Ginger Pecan Cake Recipes

GINGERBREAD PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix the melted butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar in a 9-inch round cake pan.
• Slice pear halves in half lengthwise. Place a pecan in the center of each pear quarter. Place pears cut side down in the cake pan, arranging them like spokes radiating from the center of the pan. Sprinkle any remaining pecans around the pears.
• Prepare the cake mix according to package directions, and pour over the pears and pecans in the cake pan.
• Bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly before turning out onto a serving dish.

UPSIDE-DOWN PEAR GINGERBREAD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in brown sugar. Spread over bottom of a greased 9-in. round baking pan. Arrange pears over top., For cake, mix milk and vinegar; let stand 5 minutes. In a large bowl, beat egg, brown sugar, molasses, melted butter and milk mixture until well blended. In another bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, salt and cloves; gradually beat into molasses mixture. Spoon carefully over pears., Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, if desired.

PEAR & GINGER LOAF CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line the base and sides of a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment, ensuring the parchment comes 2cm above the top of the tin. Beat the butter and sugars together until pale, then gradually stir in the eggs and vanilla extract. Fold the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt into the mix, then quickly stir through the stem ginger and pears. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin, smooth the surface, then bake for 1 hr - 1 hr 10 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin.
• To make the glaze, mix the syrup with 1 tsp water and the sugar. Poke the surface of the loaf all over with a skewer, then pour on the syrup. Serve warm with cream, or allow to cool completely.

GINGER SCENTED PECANS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place nuts in a single layer on two rimmed baking sheets. Toast until nuts are fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through cooking. Meanwhile, combine sugar, salt, and ginger in a small bowl, and set aside.
• Combine honey, 2 tablespoons water, and oil in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, and add roasted pecans. Cook, stirring once or twice, until all of the liquid has evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl, add sugar mixture, and toss until well combined. Spread nuts in a single layer on a sheet of parchment paper to cool. These pecans may be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.

GINGER-PECAN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, with two racks in center. Line bottoms of three 8-by-2-inch buttered cake pans with parchment. Dust bottoms and sides with flour; tap out excess. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and ground ginger into a medium bowl. Add ground pecans, and whisk to combine; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add brown sugar until fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating each time until batter is no longer slick, about 5 minutes; scrape down sides twice.
• With the mixer set on low, add flour mixture to sugar-butter mixture, alternating with milk, a little of each at a time, starting and ending with flour mixture; scrape down bowl twice. Beat in grated ginger and vanilla. Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pans if necessary for even browning.
• Transfer pans to wire racks to cool, about 15 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, and return to wire racks, tops up; let cool.
• Meanwhile, place creme fraiche in a medium bowl, and whip with an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form. Add bourbon and confectioners' sugar; beat until soft peaks return. Cover, and refrigerate to firm, about 1 hour.
• To assemble cake, remove parchment from bottoms of cakes. Set aside prettiest layer; it will be used for top of cake. Place one layer on serving platter, and spread with half the creme-fraiche filling; repeat with second layer. Top cake with reserved third. Chill cake while icing is being prepared. Pour the icing onto the center point on the top of the cake, and let it flow down the sides. When the icing has set slightly, 5 to 10 minutes, arrange the pecan halves and crystallized ginger on the top. Serve.

GINGER PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish with vegetable cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment or waxed paper.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pears and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of the pumpkin pie spice and remove pan from the heat.
• Whisk the flour, ginger, the remaining 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
• In another bowl, whisk the milk, molasses, and remaining brown sugar. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Use a spatula to stir the molasses mixture into the dry ingredients to make a thick liquid batter.
• Heat the water and remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan until just boiling. Whisk the hot water into to the batter until just combined. Stir in the pears. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the center of the oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
• Cool cake in the pan on a rack. Cut into 12 squares. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving, if desired.

ROSELLA GINGER PECAN TORTE: WEDDING CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Steaming pears: In a medium saucepan add about 3 inches water, the sugar, cut lemon slices and the lemongrass (lemon serai). (The lemongrass is optional.) Bring the water to a boil. Fit a steamer basket over the boiling water, add the pears and steam until tender. Remove the pears, drain, and coarsely grate. Press out any excess liquid for one hour before using, or substitute very well-drained, grated canned pears. Set aside.
• Ginger Syrup: Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan, simmer together until the sugar dissolves, cool completely, then add the ginger wine and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour 2 (10 by 2 inch) deep cake pans and line the base with parchment.
• Sift together the flour, powdered ginger, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
• Beat the butter, oil, vanilla, sugars, and treacle until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the remaining ingredients in the order given. Mix 2 minutes on medium speed using a stand mixer.
• Pour the batter into the pans that have been greased floured and parchment lined.
• Bake 45 minutes in a 350 degree F oven, remove and cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then pour over the ginger syrup. Turn out onto a cooling rack when almost cold.
• Assembly:
• Level cakes if necessary. Secure the wax paper to the cake board with royal icing. Place the meringue dacquoise on wax paper. Smooth on a layer of washed cream, chocolate ganache, and the ginger marmalade to the meringue disk. Top with one of the cakes. Repeat the layers of washed cream, ganache, ginger marmalade, and the second meringue disk, top that with washed cream, ganache, and ginger marmalade, then add the second cake. Trim the meringue disks if necessary. Coat the entire cake with washed cream, then strained ginger marmalade. Cover tightly and securely with plastic wrap for 24 hours. Chill in the refrigerator. Remove the wrap and cover with white chocolate rolled fondant.
• This cake can be made and assembled for decorating 5 days before a wedding; in fact the maturing process improves the combination of flavors.
• Draw 2 (10-inch) circles on parchment, place on an oven tray.
• Whip the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Add the sifted powdered sugar in three stages mixing well between each addition then add the vanilla. Fold. Add the nuts followed by the sifted dry ingredients with a light hand. Spoon into the circles, level and bake 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until a light golden brown.
• Heat the first 4 ingredients gently in a double boiler. Puree in the food processor then strain. Add the ginger wine after completely cooling.
• Whip the sugar, butter, honey, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Remove the bowl from mixer. Cover with chilled water swirl and squeeze through the fingers for a minute, drain the water thoroughly and re-beat until light and fluffy. Repeat six times until the mixture is pure white and the sugar is totally dissolved. This keeps very well covered in a cool place for a day or two without refrigeration. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to a month.
• Melt chocolate over hot, not boiling, water, add the cream, pecans, and ginger, last, after cooling add the ginger wine. Stir well and allow the mixture to thicken.
• For every 2 pounds of either commercial or homemade rolled fondant melt either 2 cups of high ratio cocoa butter white chocolate or chocolate couverture (compound) and pour into the rested fondant then knead until thoroughly incorporated. If flaking occurs, microwave in 5-second increments until the fondant warms then any rough shards will disappear. Leave to rest overnight before using. This results in a wonderfully soft easy to manage rolled fondant. Warm in the microwave for a few seconds before kneading to use. If using couverture add 1/2 cup sifted Dutch-processed cocoa to the melted chocolate and knead well. Roll out on sifted cocoa.

BARBARA TROPP'S PECAN-GINGER TORTE

Steps:

• Lightly grease two 8-to-9-inch springform pans or two 9-to-10-inch tart pans with removable bottoms. Line the bottoms with greased paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Toast the four ounces of pecans for 15 minutes in the oven, rotating the tray once midway. Let cool.
• Mince the pecans with a sharp knife or with an on-off food processor motion, until fine but dry.
• Beat the egg yolks until light. Add the sugar gradually, until the yolks turn very creamy and form ribbons on the beater.
• Add the lemon juice, ginger juice and pepper. Beat to mix.
• Add the minced pecans and matzoh meal. Beat until blended.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until they are blended. Add salt and continue whipping until the egg white forms firm peaks but are not dry.
• Lightly fold the egg whites into the nut mixture, until well blended.
• Divide the mixture between the two prepared pans.
• Sprinkle the crystallized ginger, glaceed apricots or kumquats evenly over the top. Space eight pecan halves around the edges of each tart, putting a ninth in the center.
• Bake in the middle or the bottom third of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a cake tester in the center of the cake comes out dry.
• Let cool completely in pan. The cake tastes best baked a day in advance. Wrap air-tight overnight. Serve with a selection of seasonal berries. Or, if having a vegetarian seder, serve with Chantilly cream or Barbara Tropp's fresh ginger ice cream, the recipe for which is in ''The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking.''

PUMPKIN PECAN CAKE WITH GINGER WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• You will need: Non-stick Vegetable Oil Spray, about a tablespoon of butter, a 12-Cup Bundt/Tube Pan, and an Electric Mixer with 4-Quart Bowl.
• Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Spray 12-cup tube pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Generously butter pan. Dust pan with flour; tap out excess.
• For the SPICED CAKE, mix 3 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices in medium bowl.
• Using electric mixer, cream butter with both sugars in large bowl until very light and fluffy. (I used my electric stand mixer with a 4-quart glass bowl).
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Beat in pumpkin, sour cream, molasses and rum.
• Mix in dry ingredients, toasted pecans and minced crystallized ginger. (I added the pecans at the very end, hand-stirring them in.).
• Pour batter into prepared pan, gently spreading evenly towards sides and around center. Batter will be thick.
• Bake until tester inserted near center of cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
• Cool cake 15 minutes in pan on rack. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely. Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. (Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature.).
• Sift powdered sugar over top of cake. Serve with Ginger Whipped Cream.
• For the GINGER WHIPPED CREAM, use electric mixer, beat whipping cream, sour cream and 2 tablespoons sugar in large bowl to soft peaks.
• Add rum and ground ginger and beat until almost stiff. (Can be prepared 5 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.).
• Hint #1: Toasting Nuts: I used a non-stick skillet. Turn on heat medium-high until pan is hot. Spread chopped pecans in single layer in pan and heat until their fragrance releases and they start to turn golden and brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

CRANBERRY PECAN & GINGER LOAF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Butter and double line the base and sides of a 20cm square deep cake tin with baking parchment. Grind 100g of the pecans in a food processor.
• Chop up the butter and put in a large heavy-based pan with the sugar, cranberries, apricots, orange zest and juice and brandy. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring until the butter is melted, then simmer for 10 mins until the fruits are plump and glossy. Remove from the heat and cool for 30 mins.
• Beat the eggs lightly. Sift together the flour, baking powder, ground ginger and cinnamon. Stir the eggs, ground pecans, remaining pecan halves, flour mixture and crystallised ginger into the pan, stirring until well mixed.
• Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hr, then reduce the temperature to 140C/fan 120C/gas 1 and cook for a further 1½-2 hrs, until the cake feels firm and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, turn out, then remove the paper and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Warm the jam with 1 tbsp water, then press through a sieve into a bowl. Put the cake on a board and brush the top with a thin layer of jam, reserving some for later. Lightly dust a surface with icing sugar, then roll out the marzipan to slightly larger than the top of the cake. Lift onto the cake, press on lightly, then trim to meet the edges. Cut in half.
• Brush the remaining jam over the marzipan, then decorate the tops with dried fruits, nuts and other ingredients of your choice. Wrap each cake first in baking parchment, then in foil. Store in the tin for up to 3 weeks. Can be frozen for up to 2 months.

PEAR COFFEE CAKE WITH GINGER PECAN CRUNCH TOPPING

Steps:

• Mix together flour, sugars, salt, nutmeg and oil.
• Set aside 1 cup of mixture for topping.
• Add 2 cups chopped ripe pear to the rest of the above mixture.
• Add egg, buttermilk, baking soda, and baking powder.
• Topping: Add ginger and pecans to 1 cup of reserved mixture.
• Spread in greased 9" x 13" x 2" sheet pan.
• Sprinkle topping over top.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.