Gingerbread Cake With Candied Kumquats

I have been buying kumquats regularly and eating them like candies, but have not tried making them into marmalade. I was looking for recipes that have candied kumquat and found this gingerbread cake. The cake is so moist and not overly sweet, it tastes so Christmassy and I will definitely make this again next Christmas. For the candied kumquats I used ¼ C of white sugar, 2 T water and 1 pound of thick sliced kumquats, a dash of ground cinnamon and a piece of clove is optional. Cook for 5 minutes until thick. I left the cooked fruits in syrup and the orange color deepened overnight.

Gingerbread Cake with Candied Kumquats
cake
1 cup unsulfured light molasses
¾ cup hot water
½ cup grapeseed oil
1 egg
2 1/3 cups flour
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinammon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

caramel cream cheese frosting
¾ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 8-oz bricks cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup butter, softened

• Cake: Line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325°F. In a large bowl mix water and molasses, mix the rest of the ingredients and beat for 3 minutes. Divide batter equally and pour into the pans and bake for 25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Remove from pans and let cool on a wire rack.
• Frosting: In a small saucepan combine brown sugar and whipping cream, let boil once stirring constantly. Let cool. In a medium bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, beat in cooled caramel, continue beating for 3 minutes.
• Assemble the cake: Reserve a plateful of candied kumquats to decorate the top of cake. Chop the rest and divide into 2 portions, set aside. Set one cake layer on a flat plate or cake board, spread half of the chopped kumquats, then frost. Repeat with the second cake layer. Frost the sides and the top layer. Arrange the sliced candied kumquats on top. Optional: decorate lower half of cake with chopped candied ginger. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight before slicing. Enjoy this super moist, spicy, rich cake enhanced with the sweetness and tang of kumquats with a cup of steaming hot unsweetened jasmine tea, sooo good.

Easy As Macapuno Pie

With a little adjustment in my fat reduced pie crust recipe I was able to make a really easy, flaky, yummy macapuno pie using 2 jars of macapuno preserves. For this recipe the only brand that works is Kayumanggi. Other brands are too sweet and have buco instead of macapuno.

The easiest macapuno pie:
2 unbaked store bought or homemade pie crusts for 10-inch pie
2 jars Kayumanggi brand macapuno preserves

• Pre-heat oven to 425°F. Roll 1 crust into a 12 inch round, ease onto the pie pan. Fill with macapuno. Roll the second pie crust and put on top of the macapuno. Pinch edges together. Brush with 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water. Bake for 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Quinoa With Saffron

After reading about the many healthy qualities of quinoa I decided to serve it once or twice a week. I prepared it paella style with saffron, but meatless. I love its paella taste and with the added crunch of quinoa, it is super delicious. I did not even notice the absence of chicken, chorizo and prawns.

Quinoa with Saffron
1½ cups quinoa, washed and drained
¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red or orange sweet bell pepper, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
2½ cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon sea salt
a pinch of saffron
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup frozen petite sweet peas

• In a non-stick pan, heat olive oil, add garlic, onions, carrots, and bell pepper, saute for 3 minutes. Add the quinoa and saffron, cook for 2 minutes, stirring to mix. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, continue simmering for 5 minutes. Add frozen peas and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Nutella Pizzas

I made a few dessert pizzas with fruits and Nutella. For the apples I used eastern (Philadelphia) empire apples which are perfect for pies because they are so tasty, sweet and tart and they retain their shape when cooked. I made the pizza dough and baked it the same day instead of chilling it overnight in the fridge. I used half of the dough and 5 apples, sliced into 16 pieces, then fried in 2 T butter and 2 T sugar until soft and caramelized. The other half of the dough I made into Nutella and dried blueberry pizza. Both are sooo good. Nutella is great with a lot of different fruits. We also love it on toast with sliced strawberries on top.

drizzle more Nutella on the apple pizza before serving

gust the blueberry pizza with powdered sugar, with a dollop of Nutella on the side

Pizza Dough
3 to 3½ cups bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1¼ cups very hot water

• In a bowl, mix together 1½ cups flour, sugar and yeast. Stir in the hot water and beat for 2 minutes. Add the salt and oil, then gradually add more flour. Knead for 6 minutes. Transfer to a slightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, divide in half. Pat each half in 13 x 9 inch pans. Spread Nutella on both, thick or thin depending on how much you love Nutella. Arrange apple slices, slightly overlapping on top of Nutella. On the other dough, slightly press dried sweetened blueberries evenly on top (do not use fresh or frozen blueberries). Let rise for 30 - 40 minutes. Bake in a pre-heated 425°F oven for 25 minutes.