purely optional of course. But . . . I have chosen to top that lush cream cheese frosting with little bits of candied ginger root and toasted walnuts . . .
Yep, scattered all over the top. Of course they could be let out completely, but why . . . if you have them to use . . . why not use them!
The original recipe comes from a cookbook by Taste of Home called Grandmother's Favorite Recipes, and is attributed to a gal named Carol Nagelkirk from Holland Michigan.
The photograph in the book looked so tasty, I was instantly wanting to bake these. But, and this is a big but (also butt) when you live on your own. It said it made 5 dozen bars. 5 DOZEN BARS!
I really wanted to bake these but I wasn't wanting that many bars hanging around my house. I did what I always do. I cut the recipe in half.
It worked out really well, but I have to say that I think the idea that it makes 5 dozen bars to be a bit of a stretch.
The full recipe was supposed to bake in a 10 by 13 by 1 inch pan. Must be really small bars if you can get 60 bars out of that!
Ummm . . . I don't think so. There is far too much batter for a pan that size methinks anyways. Maybe a pan twice that size.
I have a sheet pan that is half that size and when I halved the recipe, it was clear to me that that pan wasn't going to be deep enough and so I baked it in an 8-inch square pan. There is no way the full recipe would bake in a 10 by 13 pan with 1-inch sides. That has to be a misprint.
Never mind, it worked well half sized in my 8-inch square pan, but there is no way you would get 2 1/2 dozen bars from it. At best you would get a dozen.
I would also say that it is not a bar like a cookie bar, but more like a cake. Even the photograph in the book likes like a cake rather than a cookie. Who cares a rose by any other name.
I did cut the amount of cloves called for in the recipe way way back. Half the amount called for in the recipe would be 1/2 tablespoon. I cannot imagine 1/2 tablespoon of cloves in this.
I can't imagine a full tablespoon of ground cloves in the full sized recipe either. It would be inedible in my opinion.
Even cutting it back to 1/2 teaspoon for this sized pan I had my doubts. Having tasted them I would say without a doubt any more than that and it would be cloves overkill.
You would have to be madly passionate about cloves as in that quantity, they would kill every other flavor in the cake. 1/2 teaspoon is close to being too much. Just this side of too much.
One thing which really intrigued me however was the use of hot coffee in the batter. Yep, hot coffee. Although I don't drink tea or coffee for religious reasons, I do keep a jar of coffee in my cupboard for visitors, who do drink it.
I am not at all opposed to cooking with it. I quite like the flavor of coffee in baked goods, and the Coffee Crisp is one of my favorite chocolate bars. When I lived in the UK my sister and middle son would periodically send me over some bite sized ones.
And I confess, I quite like the green wrapped coffee chocolates in the Cadbury's Roses tin at Christmas. Sigh . . . I will miss Cadbury's Roses . . .
You cannot taste the coffee in this cake. There is no flavor of it. It is probably spiced out by all of the cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
Having said that, you could probably get away with just using hot water or even hot tea. But again, I think the idea of hot is just to get the soda working, so water would work well.
And I don't mean to sound like I am tearing the recipe apart, I really don't. I am in love with these bars right! They are totally delicious.
I am only trying to advise you on changes you should make for success. Changes that I made. Changes that work well. Don't worry I wrote the recipe with the changes.
They work so well that I inhaled three pieces as soon as I cut into it. That speaks for itself, or should do.
I do love ginger flavored anything though. I am a card carrying ginger-holic.
I adore Gin Gins. Have you ever had them? They are little hard candies that are super gingery. Great for when you have an upset stomach.
I used to get them in the UK and thought I would never find them here in Nova Scotia, but wonder of all wonders! I did find a bag last week when I was in Winners! Yay!
I scooped it up. Needless to say I will be rationing them. My friend Jacquie brought me two little bags of Chimes Ginger Chews the other day. Cue in floating hearts. Yes, I am a ginger fanatic!
Which reminds me I promised my dad I would bake him some molasses cookies a few weeks ago and I haven't gotten around to it yet. Must put that on my "to do" list for very soon.
Can you see the beautiful cake-like texture of these bars? I hope so. Incredibly moist and delicious.
That frosting is its crowning glory. It cuts the spiciness down a notch with a creamy finish. There is a perfect balance of spice and cool creaminess here.
So you get a nice burst of spice in the bars, but tempered with that lush, rich cream cheese frosting. The two work together beautifully I have to say.
It was suggested you top these with some chopped walnuts. As I always say, toast your nuts, but why not add a bit more ginger-spice with some chopped candied ginger?
Why not indeed! Worked really well with the chopped toasted nuts and made for the perfect finish. Oh . . . and that mug? My mom loved Ginger also, especially Ginger cats. I had given her this mug one year for her Birthday. My sister gifted it back to me.
I thought to myself, ginger bread bars, a ginger cat mug. The perfect combination! I am so excited. I will soon have a ginger cat all of my own. I can't wait!
(On a side note, I do apologise for the haphazardness of this post. It has taken me three hours to get things the pictures etc. to work today. Very frustrating, but I got there in the end! Some days are just like that!)
Yield: one dozen cake type bars
Ginger-Cream Bars (small batch)
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min
This is an old time favorite, down-sized from its original to make 12 perfect bars. Spicy, moist, gingery delicious and topped with a lush cream cheese frosting. Perfect with a hot cuppa.
Ingredients
For the cake part:
- 1/2 cup (60g) butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (95g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (140g) plain all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 large free range egg, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60ml) molasses
- 1/2 cup (120ml) hot coffee
For the frosting:
- 1/4 cup (60g) butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 ounces full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup (130g) icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- chopped candied ginger and toasted walnuts to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square baking tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whisk together the flour, soda, spices and salt. Add to the creamed mixture and then beat in the egg. Beat in the molasses and the whisk in the hot coffee. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until risen and the top springs back when lightly touched. Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then lift out to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- To make the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese together to combine and then beat in the sugar and the vanilla until thick, creamy and smooth. Spread over the cooled cake.
- Sprinkle with chopped nuts and candied ginger and cut into bars to serve.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
I learned to love two things over the 20 + years that I spent in the UK. One of them was lamb, and the other was the cooking of Nigel Slater.
Lamb was not something I had ever really had when I was growing up. My mother did buy lamb chops once, but they smelled like burning mittens when she was cooking them so nobody would eat them.
It was probably not good lamb. I only came to love and appreciate lamb after moving over to the UK. Our wedding supper was held at a restaurant and we were allowed to pick whatever we wanted from the menu.
I decided to be brave and picked Saddle of Lamb. It was delicious. I fell in love at first bite and have been cooking lamb ever since. They had beautiful lamb in the UK.
I know you are all familiar with what lamb is, but you may not be so familiar with who Nigel Slater is. Nigel Slater is a cook who writes. He is not a classically trained Chef, but he is every bit as popular as any celebrity chef.
He's been writing a food column for the Observer every weekend for 27 years, and is the author of multiple cookbooks. He has also had several very popular series on the television, and a movie made about him called simply "Toast."
He is a man who loves to cook and who loves to eat and who loves to write about it. He cooks the way I love to cook and to eat. Its that simple.
I have a few of his cookery books. Not as many as I used to have because I am having to replace the ones I left behind, but I am starting off with his best (in my honest opinion), The Kitchen Diaries. There are three volumes and they are exactly what the title says. Kitchen Diaries.
Taken from Diaries he kept throughout the year of his adventures in the garden, kitchen, etc. Recipe journal, kitchen chronical. I find them fascinating and filled with loads of inspiration and great recipes.
What I love most about his recipes is that they are great jumping off points for doing my own thing. I have replaced all three of the kitchen diaries (one at a time) and have just gifted myself with the two Volumes of Tender (again one at a time.)
The recipe which inspired what I am sharing with you today comes from the first volume of The Kitchen Diaries, which is something which he cooked on the 7th of May. I am cooking it a tiny bit later in the year.
When my sister and I were at the Super Store the other day I spied some lamb chops. I have not had lamb since I arrived back in Canada last November and I was so tempted by them that I picked up a small package.
They were a bit pricey at over $8 for three chops, but sometimes you just have to fill your yearnings for what you love and enjoy, especially food wise. I have only me to please now, so why not
They were nice thick chops as well, with abundant tenderloin bits on the sides. Loin chips are like the T-bones of the lamb kingdom, with a nice little chunk of meat on one side of the T-bone and a little nugget of tender lamb on the other. (No surprise that is my favorite part!)
Of course I wanted to cook them perfectly. I didn't want to be wasting these prime cuts of meat. I looked to Nigel for inspiration and found this recipe, amongst a few others.
This felt and read like what I wanted to cook today and I happened to have some new potatoes in my cupboard. I did improvise on the recipe quite a bit, but most good cooks do.
He starts off by boiling some new potatoes in a pan of lightly salted water. I did that as well. His chops were simply seasoned with salt and black pepper.
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper to be exact.
He heated some olive oil in a heavy based skillet along with the finely grated zest of one fresh lemon and some fresh mint. I did not have fresh mint, so used dried and it worked fine.
I took the liberty of adding two fat cloves of garlic that I peeled, bashed and split open. These helped to flavor the oil that the chops were going to be fried in.
Simply fried, just until golden brown, seared really so that the lamb inside stays nice and pink and tender. But the juices of the lamb mingle with the olive oil, mint, lemon and garlic to make a lush pan juice.
He had merely crushed the potatoes into the pan juices at the end. I decided that I would fry them in the pan juices and brown them off a bit, before adding the lemon juice at the end.
The potatoes are boiled until tender. I lightly crushed them before adding them to the pan. Cracked them more or less, that way there were lots of craggy bits to brown and get a bit crisp. (I removed the lamb to a plate, keeping it warm and tented.)
That afforded me the time to really get the potatoes a bit crispy. And then I added the lamb back to the pan and squeezed over the lemon juice.
Leaving the skin on the potatoes and cracking them open rather than slicing or mashing them, gave them added interest I thought.
Well, the picture speaks for itself. Nothing there but the pan juices and golden crispy edged potatoes, lightly flavored with the lemon at the end.
And then I threw them into the pan with the potatoes and the lamb, coating them with some of those lush pan juices as well.
This was a beautiful combination. Tender moist pieces of lamb . . . crispy tender potatoes . . . lemon, mint and garlic pan juices.
Crispy tender beans . . .
You can see how perfectly cooked the lamb was. Just pink. Succulent. Delicious.
This combination made for a really wonderful dinner for myself. Cooking for one or two doesn't have to be boring. In fact if it is, then you're doing something wrong! (Now you know why I look the way I do.)
Many thanks to Nigel for the delicious inspiration!!
Lamb with Lemon, Mint & Potatoes
Yield: 2
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 30 Min
I wanted to take advantage of the flavors of the new potatoes that are showing up in the shops and paired them with some tender lamb chops. Inspired by Nigel Slater.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound smallish new potatoes
- 4 lamb loin chops
- one medium fresh lemon, zest and juice
- 1/2 tsp dried mint
- two fat cloves of garlic, peeled and mashed
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- light olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add the potatoes and bring back to the boil. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until they test tender when prodded with the sharp end of a knife.
- While they are cooking, heat the olive oil, mint, mashed garlic cloves and lemon zest in a large heavy bottomed skillet. Add some seasoning.
- Season the lamb chops all over with some salt and pepper.
- Once the oil begins to sizzle, add the lamb chops. Cook for two minutes on one side until it begins to color, then flip over and cook the other side, again until brown. Remove from the heat and tent with some foil.
- Scoop out your cooked potatoes into the pan with the oil, mint, garlic, etc. Mash lightly with a fork. Allow them to brown before flipping them over to brown lightly on the underside. Add the chops back to the pan. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over top and heat everything through.
- Serve two chops each, along with some of the browned potatoes and pan juices.
- I like to eat mine with some mint sauce or jelly.
I thought that there was no better way to begin the month of August than to share a delicious blueberry recipe. And you cannot get more delicious than an old fashioned blueberry muffins!
Whenever I think of August, I think of blueberries and corn, and when I think of wild blueberries, I immediately think of blueberry pie and blueberry muffins! It doesn't get much better than that!
Today's delicious Blueberry Muffin recipe comes from none other than the baking doyenne herself, Mary Berry. This is a gracious lady who has been around the kitchen more than a few times.
I love LOVED her on the Great British Bakeoff show. Somehow it was just not the same after she left. She brought a sense of class to the show.
This recipe comes from her book, Mary Berry's Baking Bible, which contains over 250 classic recipes. I, quite simply, love this book, almost as much as I love her!
You know muffins you buy at the shops? They are always far too big, far too sweet and far too expensive for what you are getting.
More cake than muffin, more often than not, they truly are disappointing. When I want a muffin, I want a muffin, and when I want cake I want cake.
These muffins are muffins, pure and simple. Not too sweet. Not too large. Beautifully textured. But then again, I would expect nothing less from Mary Berry.
I was very intrigued by the manner in which these were put together. You whisk together self rising flour and baking powder and then you drop in butter, which you rub into the flour with your fingertips.
Just until the mixture resembles fine dry breadcrumbs. I have done this often for making cakes, but never for muffins. Usually muffins use melted butter or oil.
Once you have the butter rubbed in you add lemon zest and sugar. I was tempted to use Dorie Greenspan's method of rubbing the lemon zest into the sugar, but for this first time baking these muffins I thought I would go with Mary's method.
She uses caster sugar which is a finely granulated sugar. In the UK their granulated sugar is much more coarser than ours in North America. It is perfectly fine to just use granulated sugar in these in North America.
It is pretty much the same in texture as caster sugar.
Its funny how things like something as simple as sugar, or flour for that matter, can differ greatly from one country to the next. In the UK, they mostly recommend caster sugar for baking.
That is because their granulated sugar is so coarse that it doesn't melt properly in recipes. If you have ever had a cake come out of the oven with a speckled top, that's because your sugar was too coarse and not creamed in well enough.
The purpose of creaming is to almost melt the sugar into the butter so that doesn't happen. For these, it didn't seem to matter.
In fact, in the UK, more often than not, the sugar is just stirred into the dry ingredients, like in scones for instance. I thought that totally odd, but it also totally works, especially if you are using caster sugar.
As with any muffin recipe, the wet ingredients are stirred into the dry ingredients, just until they are combined. That is what gives them their beautiful texture.
In a cake, you want a finer texture and crumb. Muffins are meant to be much more rustic. They are classified as a quick bread not a cake, and should eat as such.
Oh how I wish I had had some wild blueberries to use in these muffins. I can only think how lovely they would be with wild berries.
Alas, my blueberry picking days are over. When I was a child we spent many a hot day in August picking blueberries for my mother. It was hot, back breaking work.
Unlike high bush berries, wild blueberries grown close to the ground. You need to crouch when you are picking them. I cannot crouch these days due to arthritis.
But I have many fond memories of having picked them in the past. Most people here in Nova Scotia have their favorite blueberry picking territories, and are loath to share them with someone else. They do grow wild just about everywhere.
But are much more abundant in some areas than in others. When you find a prime spot you tend to stick to it and keep it to yourself. We once owned a house in Nictaux, close to the falls.
There was a gravel pit up back of us. The soil was dry and sandy and we had tons of berries, ripe for the picking. You could go out and pick every day and would have your bucket filled in next to no time.
The only problem with blueberries and the month of August is that the bears are out there picking them also. I can remember always being bear aware when picking berries as a child.
The bears are out scavenging and filling up their bellies in August for the Winter's hibernation they know lies ahead, and so you are as likely to come across a bear in the bush as you are berries. So you do need to be careful.
I am terrified of bears. Absolutely terrified.
In any case, I did not have to fight the bears for these berries I used today. They were highbush berries, not quite as sweet as the wild, but delicious nonetheless.
I took half of these over to my next door neighbor. I thought she would enjoy them.
These are a lovely muffin. Light and beautifully textured. Not too sweet, and stuffed with plenty of berries. I highly recommend!! If they are good enough for Mary, they are plenty good enough for me!
Mary Berry's Blueberry Muffins
Yield: 8
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min
Moist and delicious and stuffed with sweet berries!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup plus 1 TBS (250g) self rising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 1/2 TBS (50g) butter, at room temperature
- 6 1/2 TBS (75g) caster sugar (fine granulated sugar)
- 3/4 cup (175g) blueberries
- the finely grated zest of one lemon
- 2 large free range eggs, beaten
- 9 fluid ounces (250ml) milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a muffin tin really well, or line with paper liners. (I used a six cup muffin tin and 2 ramekins.)
- Measure the flour and baking powder into a bowl and give it a good stir. Drop in the butter and then rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine dry bread crumbs. Stir in the lemon zest, sugar and blueberries.
- Mix the eggs and milk together and then add to the dry ingredients, stirring all together just until the mixture is combined. Its okay if the batter is a bit lumpy. In fact, this is desirable.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin cups filling them almost to the top.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until well risen and golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean and they should spring back when lightly touched.
- Leave to cool for a few minutes, then tip out onto a wire rack to cool for a bit longer.
- Beautiful served warm with a nice hot cuppa!
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