PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2022

D I S H A N D D R I N K

WHAT’S Cookin’

A GINGER CAKE TO REMEMBER

BY MARY DISOMMA

FIRST, THE CAKE INGREDIENTS : • 1½ cups plus 3 tablespoons cake flour, sifted • ¼ cup almond flour • ½ teaspoon (tsp) baking powder • A pinch of salt • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened • 1½ cups granulated sugar • 1 tsp fresh lemon zest • 2 tsp grated fresh ginger root • ½ cup crème fraîche or sour cream • ½ cup mascarpone cheese, room • ½ tsp Mary DiSomma’s Cognac Barrel-aged Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract • 1 tablespoon (TBSP) ginger liqueur (or a little more if you really like ginger!) • 2 tsp finely chopped crystalized ginger ICING INGREDIENTS: • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted • 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice, 2 tsp Koval ginger liqueur optional: Crystalized ginger “roses” and fresh mint leaves THE PROCESS : 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-by 5-inch loaf pan or individual cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottoms with parchment paper. temperature • 3 large eggs

2. In a bowl, combine cake flour, al mond flour, baking powder and salt. 3. Using a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar onmedium for 3minutes. Add lemon zest, grated ginger root, crème fraiche and mascarpone. Beat on medium until combined. 4. In a bowl, combine eggs, vanilla and ginger liqueur. Beat with a fork until blended. 5. With mixer on medium low, add dry ingredients alternating with egg mixture. Start and end with dry ingredients. 6. In a small bowl, toss chopped crystalized ginger with remaining 3 TBSP cake f lour. Fold the crystalized ginger into batter. 7. Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan or cake pans. Bake in preheated oven until lightly browned. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean when done. Loaf pan will take approximately one hour to bake. Individual cakes will take between 30 and 35 minutes. 8. Let cool for 15 minutes. Remove from pans. 9. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice and liqueur. Drizzle glaze over cakes. If desired, decorate with crystalized ginger roses. Slice thin 1-inch-long slivers of crystalized ginger. Roll one sliver into a very tight roll and place in the center of a cake. Your cakes will rival any of the best bakeries around!

G inger is one of themost prized spices in the world. But I hadn’t fully understood how special fresh ginger root is until I took a trip to India, where luckily for me, Indian cooking classes were on the itinerary. Soon I was off and running. My triple ginger cake recipe is the perfect way to get a pack of ginger flavor in every bite. Cake flour, mascarpone cheese and crème fraîche make the cakes rich, yet tender. And I use grated fresh ginger root, crystalized ginger and ginger-infused liqueur. For the liqueur, I used Koval’s organic ginger liqueur, which takes 60 pounds of ginger tomake one batch. What a great punch of flavor. Plus, the ingredients are sourced from Illinois farms!

About our chef : Mary DiSomma lives in Oak Park and Cuba, Illinois. She is the author and publisher of A Gift of Cookies: Recipes to Share with Family & Friends, a philanthropist, podiatrist, entrepreneur, wife to Bill and mom to four adult children

OCTOBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 15