Ginger and Cream cheese Cupcakes

 

I love ginger! This is a bit more than well-loved gingerbread as I used freshly grated "fresh ginger" for the cream cheese frosting. It gives more kick if you like the gingery flavour like I do. However, you can use the ginger syrup from the jar if you prefer a milder taste. it's up to you! :) 

These little beauties are a lovely teatime treat. 

Ingredients

 

• 100g butter
• 100g light brown soft sugar
• 125g golden syrup
• 50g treacle (or molasses)
• 150ml milk
• 1 large egg
• 20g chopped ginger from a jar of stem ginger in syrup
• 225g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon

For the icing

• 60g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 175g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp ginger syrup from a jar of stem ginger in syrup (I used fresh grated from which I squeezed the juice)
• 60g mascarpone (or cream cheese)
• Crystallised ginger, roughly chopped, to decorate (optional)

 

Method

 

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases.
2. Combine the butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle in a small saucepan and heat until the butter has completely melted. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then stir in the milk and beat in the egg. Stir in the chopped ginger.
3. Place the flour, baking powder and spices into a large mixing bowl and mix to combine. Make a well in the centre and pour in the wet ingredients, then stir together, using a balloon whisk, until smooth.
4. Divide the mixture between the cake cases. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until nicely risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before icing.
5. To make the icing, place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat for a few minutes until smooth. Pipe or use a teaspoon to decorate each cake and top with crystallised ginger, if liked.

Japanese Cheesecake

 

This Japanese cheesecake is nothing like any other cheesecake, but is very familiar to me. I was once hooked on this when I was a teenager. I had never thought in a million years that I could bake this, but here it is, I CAN.  It's a rather fiddly process as it is baked in the oven with a water-bath, but it's worth it. 

It's light, fluffy and yet very moist. Awww, memory of Japan! 

Ingredients

40g salted butter diced 

80ml milk

170g full-fat soft cheese

140g caster sugar (30g for cheese mixture, 110g for egg white)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs separated 

40g plain flour 

14g cornflour

1/2 tbsp lemon juice 

Method

1.     Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C. Grease and line a deep 20cm diameter fixed-base tin, making sure that the baking paper forms a collar that stands at least 6cm above the rim of the tin. If you use a loose-base tin, wrap the tin with tinfoil so that the water won't get into the tin.
 
2.     Put the butter, milk, soft cheese and 30g of the sugar in a microwave-safe bowl and place it in the microwave. Set for 1 minute, but check every 10 seconds and whisk the mixture until the butter has melted and you have a smooth mixture. Stir through the vanilla, remove from the microwave and let the mixture cool slightly.
 
3.     Whisk the egg yolks together, then gently whisk these into the cheese mixture. Sift the flour and cornflour together, then gently whisk through the egg and soft cheese mixture, adding the lemon juice.
 
4.     Put the egg whites into a free-standing mixer and whisk to soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining 110g sugar, whisking until you have a meringue-like mixture. Add a third of the egg white mixture to the soft cheese mixture and slowly fold through until you have no lumps of meringue. Repeat with another third of the egg whites. Now add the whisked mixture to the egg whites left in the mixer, folding until combined. Pour into the lined tin.
 
5.     Sit the cheesecake tin in a large roasting tin and pour in boiling water to reach halfway up the sides. Carefully transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 160°C, fan 140°C and bake for a further 30 minutes. The cheesecake should be double its original height and set, but still with a slight wobble. Turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin.