August Recipe : Summer Berry Trifle

Because it is summer, and because I can't resist berries, this month's recipe is a Trifle. I have included one recipe from Sundays at the Moosewood Restaurant, Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks for you to follow, or you are more than welcome to create your own, or use your favorite recipe. The recipe below comes from the British Isles by Tom Walsh and is described as a "Proper Trifle" (because all things british are proper). 

If you don't use the recipe, remember trifles can be made with sponge cake or pound cake, layered with whipped cream or custard, and your choice of macerated fruits. Bake the pound cake from scratch - or from your favorite box - just let us know which. 


Can't wait to see all of your creations (and sorry for the late post!) If you need additional time to post this month's recipe feel free to post the first week of September. 


Enjoy!


A Proper Trifle
from Sundays at the Moosewood Restaurant, Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks


A Proper Custard
1 1/2 C heavy cream
5 egg yolks
3 T superfine or granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch


Cake/Fruit Layer
5 C broken pieces pound cake or sponge cake
raspberry jam
1/8-1/4 C sherry
1 1/2 C fresh (or frozen) raspberries or blackberries
1 large banana


Topping
1/2 pint heavy cream, whipped
1/4 C slivered almonds, lightly toasted


To make the custard, heat the cream in a small saucepan, taking care that it does not scorch. In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl. When the cream is hot, pour it into the bowl with the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Return the custard to the saucepan and stir constantly on low heat until thickened, but do not let it boil (*see my note below). Remove it from the heat and cool. 


To assemble the trifle, spread the pieces of cake with a thin layer of jam.  Put the pieces in a large bowl. (Clear glass or crystal is traditional.) Sprinkle the sherry and berries over the cake and stir. Don't bother to thaw the frozen berries ; theres less mess if they're still frozen. Peel and thinly slice the banana. Stir it in with the cake and berries. Drizzle the custard over the top. Don't expect to cover and completely encase the cake and fruit mix. 


Spread the whipped cream over the trifle. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. 


A british trifle differs from the American version with only one layer of cake and fruit mixed together. Feel free to assemble however you like substituting fruits in season and available to you. 




*Note: When cooking your custard, don't overcook it on the stovetop. Remove it from the heat as soon as it starts to thicken like pudding. This step usually happens quickly so keep an eye on it! 


Some links to fantastic pound cakes:
Paula Deen (where large amounts of butter are accepted!)
Ina Garten's Lemon Pound Cake (who says you can't have lemon?)
Buttermilk Pound Cake, All Recipes

This cake is special. I finally had a chance make the cake yesterday and was completely pleased with the results. We have two in the family that are not crazy about ginger, but even they enjoyed the cake. The flavors worked nicely together: the ginger and the caramel sauce. The fresh ginger was pleasant, not overwhelming. The cake was exceptionally moist. The caramel was lovely and I will make it again for a topping on other recipes. This cake deserves to be shown off and I look forward to serving this for dinner guests in the future!

Ginger Cake!

The recipe for this cake was mouthwatering just to read it. I can only imagine how wonderful this dessert must be from the original restaurant. The recipe, though it had a lot of ingredients, was easy to follow and made for a very tasty batter! I brought my friend Amy along for the ride on the day I decided to make it. So while we discussed life matters, we baked! It was a fun afternoon.

The cake turned out well and tasted great. Our only tragedy of the day was not watching the carmel closely. It took a very long time to reach the appropriate temperature and I knew we should watch it closely when the temperature began to rise, but we got busy talking and before we knew it, it was black. We were both heart broken! But, that was solved with a plate of cake. I probably disgraced the cake's creator by adding store-bought carmel as the topping, but it was still delicious! It will definitely be my birthday cake in October!

Ginger Cake!

I made the ginger cake and liked it very much! Thanks for another great recipe! Check out my full post on the Lovely Lady Baker blog.

Chow's Ginger Cake

As always, I start to make the recipes from the cOven with some trepidation, and this one as much as any – probably because it was an attempt to recreate a particular dessert from a particular restaurant – and one that had been showered with glowing praise.

And I had decided that I was going to attempt to make it gluten-free, as my partner is a bit wheat-intolerant. Plus, since corn syrup is hard to find in Australia, I was going to substitute golden syrup and use whatever molasses I could find. (In the end, I think it may have been blackstrap after all, after the recipe advised not to use that!).

I had intended to cook this earlier in the week, but when we decided to have a lovely dinner at home on Friday night, it seemed the perfect dessert after home-made prawn cutlets, and roast chicken and vegies for main.

It was easy to make, though I found the order of doing some things intriguing. I had to cook it a bit longer than suggested, possibly because of the gluten-free flour, or the fact that my oven is getting old.

And it was delicious. The two types of ginger and other spices made it a bit sharp, set off by the caramel sauce. I didn’t have the energy for making the special cream (nor does my waistline need it either!) We had it with natural yoghurt – which also worked really well!

It was really great. My partner said that he thought it was really lovely too!

And there is more for dessert tonight & tomorrow!

Best of Intentions

Well, there I was, almost 38 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good. Looking forward to making a fabulous ginger cake to take to a friend's dinner party this weekend. It was going to be great.

...and then...last night...I sneezed. And all my hopes were dashed.

Turns out I pulled a muscle in my back, if you can believe it. Who does that? Apparently pregnant women in their 38th week do that, all the time. And so the ginger cake, I'm afraid, is not going to be made this month. I can barely breathe deeply; never mind trying to whip and mix and bake a 3 component cake. Sigh.

But I've been so very delinquent in my blogging in the last couple months, despite the fact that I've been baking! So I thought that my time recuperating from my fateful sneeze could be spent blogging about baked goods passed. So here we go...

May: Free For All

I made April's recipe for my freebie.
Check out my fruit tart!

This was my very first fruit tart ever. And I was really pleased with the recipe. It was very straight forward and almost fool-proof. What amazed me was how quickly the pastry cream turned from soupy to custard. I looked away for a second, and there it was. Yum.

I was a bit intimidated by the idea of arranging the fruit, but I think it turned out pretty well. And well, as my mom always says, it all tastes the same in your stomach!

June: Crepes

For the first time in a while, Jay and I were able to wake up late on a Saturday morning. And it was a beautiful Saturday morning, for that matter. So obviously, it was the perfect opportunity to make a special breakfast: Spinach, portabello mushroom and gruyere crepes and dessert crepes with varying combinations of strawberries, honey-sweetened ricotta cheese and nutella. Dessert after breakfast--can't beat that.

July Recipe: Chow's Ginger Cake

This month's recipe was chosen by Gretchen. The recipe for Ginger Cake below is her absolute favorite dessert. It comes from a great restaurant here in San Francisco, CHOW, and the recipe was published by SF Gate who also admire chef Tony Gulisano's recipe. Gretchen is challenging us to replicate this dessert and "attempt to achieve the gooey, moist, delicious consistency that Chow achieves every time". 


There are three components to the recipe - the cake, caramel and whipped cream. If you read through the SFGate article, it suggests serving it with Vanilla Ice Cream, or Pumpkin Ice Cream like Chow does, but the recipe only calls for whipped cream. Feel free to make your own ice cream in addition to this months recipe if you have the equipment. Try also to stick as close to the original as possible so we can see who makes the gooiest cake possible. Sorry to those of you who don't live in San Francisco and have no frame of reference for this cake (I haven't eaten here yet so I'm just as clueless). But, I have a feeling you will be able to make it.... and possibly even enjoy it. If you need to make adjustments for dietary restrictions feel free. Here is one source for substitutions. 


Remember to post during the last week of the month and by the 31st. Looking forward to seeing your cakes!

Credit: Craig Lee / Special to The Chronicle; styled by Julia Mitchell

Chow's Ginger Cake with Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream
SF Gate, courtesy of Chow Restaurant, San Francisco
Printer Friendly Version


The secrets:

Two kinds of ginger: Loads of fresh ginger, backed by the powdered product, gives the cake a fresh spike of flavor. Dark molasses: This adds a rich, earthy element to the blend. Warming before serving: While the cake is good cold, it tastes even better gently reheated in the oven. Caramel sauce: The caramel adds a pleasant dose of sweetness and sets this cake apart. Serves 16
Ginger cakeButter and flour to prepare pan
2 ounces ginger, peeled and finely grated on a Microplane (about 3 tablespoons)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup rice bran oil or other neutral flavored oil
3/4 cup dark molasses (see Note)
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon baking soda
Caramel sauce1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup heavy whipping cream at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into pieces
Whipped cream1 cup very cold heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon Tahitian vanilla extract
1 tablespoon powdered sugar, + more to garnish
For the cake: Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 9- by 9-inch cake pan and dust very lightly with flour or line with parchment paper (see Note).
Combine ginger with 1/2 tablespoon water in a mixing bowl; add sugar, oil and molasses. Mix on low speed. Add eggs; continue mixing at low speed until fully incorporated.
Combine flour, cinnamon, cloves, white pepper, ground ginger and baking soda in another mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients slowly to the egg mixture, continuing to beat slowly, scraping mixing bowl occasionally. Increase speed to medium for 2 minutes. Scrape; decrease speed to low and slowly add 3/4 cup hot tap water. Mix until just combined, occasionally scraping. (The batter will be slightly thin.)
Pour into prepared cake pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes.
For the caramel sauce: In a medium-size stainless steel pot, combine sugar and 1 3/4 cups hot water, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add corn syrup and cream of tartar; mix. Wipe down the inside of the pot with a wet towel to remove any sugar crystals. If needed, also brush inside of pot just once with a wet pastry brush. Bring to a boil over high heat without stirring, until mixture becomes a deep caramel color or a candy thermometer reaches 335°.
Remove pot from heat and immediately add cream in a slow stream while stirring (be careful - it will pop and sputter). Whisk in salt and the butter, a little at a time.
The caramel sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated. Carefully reheat in a water bath or in a microwave before using. Makes approximately 2 cups.

For the whipped cream: Vigorously whisk cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar in a cold bowl until the cream reaches soft peaks. You want the cream to be relatively soft so it can slowly run over the sides of the cake. Makes about 2 cups; refrigerate leftovers to use another time.
To finish: (At Chow, the cake is cut into 2-inch squares and reheated 2 1/2 minutes in a 350° oven.) Place the cake square in a shallow bowl, top with caramel sauce and a dollop of whipped cream. Finish with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Note: If you plan to turn the cake out of the pan before cutting, also use the parchment paper, which helps the cake release more easily. Dark molasses (also labeled "full") is more intensely flavored and less sweet than light or mild molasses. Avoid using blackstrap, which is less sweet and has a stronger flavor than dark molasses.