Beer for Dessert

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I'm not quite sure why, but I seem to be on a pumpkin kick lately. I saw the really adorable Great Pumpkin Pan on the Williams-Sonoma website along with the picture of the finished cake and fell in love with it. By the time it arrived from my mother, pumpkins had already disappeared from the shops so I couldn't make the seemingly appropriate pumpkin cake in the pumpkin pan and I had to find another cake that was dense and would bake properly in a sorta-but-not-really-bundt pan. I thought about a carrot cake which would also be a bit on the orange side, but kept looking until I found a gingerbread cake that used flat Guinness instead of milk in the batter. Beer makes many things, from BBQ to baked goods, taste better so I figured I'd give it a try.

The inclusion of the stout in the recipe did make me think about how booze of all kinds are a frequent addition in various American recipes. What cook doesn't enjoy adding a bit to the dish and consuming the remainder ala Julia Childs? *hic* Ironically, in the more traditional Finnish recipes I have yet to find one that calls for alcohol. It's interesting given that alcohol, especially around pikkujoulu season (Nov-Dec), is so much a part of the culture but isn't mixed with food. The US has always had an uneasy relationship with alcohol, one of both love and hate, but adding it to food is a rather common way to enjoy the taste without guilt. My mother used to make rum balls, an unbaked ball cookie, for the holidays that would make everyone at the office holiday party a little light in the shoes.

I also tried making this cake with margarine. I absolutely hate the taste of margarine, but the grocery didn't have the hyla (lactose-free) butter that I needed as the colleague I was making the cake for required it. I made a double batch since I wanted some extra little cakes and man, did that sucker crater. There are few things quite so sad as watching a cake puff up only to deflate in 30 seconds. I blamed the margarine as the batter tasted weird to begin with and I'm not at all familiar with some of these new 'designer' spreads. I still thought it was very odd that margarine would do that to a cake and considered something might be wrong. So, I went to a different store later in the week and found a brick of the hyla butter. Another double batch and I, again, watched the cake puff and crater. It then dawned on me that I had, in my familiarity with the recipe, perhaps gotten a bit too sure of myself. Indeed, I had somehow confused the amount of butter in grams to almost double the amount. D'oh. It's always the simple shit that will get you. Always. I could rant for a page or two about how I hate the various different measuring systems in recipes but, that's a burr up my arse that will have to wait for another day when I'm feeling a bit more inspired and irritated.

The recipe comes from Christmas 101, a cookbook that I wish more cookbooks were like as it's clear that the author has actually made most, if not all, the recipes in the book and he notes why he likes them or adds caveats for the less experienced cooks. There aren't any glossy photos and all of the recipes are fairly seasonal, but it's a trustworthy cookbook in a market awash with celebrity chefs pushing books full of food porn and crap recipes. I also added the orange sauce since I think Finns could use a little more variety in the range of dessert sauces since every dessert gets a helping of cream or vanilla sauce and there are times like with this cake when those just don't complement the dessert very well.

Deep Dark Stout Gingerbread

Makes: 12 or more servings
Time: about 20 mins prep + bake time
Source: Christmas 101

• 2 1/2 cups or 6 dl all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 sticks or 140g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups or 3 dl packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup or 2,25 dl dark molasses
• 3/4 cup or or 1,75 dl flat Guinness, room temperature
• confectioners' sugar, for garnish

1. Open Guinness and pour into a measuring cup about 1 hour before making the cake to warm up and go flat. You can also add just a pinch of salt to accelerate the decarbonation process. Either drink the rest or save it for cooking with another dish.
2. Position oven rack to center position and preheat to 350F/175C. Butter and flour the inside of a 12-cup fluted tube/bundt/sokerikakku pan, tapping out the excess flour.
3. Sift the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until blended and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium-high speed. Add eggs one at a time, then the yolk. Add molasses.
5. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, alternating with the Guinness. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed until the batter is smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Rap pan sharply on the countertop several times to remove bubbles. Level top of the batter with a spatula or spoon.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.. Cool on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto wire cooling rack lined with baking paper. Transfer to serving platter, sift confectioners' sugar over the top and serve warm. (If using the pumpkin cake form, trim the tops of the 2 halves with a serrated knife, spread a thin layer of apricot or other jam on the bottom half and place the top half on top of the jam. Remove crumbs or jagged bits and allow to fully cool.) Or cool completely and serve at room temperature. (The gingerbread can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, covered tightly with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature.)

**It has been said that these sorts of cakes taste quite a bit better if allowed to sit for a day/overnight before serving.

Orange Sauce for Gingerbread

Makes: about 1 3/4 cups
Source: CI

• 1 1/3 cups or 3,25 dl fresh orange juice, orange rinds zested to yield 1 teaspoon zest
• 1/2 cup or 1,25 dl granulated sugar 
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch 
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice from 1 small lemon

 

1. In small sauce pan bring orange juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to cook until sauce is thick and clear, about 1 minute.
2. Remove from heat, then stir in butter, lemon juice, and zest. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature over gingerbread.