Friday, December 11, 2009

Kris Kringle Ginger Cakes and Baby Jesus Birthday Cake - Foodie Friday



Kris Kringle Ginger Cakes with Green Cardamom Icing



Baby Jesus Birthday Cake and the Christmas Pageant Link

All families develop Christmas traditions that are passed from one generation to the next. I suspect that any of us expecting a visit from Santa, set out a "little something" to help ease the burden of that heavy sack and sustain him through the journey of the night. Our Santa, spoiled rotten, looked forward to hot buttered rum and a Scandinavian or German treasure. I happen to adore ginger bread, so Santa, too, learned to love it. These ginger cakes are lovely. My only caution is not to get carried away with the lemon zest. Too much will bury the wonderful flavors of ginger and cardamom that set these cupcakes apart from others like them. They are really easy to do, as you'll see when peruse the recipe. If there are small children in the house use multi-colored sprinkles to decorate the cake. Adults, who don't seem to know how to have fun, prefer crystallized ginger. Pity, that!

I've also decide to resurrect the story of the Christmas pageant and our family's Baby Jesus Cake. Of all we wrote and published last year, this proved to be our most popular entry. I hope those of you who were with us last year will revisit it and those of you who joined us after the holidays will follow the link above to the recipe and the stories that accompany it.

Kris Kringle Ginger Cakes with Green Cardamom Icing...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground green cardamom

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups.
2) Cream butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses, egg, and vanilla.
3) In a small bowl, stir together boiling water and baking soda until dissolved. Stir baking soda water into molasses mixture.
4) Sift flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl.
5) Whisk flour mixture into the molasses mixture until batter is combined.
6) Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in center of one or two of them comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
7) While cupcakes are baking, make frosting. Cream together cream cheese and sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill frosting until ready to use.
8) Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Place cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread cream cheese frosting generously over cooled cupcakes. Yield: 12 servings.

This recipe is being linked to:
Designs By Gollum - Foodie Friday

Recipe adapted from The Spice Kitchen by Sara Engram and Katie Luber

31 comments :

Sherri@lavenderfields said...

Those are great stories Mary! I just love to hear of other peoples Christmas Traditions, and especially when the children think it is important enough to carry it on to the next generation! Must make you smile! Thanks for sharing that and your recipes as well. They ginger bread cupcakes sound delicious! And I'm all for easy!! Have a great Friday! sherri : )

Martha said...

Love the ginger cakes -- how great for tea.

And of course, the story of the birthday cake was a favorite of mine!

NKP said...

Delicious! I love the spices.
When I was young Santa wanted beer and carrot sticks. This is what happens when you are raised by hippies!

Abatevintage said...

Oh wow Mary that looks amazing.

Have a great weekend.

Blessings



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(¸.•´ (¸.+´? Heidi ?)

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Wonderful recipes and I love the story! Happy holiday preparation!

Bunny said...

These look yummy, love your story.

Claudia said...

These cupcakes are in my future. I do love the family traditions. It is wonderful to post them. Helps us keep our own and devise some new ones.

Debbie said...

Wonderful story Mary and recipe too!

Shellbelle said...

Ohhhh, cardamon in the icing sounds wonderful!

I loved the story from last year and could just picture that on Funniest Videos, you'd definitely be the big winner! Funny.

susan said...

Mary-- I just went back and read the Christmas Pageant story--priceless! Christmas is certainly made of memories!

George Gaston said...

Mary, you are truly a gift from God. Your creative imagination and skill for telling a good story is greatly appreciated. Each & every post on this blog is filled with love, care and thoughtfulness. And your recipes that go along with your stories are truly remarkable.

Many many thanks....

Jeanette said...

The ginger cakes look so good to me. I have tried several of your recipes and they are so good! Are you a Georgia girl?

Mary Bergfeld said...

Jeanette, I'm so glad you've come to visit with us. I am, sadly, not a Georgia girl. Have a great day.

Anonymous said...

happy foodie friday and i'll be cooking up the latkes :)

shalom and amen
gp

Rattlebridge Farm said...

These look absolutely fabulous!

Cass @ That Old House said...

OK, wave cardamom in front of me, and I am YOURS. Having grown up in a Norwegian family, the scent and taste of Cardamom IS Christmas!

Which reminds me, I need some fresh; can't put stale in the mortar and pestle!
Cass

Bob said...

Those ginger cakes looks unbelievable. I haven't made a gingerbread anything in forever, I think it's time to dust off some recipes.

Karen said...

The ginger cakes look lovely and your Christmas memories and traditions with the baby Jesus cake are precious!

Erica (Irene) said...

Mary.... Love hearing other people's traditions and stories. The recipes also look like something my family would enjoy. I always wonder how amazing you are to make all these treats. Have a great weekend! Thanks you so much for sharing.

Coralie Cederna Johnson said...

This brings me back to the days when my mother was baking Finnish Cardamom Bread. I can still smell it as it was back then! These are great recipes and I love your story! Thanks so much for sharing and have a happy FOODIE FRIDAY! Coralie

Wendy said...

These cupcakes look and sound delicious! We love ginger bread!
I love how family traditions are linked with the holidays!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Wonderful story and I love learning about other people's traditions.

I think those cupcakes may be coming out of my kitchen real soon!

Unknown said...

How yummy!!!

Amber said...

Those look really yummy!!! :o)
Amber

bj said...

O, Mary...these little cakes are so precious. and, I love the Baby Jesus Cake with the clove.
Thanks so much for the recipes.

I just adore your sense of humor...I can just see little Mary running down the isle...:O)

Thanks for the well wish of winning the cookbook...it is not on our merits but only if we are lucky enuf to be drawn by the random generator. But...you gotta enter to get in the pot...and I did. I'd love to have Ree's cookbook...and YOUR'S, if ever you decide to do one!!!(hint hint)..ever thought about it??

Liesl said...

oh those cupcakes sound so good! Great story too! I am loving the recipes!

The Blonde Duck said...

I'm coming to your house. No one here likes gingerbread but me. I adore it.

Unknown said...

Mary, I just love stories and yours about the Christmas Pageant and the clove in the cake is grand. Family traditions are the best, at times I struggle to keep them going but when one of the little ones, gets all grown up and tells his version as an adult my heart is made all the happier. Memories are like diamonds as time goes by! Have a wonderful weekend. Blessings Meg

My Little Space said...

You did an amazing job on this tiny little one! And make good use of molasses too. Will have to try this out. Thanks, Mary! Oooo... X'mas is all over the air, isn't it great feeling?

Katy ~ said...

Mary, Hugs.

I just don't know what else to say.

Lori said...

Ahh, you made me laugh Mary. Great story. I can so see my youngest doing that very thing. Lately, she runs around the house announcing that as needed. ha ha

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