Gingerbread With Milk Chocolate Chunks. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas folks! Am sure your  fruit cakes and other Christmas goodies are all ready, waiting to be polished off. And your home is filled the scent of warm spices and all things festive!

Do you love ginger? I always have peeled ginger in my freezer and use it often in cooking, absolutely love Ginger Chutney.  But it is unlikely you will catch me eating candied ginger or other sweets with an assertive ginger flavor. But there are lots of ginger fans out there, so there has to a recipe for Gingerbread on the channel and blog.

Gingerbread is usually made with fresh or ground ginger, spices and molasses for that rich color and flavor. This recipe from Alice Medrich has  an unusual ingredient - milk chocolate, stirred into the batter. She describes the Gingerbread as a ‘pure bolt of ginger heat’ which is what you must expect considering that there is an entire half cup of fresh ginger in the cake! A cake meant for serious ginger lovers. Honey, molasses and brown sugar are the sweeteners which soften the heat, chopped milk chocolate lends it an exotic touch.

The recipe uses light unsulphured molasses. Since I was not able to source it in time, I have used jaggery liquid. You can find it at organic food stores nearby.

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So if you are a die hard fan of intense ginger, do try this recipe! A sweet, very spicy ginger cake with a tender crumb is what you can expect.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour - 190 grams / 1.5 cups
• Salt - ¼ teaspoon
• Baking soda - 1 teaspoon
• Light brown sugar - 55 grams /1/4 cup packed
• Light molasses - 60 ml / 1/4 cup
• ( I have used jaggery liquid from Happy Healthy Me)
• Honey - 60 ml / 1/4 cup
• Egg 1 large /50 grams without shell
• Fresh ginger, peeled and very finely minced -1/2 cup
• (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger, read note)
•   Soft, unsalted butter, cut into pieces -84 grams / 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick)
• Water- ½ cup/ 120 ml
• Milk chocolate, cut into small pieces, or milk chocolate chips - 112 grams /4 ounces
• Whipped cream or creme fraiche for serving, optional
• Method
• Preheat oven to 180C /350F. Line and grease a 9’’ round /9’’ square baking tin.Weigh all ingredients and line them up on the counter before you start mixing the batter.
• Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and ground ginger twice. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the honey,molasses and brown sugar. Stir in the fresh ginger. Whisk in the egg.
• Heat the butter and water in a saucepan until the butter melts
• Whisk in the hot water and butter into the honey mixture.
• Gently stir in the flour mixture until smooth
• Fold in the chocolate chunks
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Be sure it is not a chunk of gooey chocolate your toothpick has encountered!
• The baking time may vary slightly in your oven. Do not overbake.
• Cool the cake in the tin over a cooling rack.
• When it is still very slightly warm, Invert the cake on the rack, peel the parchment. Reinvert on the serving platter,right side up. Serve warm plain or with a dollop of whipped cream /creme fraiche.
• Note: Try using mixed spices along with a lesser quantity of ground ginger. I would suggest you halve the recipe and bake in a muffin tin. Taste and tailor the spices and ginger to your taste.