Gingerbread Men And Women

It does not matter whether you personally celebrate Christmas or not. In a month of holidays and partying, its just another excuse to celebrate. For the past few weeks, food blogs have been putting one Christmassy post after another. Procrastination, of course, saw me waiting till the very last for this post. At least, I got it up before Christmas!

 

I decided on the gingerbread theme. Its just so Christmassy.. you never hear of anyone making gingerbread biscuits, any other time of the year. It's only for Christmas!! And its a family affair, with everyone from kids to adults discovering their inner artist when it comes to decorating them.

 

Only one hitch .. I couldn't find any gingerbread cookie cutters, neither in Bombay nor in Delhi. Luckily, a darling sister-in-law carted these all the way from Down Under. I got the whole family, gingerbread man and woman and the kiddies, a boy and girl.

 

One you have the requisite cookie cutters, its all pretty straight forward. The dough is made in a food processor, then rolled out, cut up and baked. Once cooled, that's when the fun begins.

 

 

My advice to you, enlist the help of all those around you.. kids and adults alike. I did it all by myself and let's just say, I have new found respect for all the professional cookie decorators out there and their craft.

 

The photographs speak for themselves.. I am not the most creative nor the most patient. I did try to get creative with red accents on the clothing and red lippy for the girls. I strung all the kids together as a garland. And all my friends out there, do notice the curly hair on the women.. that's my personal touch!

 

 

And for all the observant ones out there, Rudolph the reindeer also makes an appearance, complete with his red nose. If you can't find him, look for the upside-down gingerbread boy in the garland. Go ahead and have your laugh for the day!!

 

Aside from all the decorating, there is also the taste of these cookies. It essentially has the texture of a shortbread with a mild ginger taste that matures with time. These would make an excellent addition to the cookie platter but they will be even better as edible Christmas tree decorations!! Engage the kids and you can imagine the fun with each one unleashing their artistic potential on these cookies.

 

 

Like I said earlier, whether you celebrate Christmas is immaterial. There is a spirit of love and celebration out there, embrace it and spread the joy. Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a beautiful festive season!!

Gingerbread Baby Cakes : 'TWD : Baking with Julia'

So, I've been noticing a trend among food blogs. October was all about a pumpkin overdrive. November went by with everyone wondering where the year had gone by and how it was November already. No prizes for guessing what December is going to be about ... why, Christmas of course!!!

In keeping with the mood of the month, the 'TWD :  Baking with Julia' group zeroed in on Gingerbread Baby Cakes for our first recipe of the month. Gingerbread recipes, with their Christmas association, are the quintessential December recipes. The list includes gingerbread cakes, gingerbread houses and everyone's favourite, gingerbread cookies aka the gingerbread men and women. 
 

In this recipe, the gingerbread is in the avatar of baby cakes. For someone, who enjoys petite-sized individual cakes and desserts, this recipe was written for me.

The recipe was much like the other gingerbread cake recipes that I've seen. The standout points were the generous helpings of coffee powder, molasses and of course, ginger (powder as well as fresh).

 

Fifteen minutes into baking and the aroma of the coffee and ginger will take over your kitchen. Out of the oven, unmould these dark and moist baby cakes and as promised by the recipe, you will be deceived into thinking that these look like harmless, little chocolate cakes.

 

 

One bite later and you'll be proved wrong. This is a ginger cake and ginger is what will hit you from the very first bite. There is also the hint of the coffee that comes through. Apart from that, there is a certain denseness of flavour that unless you've made these cakes, will hold a certain mystery for you. The molasses, black pepper and cocoa powder provide a certain depth and darkness that is not easily identified.

These cakes promise a punch and they deliver a punch. I'd recommend these cakes for an adult and mature palate.

 

 

These can be served with some whipped cream and candied lemon. Instead, I served these with vanilla custard. It was a good choice. It helped mellow the overt spiciness of these cakes.