It was purely by chance that this cake made it into my kitchen.  I am not particularly enthusiastic about gingerbread, nor do I tend to make desserts that do not contain any trace of chocolate.  I am enthused, however, that my guest of honor who is a fan of both gingerbread and fruit desserts inspired me to bake this upside-down cake.  It.  Was.  Delicious.  And pretty!  And really not all that bad for you!  So if you find yourself in the company of one of those people who doesn’t keep an emergency stash of cocoa products in their purse, car, and desk or if you just feel like taking a bite on the other side, try this cake.  I promise even the worst chocoholic won’t be disappointed. 

Topping:
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. honey or corn syrup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1-2 ripe but firm pears or tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced

 

Gingerbread:
1/4 cup butter or non-hydrogenated margarine, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk or egg nog!
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger, or 1 tsp. powdered ginger
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray an 8″ or 9″ round cake pan with nonstick spray.

For the topping, melt the butter, honey and brown sugar in the bottom of the pan until melted.  Spread evenly over the bottom of the pan and arrange the pear slices on top, placing them together tightly so that they slightly overlap.

For the gingerbread, beat the butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl until well blended. Add the egg, buttermilk (I used egg nog), molasses, and ginger and beat until thoroughly combined.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir or beat until the batter is combined. Pour the batter over the sliced pears.

Bake the cake for about 40 minutes, until the top is springy to the touch. Let it stand for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a plate while it’s still hot. Cover with tin foil and let sit for an hour to keep it extra moist!  Remove pan and serve a la mode!

Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin…blah blah BORING! When it’s essential to shake up baking, this recipe, from Martha’s Cookies book, creates thin, richly spiced bar cookies chock-a-block full of white chocolate chips, that are anything but mundane. They’re a snap to bake in a standard cookie sheet and even easier to slice with a pizza cutter.

Chewy and full of white chocolate!

  
I love making them for the holidays (for obvious reasons) and am always super excited to find recipes that highlight the underappreciated white chocolate which so often takes back seat to big brother dark (sidebar: people shouldn’t be aiming to get their antioxidants from cookies! But I digress…..) As the Spice Girls would say, it’s time to spice up your life, or in this case, your kitchen. Oatmeal & raisins, be gone!

By the way, check out these great baking tips at the National Cookie Network….they have info on everything from wax vs. parchment paper to cookie troubleshooting. A great holiday resource.

 
Makes roughly 4 dozen

Ingredients
• 2 ¾ cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
• 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsulfured molasses (Grandma’s is good and readily available)
• 1 ¾ (10 oz) cups coarsely chopped white chocolate (I loooove Ghiradelli)
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
 
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12 by 17-inch rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Spray the parchment and set aside.
 
Whisk together flour, soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.
 
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until creamy and pale, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and yolk one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla and molasses and mix on medium speed until combined. Add flour mixture on low speed until combined. Stir in white chocolate.
 

Ready for the oven!

 
Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and bake until golden on edges, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan; cut into 2-inch squares. Blondies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.
 

Party perfect!

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