Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Dark and Stormy Fresh Ginger Gingerbread

On a day when I wanted to make dessert but didn’t want it to be an all-day project, this was the perfect cake. It’s from Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts which is full of great desserts that don’t take all day to make. I was drawn to the idea of a quick gingerbread made with fresh ginger, and the variation suggested in the side-bar sealed the deal. That variation was to replace some of the water in the recipe with dark rum to match the flavors in a Dark and Stormy cocktail. So, not only was this cake whipped up in record time by mixing everything in a food processor, adding a little Gosling’s Black Seal rum took me back to that pretty, pink sand and that sparkling, blue water of Bermuda on a January day. Alice Medrich also offers all sorts of great ideas for garnishing desserts, and there’s even a page of “Things to do with gingerbread” that lists accompaniments like lemon whipped cream, dessert chutney, and fruits in syrup. Sticking with the Dark and Stormy theme, I topped mine with grated lime zest and poured a little more rum over the mascarpone whipped cream. 

The only slightly time-consuming task here was peeling some fresh ginger. You need to peel and slice enough to fill one-half cup. Then, the fresh ginger was finely minced in the food processor. Next, brown sugar, cinnamon, ground dried ginger, allspice, cardamom, salt, molasses, butter, an egg, rum, water, flour, and baking soda were added. In all of about 15 seconds, the batter was done. The cake baked in an eight-inch square pan for about 30 minutes. I whipped mascarpone and cream with a scant bit of sugar and washed a lime for zesting. Once the cake was cool, it was ready to be topped with the lime zest, some whipped cream, and a drizzle of more black rum. 

Ginger and molasses have become a couple of my favorite ingredients in recent years, and they’re especially good in the wintertime. They’re also quite good with the flavor of rum. Admittedly, our winter hasn’t been too harrowing, but still, a dessert that brought back memories of Bermuda was a welcome idea.

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23 comments:

  1. i have become obsessed with gingerbread - this sounds like a super delicious take on it, i really need to give it a go!

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  2. Wonderfully spicy and moist! A real beauty.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  3. The cake looks moist and delicious!Love the flavors,Lisa!

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  4. With fresh ginger I imagine the flavour would be quite striking.

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  5. This is so cool! I love ginger and I love dark and stormys. Fabulous cake.

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  6. When I saw the recipe title, I was wondering whether the gingerbread was named after the cocktail (which indeed it was) or that opening for overwritten, often Gothic tales ("it was a dark and stormy night . . .). ;-) I love gingerbread and am mighty fan of Gosling's too, so putting the two together is a great match in my book. Good stuff - thanks.

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  7. OMG. Rum with the mascarpone whipped cream. That is brilliant. I have to remember this adult gingerbread cake. It would be great for some of my catering gigs.

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  8. That cake just looks like heaven my friend, simply perfect :D

    Cheers
    CCU

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  9. The mascarpone cream topping with rum makes this gingerbread really special.

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  10. YUM. There is not one thing I don't like about this recipe.

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  11. This does look delicious and would be wonderfully comforting on a cold day, although it seems we're having Bermuda style weather every day lately. The dark cake looks great on your pretty teal plate!

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  12. Love the combo & title!! The dark & stormy drew me in since I enjoy that drink.

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  13. lime zest, eh? i'd call that a great touch. the crumb on this gingerbread looks perfect, lisa--i like this rendition very much!

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  14. This is truly Sinfully Delicious!
    Loving the flavors here ginger, molasses must have taken this cake on the top... Rich n dense.. as it should be..
    Delicious!

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  15. I've never had gingerbread and I swoon over your pictures of the dark moist cake. I can't wait to try it for myself.

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  16. Love the dark and stormy part!
    I'm tempted, but still am going to hang in there with Maida Heatter's Moosebread gingerbread. Our favorite. And we DO serve it with a sour lemony sauce.

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  17. I have been thinking of gingerbread and cake lately, especially since I missed making gingerbread cookies for Xmas! I saw a French chef peel ginger with a teaspoon and I have adopted this technique ever since, just hold it neat the ginger and scrape the skin with the tip of the spoon. Great clics as always.

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  18. Gingerbread is always one of my favorite treats! I am also amazed at how cakes can be made in the food processor. It's such a fun way to whip up a cake :)

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  19. You know Lisa, I had never taken gingerbread so seriously before until I stopped by your blog. This looks so stunning and something I am craving for right now!
    http://cosmopolitancurrymania.blogspot.in/

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  20. I love the look of this gingerbread. How yummy. I love how you served it - looks amazing. xx

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  21. This looks amazing. I love gingerbread, and just made some last week to all my family's delight. Gingerbread is truly a wonderful winter dessert!

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  22. Such a pretty plate of dessert. I was out with some friends the other night and a bunch of people ordered dark and stormy's. I had never even heard of that drink! I think I would prefer it in dessert form. Randy loves gingerbread and I haven't made it yet this year!

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  23. Oooh it looks like I have another dessert book to buy! I love books that offer delicious cakes that are simple to make. Thanks for sharing. This gingerbread looks heavenly!

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