GINGER CAKES WITH WHITE PEACHES + BLACKBERRY COULIS

It's summer. And not to say I would turn down a stick-to-your-ribs piece of chocolate cake, but I feel good about this dessert. I will claim it as my current favorite. We made four, each ate one and while I'd normally give the rest away, these little babes are tucked away my fridge for this afternoon. I doubted them, thinking they looked like ginger egg souffles coming out of the oven, but looks can be deceiving. A zesty ginger angel food cake of sorts, with the tang of fresh blackberries and the warm sweetness of a ripe, white peach. It's not that any of the three components are show stoppers on their own, but together, the combination is absolute perfection. This dessert is a case in point, that heavy and rich is not always better. If I were serving this to other people, I would consider adding a very small scoop of good vanilla bean ice cream on top. However, for the sunny days of August, where it is just me and Hugh needing an afternoon treat, they are perfect as is.

My side note: a few of you think myself, Sara, take the pictures here on Sprouted Kitchen. I wish it were the case, I would love to have his talent, but Hugh is the genius who makes my cooking look even better than it actually is. He encourages me to make good foods, so he can take pictures like we have here; I am a lucky lady. Don't worry, I pay him with ginger cakes.

GINGER CAKES WITH WHITE PEACHES + BLACKBERRY COULIS // Makes 4 Small Cakes

Inspired by The Golden Door Cooks at Home by Dean Rucker

Tip: Egg whites are easier to beat when they sit at room temperature for a bit. As far as substitutes, you could use regular white sugar instead of what is listed below if that is what you bake with, and have on hand. I imagine they could be made gluten free with rice flour or a gf baking mix, but I haven't tested that myself. I like a lot of ginger, and found the below measurement to be pretty modest. If you make them, I'd love to hear your feedback on the ratio!

3 Extra Large Egg Whites (4 if any smaller)

1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar

Pinch of Salt

1/4 Cup Natural Cane Sugar/Sucanat

1/4 Scant Cup Turbinado Sugar

1 tsp. Real Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 Tbp. Fresh Grated Ginger

1/4 Cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour

1 Ripe, Organic White Peach

1 1/4 Cup Blackberries

Juice of one Lime, about 2 Tbsp.

1 Tbsp. Honey

1 Tbsp. Half+Half/Heavy Cream

Oven to 350'

1. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a hand mixer on high until peaks form (about 3 minutes). They should quadruple in size. Once it's holding shape, continue beating it, while slowly sprinkling in the sugars. Beat in the vanilla extract and fresh grated ginger.

2. Using a rubber spatula, sprinkle and fold in the 1/4 flour, being careful not to deflate the egg whites.

3. Coat four, 4-6 oz. ramekins with natural cooking spray, gently divide cake mix between them. Place ramekins on a baking sheet, and put in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 14 minutes. Allow them to cool about 5 minutes, then remove them from the ramekin. * I give mine a good slam down on a cutting board, and flip them over, the cake comes right out.

4. While the cakes are cooking, blend the blackberries, lime juice, honey and splash of cream together. Taste for sweetness, as the quality/ripeness of the berries may require you to add a tad more honey, it should be tart.

5. Cut the peach in half, and in thin slices.

6. Assemble with one cake, a few spoonfuls of the blackberry sauce and some fresh peach slices.

MULTIGRAIN MAPLE MINI MUFFINS

I could have sworn up and down that I hated maple, until I met these mini muffins. I find that maple is one of those particular flavors that people love or hate. Like black licorice, grape candy, the consistency of cottage cheese or fennel. The fact that it's a natural sweetener, makes me feel like I should like it, but it's just not for me. Hugh is pro-maple so I figured if we made these and I hated them, at least someone would eat them. I hoarded a majority of them.

There is an entire cup of real maple syrup in the recipe, which sounds like a lot, but with all the dense flours, the strength of it dissipates. I used a pretty lengthy list of ingredients, but if you don't think you'll ever use a whole bag of buckwheat flour, try to find a store that sells flours/grains in bulk and you can buy just what you need by weight. Or, as I've suggested before, make extra and give some away. I mean, they taste pretty healthy for a muffin, but it's January, people are into that sort of thing.

MULTIGRAIN MAPLE MINI MUFFINS// Makes 12 or 24 Minis

1/2 Cup Buckwheat Flour

1/2 Cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour

1/2 Cup Wheat Bran

1/2 Cup Oatmeal (plus extra for garnish)

1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

1 Tsp. Fresh Grated Nutmeg (if you have it)

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Tbsp. Fresh Grated Ginger

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda

2 Large Eggs

1 Cup Real Maple Syrup

1 Cup Buttermilk

2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup Lowfat Cottage Cheese (I blended mine up a tad, but this is optional)

1 Cup Pecan Pieces, divided

Oven at 350'

1. In a large mixing bowl, sift all flours, the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together. Grate the ginger right on top. Spray or butter your muffin tins and set aside.

2. In two other bowls, seperate the egg yolks from the whites. In the bowl with the yolks, add the maple, vanilla and buttermilk and whisk to combine. Beat or use an electric mixer to whip up the egg whites until they just start to hold shape.

3. Mix the wet into the dry ingredients until just combined. Add the cottage cheese and 1/2 cup of the pecan pieces and gently fold in. Lastly, just before you're ready to put batter into the tins, fold in the whipped egg whites. Because the dough is somewhat heavy, try to fold from the outside of the bowl in, to not deflate the egg whites.

4. The mini tins hold about two spoonfuls of mix, if using larger tins, fill them about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the top with a few chopped pecans and a few oat flakes. Bake on the middle rack for 20-23 minutes (cooking times may vary depending on tin). Remove and cool. I recommend a little spread of plain greek yogurt.

PEACH CREME WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST

Sometimes there are weeks when a series of events, small as they may seem when isolated, get the best of you. I appreciate reading my favorite blogs, where their authors willingly discuss cooking failures just as poignantly as tough aspects of their lives that tug at heart strings. In an attempt to change the course of my week, I filled my room with fragrant white flowers and set forth on making this tasty treat inspired from a picture in Bon Appetit, as my heart melts for cookie crust. As for the rest of the week, it did not turn out as planned.

This recipe, my friends, is precisely why I consider myself more cook than baker. I don’t like measuring, and when it comes down to baking science, the ‘little of this, more of that’ tactic does not fare well. I changed the proportions to more creme fraiche and less lemon, not taking into account that those measurements explicitly stated in the recipe played a role in the final product. Who'd have thought? The proportions given in the recipe below, do not correlate with the melting mess we had to take pictures of. So should this intrigue you, your luck may be better than mine. I think this pie would be great for entertaining, as it's fridge/freezer time gives you good reason to do it in advance.

Chemistry faux pas aside, nearly half of the final product managed to make it's way into Hugh's mouth while he was shooting it. "Clean as you work," he says.

PEACH DISASTER WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST // The science of this pie, is that the lemon reacts with the milk products to help the filling firm up. So be sure to give it ample time to do it’s thing before serving.

The Crust //

10 oz. Gingersnap Cookies

3 Tbsp. Butter

The Filling//

1 14 oz. Can Organic Sweetened Condensed Milk, lowfat optional

½ Cup Crème Fraiche

¼ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

1 tbsp. Cinnamon

1 ¼ Cup Ripe Peaches, Peeled and Diced

1. In a food processor, grind the gingersnap cookies. Add the butter and pulse to combine.

2. Press the cookie mixture evenly into the sides and bottom of a 9’’ glass pie pan. Pop this in the freezer while preparing the filling.

3. In a bowl, whisk the condensed milk, crème fraiche, lemon juice, and cinnamon together. Give the peach pieces a good squeeze in your fist to crush them up a bit, and add to the cream mixture. Whisk together. Add the filling to the chilled cookie crust.

4. Let the pie firm up in the fridge for at LEAST 4 hours. We put ours in the freezer, and then let it sit for a bit before serving.