Orange Cranberry Gingerbread #BakingBloggers

Satisfy your gingerbread cravings this year with my pumped up orange cranberry gingerbread. Cover it with orange cream cheese icing or just a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Gorgeous, either way.

When my girls were little, we loved baking gingerbread as an afterschool snack, especially in the weeks leading up to the Christmas holidays. It wasn’t just that we liked eating gingerbread, well, maybe that’s why the girls liked baking it, but my favorite part, not being much of a sweet eater, was the delightful aroma that filled the house.

Ginger, cinnamon and deep rich molasses baking smell absolutely fabulous in the oven. If you’ve never baked gingerbread, you don’t know what you are missing.

Orange Cranberry Gingerbread

I’ve adapted this recipe from one on the lovely blog Indigo Scones, but if you read Ellen’s post, she got the original recipe from Joy the Baker so I must give both credit for the inspiration.

Ingredients
For the cake:
2 1/4 cups or 280g all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 180ml canola or other light oil
3/4 cup or 150g granulated sugar
3 medium (or 2 large) eggs
3/4 cup or 180ml fresh orange juice
1/2 cup or 65g dried cranberries
3/4 cup or 180ml unsulphured molasses
1/4 cup or 60ml honey
zest from 1 large orange (mine weighed about 10.5 oz or 300g - big guy, lots of zest!)

To serve: powdered sugar or orange cream cheese icing

Optional but highly recommended – For cream cheese icing
8 oz or 227g cream cheese
1 lb or 450g powdered sugar
Zest 1/2 large orange
Pinch sea salt
3-4 teaspoons fresh orange juice

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 9×9-inch or 23cm baking pan by lining it with baking parchment paper. As you’ll see from the photos, mine turned out quite thick so if you couldn’t probably use an even wider pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, and eggs until they turn thick and pale. I used my stand mixer because I already did my upper body exercises for the day swimming laps but you can certainly use a handheld whisk.

Heat your orange juice up in a small pot on the stove or in a microwaveable vessel until it is quite hot but not quite boiling. Add in the dried cranberries and set aside to soften.

Stir the molasses, honey, and orange zest in the bowl with the sugar, oil and eggs.

Now add the dry ingredients, all at once, to the wet ingredients. Stir together until entirely incorporated.

Remove a tablespoon or so of the cranberries from the orange juice (to use for decoration) and put them between two paper towels to dry.

Add the warm orange juice and the balance of the cranberries to the mixing bowl and gently stir until the batter is smooth, not counting the cranberries. Those will all sink to the bottom so keep that in mind as you pour the batter into your pan.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Try to distribute those cranberries at the bottom as evenly as you can.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. I made the mistake of trying to turn my pan halfway though and the middle sunk a little bit. Just leave it alone and yours should be fine.

Cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with the reserved cranberries and powdered sugar to serve or if you want to push the boat out, make the orange cream cheese icing.

In the bowl of your stand mixer or with electric beaters in another mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and salt, along with the orange zest, until it is all well combined and lump-free.

Add just enough fresh orange juice, beating well in between additions, until you reach spreading consistency. Mine took about 3 teaspoons.

Spoon the icing on top of the gingerbread and spread it to the edges, letting just a little bit hang down the sides. Sprinkle on the reserved cranberries.

Cut into squares to serve.

Enjoy!

This month's Baking Bloggers theme is, I'm sure can guess by the list below: Gingerbread! Many thanks to our host Sue from Palatable Pastime and her able co-manager, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm.

• Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Glaze by Sneha's Recipe
• Ginger Cream Sandwich Cake by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Gingerbread Madeleines by Caroline's Cooking
• Gingerbread Men by Cook with Renu
• Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Gingerbread Cookies by Simply Inspired Meals
• Louisiana Syrup Cake (Cajun Gingerbread) by Palatable Pastime
• Russian Pryanik Gingerbread by Pandemonium Noshery
• Orange Cranberry Gingerbread by Food Lust People Love
• Piernik by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Poussins aux Pain d'Epices by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interesting in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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Cheesy Asparagus Potato Tart #FoodieExtravaganza

This cheesy asparagus potato tart takes three of my favorite things – crisp puff pastry, cheesy mashed potatoes made with creamy yogurt, and fresh asparagus – and turns them into so much more than the sum of three parts.

I’ve been making variations on this recipe since Jamie Oliver’s Jamie at Home* was first published in the UK, circa 2008. If I remember correctly, his tart calls for cream and is baked up in a shortcrust. Or  maybe phyllo pastry. Possibly it had different cheeses. It’s been a long time!

But like any good quiche recipe, this cheesy asparagus potato tart can also be adapted to use what you have on hand. As long as there are potatoes and cheese, it’s all good. And I prefer yogurt or sour cream in place of the rich cream anyway. Those add a little welcome tang.

Cheesy Asparagus Potato Tart

Adapted from Jamie at Home* this cheesy asparagus potato tart has been a family favorite for years with its puff pastry crust, savory potato filling and fresh asparagus topping.

If you can’t find nice asparagus in your local market, substitute green beans, preferable those fine green beans they call haricots verts très fine in France. I’ve used them instead of asparagus a couple of times and the tart is just as pretty and still fabulously tasty. Failing that, use normal green beans and cut them on an angle before blanching.

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs or 675g potatoes
Sea salt 1/2 lb or 225g asparagus spears
1 round pre-rolled puff pastry sheet (about 11 1⁄4 oz or 320g)
5 1/2 oz or 155g freshly grated extra sharp cheddar
3 large eggs
1 cup or 240g whole fat plain yogurt, cold
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
Bring a pot of water to the boil and add a teaspoon of fine sea salt. Fill a bowl with cold water and some ice and set aside. Cut the woody ends off of the asparagus with a sharp knife and pop them into the boiling water and set a timer for 3 or 4 minutes. Three if the asparagus are thin ones, four if they are thicker.

Peel your potatoes and cut them into chunks.

When the time goes off, remove the asparagus from the pot with a slotted spoon and put them in a colander. Rinse them with cool tap water then tip them into the ice water bowl. Once they are well chilled, drain and dry the asparagus on a clean towel or paper towels.

Gently lower your potatoes into the pot of salted water and bring it back to a low boil. Cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes or until tender.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and line the bottom of your 9 in or 23cm tart pan with a circle of baking parchment. Unroll your puff pastry and line the tart pan with it. Put the tart pan in the refrigerator to chill until you are ready to fill it.

When the potatoes are done, mash them until they are relatively lump-free. Fold in the cold yogurt and stir till combined.

Now add in the cheese and stir well again. Taste the potatoes and sprinkle on a little more salt if needed, along with a few generous grinds of fresh black pepper. I usually add about a 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt but if your cheese is pretty salty, that might not be necessary.

By this time your potatoes should have cooled off considerably from all the additions and the stirring. We don’t want them to be so hot because then they would cook the eggs on contact. If they are just warm, proceed. Otherwise stir a few more times to help them cool.

Add the eggs one at time, stirring till well combined with each addition.

Spoon the filling into the chilled puff pastry crust and smooth out the top.

Cover the top of the cheesy potato filling with the blanched asparagus. Fold the edge of the crust under itself, if there is any hanging out.

If your tart pan has a removable bottom, put the tart pan on larger pan and put them both into the oven. If not, put the tart pan straight into the preheated oven. I like to use one with a removable bottom because it's prettier on the serving platter without the pan.

Turn the oven down to 375°F or 190°C. Bake the tart for about 30-35 minutes or until the crust is puffy and golden and the center is just set. A tiny wiggle is okay as that will set when it cools.

Leave to rest on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. Use a serrated knife or even some kitchen scissors to cut through the asparagus on top before cutting down through the tart below. A dull knife will just push the asparagus into the cheesy potato filling.

This cheesy asparagus potato tart can also be served at room temperature.

Enjoy!

This month my Foodie Extravaganza group is sharing recipes with pastry. Many thanks to our host, Caroline from Caroline's Cooking for the theme and her behind the scenes work. Check out all the great recipes below:

• Cheesy Asparagus Potato Tart by Food Lust People Love
• Cornish-Style Steak Pasties by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Garlic Herb Chicken in Puff Pastry by A Day in the Life on the Farm. 
• Kolache Cookies by Caroline's Cooking
• Puff Pastry Apple Cranberry Strudel by Veggie Fun Kitchen
• Raspberry Pistachio Palmiers by Palatable Pastime

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays by posting delicious recipes your family will love. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a home cook looking for tasty recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

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*Amazon affiliate link - If you buy Jamie at Home by following this link, I earn a very small percentage, at no extra cost to you.

Artichoke Dip Mini Muffins #MuffinMonday

Cheesy artichoke dip mini muffins are made with all of the wonderful ingredients of our favorite hot baked dip: artichokes, of course, along with Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise and green chiles.

Every Christmas Eve, our dinner menu is appetizers only:  Smoked salmon or home-cured salmon, angels on horseback, caviar, deviled eggs, potato latkes, a variety of stinky cheese and sometimes bruschetta. But artichoke dip always makes an appearance. As good as it is the day it is baked, it’s also wonderful as leftovers, stirred through some hot pasta or stuffed into a baked potato. (I’ve even used it as stuffing for puff pastry tarts!)

Here I recreate our favorite dip in muffin form. Bake some up and pour yourself a drink! And make sure to scroll down to the bottom to see the other Muffin Monday recipes I'm sharing.

Artichoke Dip Mini Muffins

To get most of the packing liquid out of the artichokes, give each one a gentle squeeze then place them bottom up in a sieve so they can continue draining. To completely drain the green chiles, put them in a sieve and press down with the back of a spoon.

Ingredients - Makes 34 mini muffins
2 cups or 250g flour
1 cup or 100g finely grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
1⁄2 cup or 115g mayonnaise
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1 can or jar artichoke hearts, drained weight 7.9oz or 225g*
1 small can (4.5 oz or 127g) chopped peeled green chiles, drained well
Canola or other light oil for greasing muffin pan

Optional for decoration: coarsely grated Parmesan

*Do not use marinated artichokes as those, even well drained, will add unnecessary oil to the muffins.

Method
Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C and brush your mini muffin pans with oil.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, finely grated Parmesan and baking powder.

In another mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and milk.

Chop the well-drained artichoke hearts roughly and add them to the mayo/milk bowl, along with the drained green chiles. Stir well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and fold just until the flour is moistened.

Use a tablespoon or scoop to fill the prepared muffin pan. My scoop is 2 tablespoons. Using it, the batter made 34 mini muffins.

Top with some extra grated Parmesan, if desired.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

These delightful savory morsels are excellent served with cold beer, a crisp dry white wine or a full-bodied red.

Enjoy!

This month my Muffin Monday group is sharing five wonderful recipes. Get baking!

• Artichoke Dip Mini Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Cranberry Sweet Potato Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Jalapeño Cheddar Mini Muffin Appetizers from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Lemon and Candied Ginger Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Wine Muffins from Passion Kneaded

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.
Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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