Gingerbread pound cake

If you don’t have time to prepare the “original” gingerbread, which has to rest for a while I suggest this quick –to- make cake. It is both light and moist. I really wanted to add some prunes to it but because of the shortage in the supply I used dates – and it was great!
To bake it I used small loaf pans but you can easily use muffins tins.

Ingredients
5 tbsp butter, softened
½ cup white sugar
½ cup molasses
2 eggs
1 ¼ cups wheat flour
1 tbsp cocoa
½ cup warm milk
1 teaspoon backing soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon gingerbread spices
handful of chopped prunes or dates


Method
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses and beat in the eggs, than stir, set aside. In another bowl sift together the flour, cocoa, spices and salt. Mix the baking soda with warm milk in a separate cup. Gently fold 1/3 portion of flour mixture at a time into the egg mixture until combined. Pour the milk with baking soda and dates (prunes) and mix.
Spread into lightly buttered pan (you can also use flour or line it with the baking paper), and level the mixture with a spatula and bake for about 20 min. in preheated oven to 360F/ 180 oC.
Dust with powdered sugar or glaze it if desired

Gingerbread cookies

No one will be surprised with baking December’s gingerbread cookies. Frankly speaking I made them a first time in my life. Until now each year my Grandmother made gingerbread for Christmas. The real one, staying in a stoned jar for weeks before Christmas. This year we’ll also make those traditional ones but for this very moment: quick ginger cookies. Strongly gingerbread and delicious!

Ingredients
3 cups wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup soft butter
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
½ cup honey
¼ cup molasses or maple syrup


Method
In a bog bowl mix all dry ingredients. In another mix butter with sugar until fluffy. Add egg and gradually add the dry ingredients, mix everything. Slightly knead the dough. Wrap the dough in a plastic bag and place in a fridge for about 1 hour. After 1 hour roll out the dough, cut out the cookies. Place the cookies on a lined baking tray, put aside for another 15 min. in a cold place. Bake at 360F/ 180 oC until golden. Baked cookies keep their shape.

Gingerbread muffins

Christmas without gingerbread – no way! I can’t imagine that! I’m sure if my Mom wouldn’t have bake gingerbread each Christmas I would myself start bake those muffins. They are easy, quick, taste amazing and fill the full house with a Christmas aroma. Perfect!

The recipe is from ‘Moje wypieki’ website.

Ingredients
9 oz (250 g) wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground or crushed gloves
1 egg
2 oz (50 g) dark Muscovado sugar
2 oz (50 g) light Muscovado sugar
5 fl oz (150 ml) milk
¼ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
6 tbsp oil
6 tbsp golden syrup
4 tbsp molasses (or honey, maple syrup)


Method
In a bowl mix all dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, sugar. In another bowl mix the wet ingredients: egg, milk, vinegar, oil, golden syrup, molasses. Gently combine the dry ingredients with wet ingredients.

Spoon the batter into a lined muffin pan. Bake about 15-20 min. at 400F/ 200 oC. You can decorate muffins with an icing or powder sugar.

The best of the best. Gingerbread

I’ve decide a while ago. Christmas time confirmed it and last week place a dot on ‘i’: the gingerbread is my – without any doubts- favourite cake! For last two weeks I’ve been eating a big amounts of it (surprisingly!) I still don’t have enough. I’m not talking about just another regular gingerbread. Mine has to be heavy, walnuts and day after day become more delicious. Such a gingerbread is not the best straight from the oven. It has to rest, than it is perfect!

The recipe is from ‘Polish Kitchen’ ( book edited in 1982, belongs to my Mum).
Seeing all those dirty pages you can tell it has been used many times J

Ingredients
50og (18 oz) wheat or wholemeal flour
250g (9 oz) powder sugar
250g (9 oz) honey (liquid one)
150g (5,3 oz) walnuts ( optional other nuts or dried fruit)
5 eggs
2 tbsp caramel
1 teaspoon gingerbread spice mixture
1 teaspoon baking soda
100g (3,5 oz) butter (+ some butter to grease the pan)

Method
Grease and flour the loaf pan. Chop walnuts. Prepare caramel: heat 2 tbsp sugar in a pan until golden, whisk it with 3 tbsp water. Sift flour and spices. Mix butter, gradually add egg yolks, powder sugar and honey, caramel, baking soda and spices and ½ flour. Whisk egg whites, gently stir them in the butter mixture, add walnuts. Bake in preheated oven to 200 oC (400 F), for about 1 hour. Cold cake you can store covered in a parchment or an aluminium foil even for a month!