Gingerbread! Oh my!

Source: Pink Paper Peppermints

Fall is designed for baking.  The weather starts to cool off, and the thought of turning on the oven no longer makes me want to run.  And fall brings to mind pumpkin, apples, squash, spices, caramel...all of which are fodder for great baking!

Last night I was looking for something seasonal to bake.  Steve's not a fan of apple pie (What???!!) so I decided to whip up a gingerbread.

I used a recipe from Pie in the Sky, a high-altitude cookbook, which yields such beautiful, perfectly risen results.  This gingerbread has a great tang from the ginger - one whole tablespoon of fresh ginger! - and is dense and moist, perfect for a fall evening.

I topped it with whipped cream (from a can) with a little fresh-grated nutmeg on top.  Have you ever seen a whole nutmeg?  I got mine from Penzey's, a spice store on N. Academy.

The flavor, when you grate it fresh with a microplane is out of this world.   Not to mention it looks pretty and fancy.  (Want to buy a microplane?  I love to get my baking tools at Ace Hardware.  Their selection is great and prices are good.)

What to top a gingerbread with can be the source of great discussion.  It tastes great alone; how about a simple dusting of powdered sugar?  Or take it just a step further, like I did, with whipped cream.  Or what about a Raspberry-Pear Sauce (yum!) or Lemon Rum Sauce (yum!)?  Take your pick!

Here are some recipes:

Out of This World Gingerbread
Serves 9 (very generously)

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream
1-2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger (I used 1 tbsp.; next time I'll try 1 1/2)
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 cup hot water

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.  In a large bowl, blend butter and sugar.  Add egg.  Add sour cream and fresh ginger, and blend well.  In a measuring cup, combine molasses and hot water until molasses is dissolved.  Add it to the sour cream mixture alternately with flour mixture.  Pour batter into a greased 9x9 inch square pan.  Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.  Serve warm.

At sea level: Use 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sour cream, and slightly less fresh ginger.  Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Raspberry-Pear Sauce
10 oz. frozen raspberries, thawed or fresh raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
3 firm pears, peeled, cored, and chopped

Drain frozen raspberries, if using.  Reserve 1/4 cup juice.  In a blender, blend raspberries and reserved juice (or 1/4 cup water) until smooth.  Strain to remove seeds.  In a saucepan, combine raspberry puree, sugar, lemon juice and pears.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat and simmer until pears are tender.  Serve the sauce warm over gingerbread.

Lemon-Rum Sauce
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 stick butter, cut into pieces
3 tbsp. dark rum, to taste

In a small pot, whisk egg and water.  Add sugar, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, and butter.  Whisk over medium heat to melt butter and dissolve sugar.  Increase the heat to medium-high and whisk until boiling.  Continue to whisk for 1 minute more.  Strain; then add rum to taste.  Serve warm.