Every once in a while I run across a recipe of mine from a hundred years ago, and I wonder why exactly it is I've not made it in so long. This one, for instance, I first put together in something like 2001 or maybe 2002. Long before I had a Facebook page, a blog, or even a digital camera.
I was making a bunch of my Grandma Brown's Gingerbread already, so I just made an extra batch. Not that this needed an entire 9x13 pan of gingerbread. I had to eat the rest. Plus, I didn't have to use an entire pint of whipping cream, so I had some warm with fresh vanilla-cinnamon whipped cream. It was amazing!
But that's not why we're here. Not that I don't highly recommend warm gingerbread with fresh whipped cream, but we're here to go in-depth with a Ginger Trifle. As I type this, I can still taste the bowl full I had for my evening snack, and it makes my tastebuds happy.
Ingredients are pretty basic, really. Gingerbread, sherry, pears, bananas, oranges (except this time I used Clementines, so I put four in the picture in case I needed more than two - I didn't), eggs, milk, candied ginger, candied cherries, vanilla, whipping cream, confectioners' sugar. Make sure you get the candied ginger for this, or it'll taste funny. Oh yeah, and cornstarch. I forgot to put the cornstarch in the picture. Wouldn't be me if something wasn't missing and/or extra, and I've covered both with this one!
First is to cut the gingerbread into approximately 1-inch squares (this used a little more than half a 9x13 pan), spread them in the bottom of a glass bowl, and sprinkle them with sherry. If you don't want to do sherry, you can use white wine or muscatel (ice wine would be amazing as well if you can get your hands on some). And if you don't want to do alcohol at all, then use some white grape juice.
I let this stand while I make the custard, but you don't have to. It'll work just fine if you immediately start layering on the fruit.
You know what I love about this particular custard? Uses whole eggs. I hate having to separate eggs, and invariably I end up wasting whichever half I didn't need because I forget I put them away.
Anyway, whisk together the eggs, confectioners' sugar, and cornstarch. Then whisk in the milk and heat over medium heat until simmering (it'll start to thicken when it's almost done) whisking pretty constantly. You can get away with whisking every couple of minutes while it's still heating up, but after about 5 minutes you'll have to stand there and do it so it doesn't burn or get goofy lumps in it.
Once it comes to a simmer (as defined by bubbles forming at the edges), remove from heat and stir in some vanilla and chopped candied ginger. Then let it cool to room temperature, stirring every few minutes to both release heat and make sure a skin doesn't form on top. Should take about 30 minutes to cool down, depending on the temperature in your kitchen.
Getting back to our bowl, now is when you'll want to start adding your fruit. I highly recommend buying seedless oranges for this part, since biting into an unexpected seed can ruin your party (and your tooth!). I arbitrarily chose to start with the oranges, but it's pretty irrelevant which fruit goes in first.
Next I did the pears, and boy were they juicy pears! I could barely hold onto them to skin them, but the gingerbread soaked up the juice quite nicely so it all worked out.
Last I did the bananas, sliced about 1/2-inch thick. Feel free to slice them thinner if you'd rather, but not too thin or they're hard to eat. As I said, it doesn't matter which fruit goes in first. You could even mix them all together before spreading them in the bowl if you want. Just make sure you don't peel and cut your pears and bananas until you're ready to add them or they'll start turning brown.
Once all the fruit is in, spread the custard over the top, making sure to get it all the way to the edges and that no fruit is sticking up through. This will prevent the fruit from browning since it keeps the air away.
You can see the pieces of candied ginger in the custard way better in this shot. I like that!
After you've got the custard layer done, cover the bowl with plastic wrap (no, it doesn't have to touch the surface, it doesn't matter what anybody else says about custard forming a skin. It won't.) and refrigerate it for at least a couple of hours. I typically get to this point the day before I want to serve this, but as long as you give it at least two hours to set you should be fine if you're pressed for time.
Is there anything better than fresh whipped cream? Especially when it was whipped with some confectioners' sugar? I don't think so!
I committed what for some of you will be a cardinal sin: I used room temperature beaters in a room temperature bowl. You know why? I didn't care about peaks forming, stiff or not. You whip this until the beaters no longer pull the whipped cream up at all when you remove them. Which is why I left the imprints of the beaters in it when I took this picture. All you need to achieve here is thick whipped cream.
Spread the whipped cream on top of the custard. Be careful you don't scrape up any of the custard while you're doing it. Not that it matters, but it won't look as pretty. Then add halved candied cherries in whatever pattern you feel like and sprinkle the top with more chopped candied ginger.
I tried, and failed, to get a picture of the side of the bowl so you could see the layers. The trouble is, I don't have an actual trifle bowl so the sides are sloped. It's pretty, trust me! It's just that my photography skills do not allow me to show you.
That's the bowl I had tonight for my evening snack. I'm only showing you so you'll be jealous. I'm like that.
Ginger Trifle
Serves 10
1/4 cup sherry
2 large eggs
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup candied ginger (finely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 oranges (peeled and segmented)
2 pears (peeled, cored and diced)
2 bananas (thickly sliced)
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped with
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
10 candied cherries, halved, for garnish
1/8 cup finely chopped candied ginger, for garnish
Whisk together the eggs, 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Whisk in the milk and heat to a simmer, whisking constantly.
Stir in the candied ginger and vanilla; remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Arrange the gingerbread cubes in the bottom of a large glass bowl; sprinkle with the sherry and top with the fruit.
Spoon the custard into the bowl, spreading evenly to cover. Cover and refrigerate until set, at least two hours (I do overnight).
Beat whipping cream with 2 tablespoons sugar in a glass bowl until cream is very thick and stiff.
Top custard layer with whipped cream, and garnish with candied cherry halves and candied ginger pieces.
Serving Size: 266g
Calories: 312
Calories from Fat: 98
Total Fat: 10.9g
Saturated Fat: 4.5g
Cholesterol: 54mg
Sodium: 270mg
Total Carbohydrates: 48.6g
Dietary Fiber: 3.6g
Sugars: 29.0g
Protein: 5.4g
No comments:
Post a Comment