Ginger ginger ginger, I love you.
- Sep 18, 2014
- 2 min read
As summer winds down and the temps start cooling off, you can almost feel a collective energy from bakers and bloggers (this baking blogger girl included) every where, ready to rev up their kitchen engines and begin to bake the days away.
With the holidays around the corner (seriously they are just around the corner, face it) We all start to see the usual list of star ingredients start to make their appearance in desserts, confections and baked goods such as apples, pumpkins and chocolate and chocolate and chocolate and chocolate. These are all great ingredients, we all love them, but one ingredient that I cannot get enough of is ginger. When ever I go out for sushi, I not only eat the pickled ginger that most of you dont even bother to touch, I have to ask for more and more and more. I love ginger in sweet and savory foods and of course, in my cocktails. Hi, have we met? I like cocktails...
So here at the beginning of my fall baking season, I offer up to you Ginger cheesecake bars with a gingersnap crust and a peach and apricot jam filling. I love these treats for many reasons and a couple of them is that, it's just a decadant mess to eat.
To begin, take out 2 eggs and the cream cheese to bring it to room temp
For the crust
Place 24 gingersnap cookies in a food processor along with;
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted butter
Grind up to a fine powder, add to melted butter and spread in a lined with tin foil 8x8 baking pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes
In the bowl of a kitchen aid add;
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
mix this until it becomes light and fluffy. Seriously, beat the hell out of this.
Once the gingersnap crust has cooled, spread this glorious mixture evenly all over the crust then put in the fridge.
Again, back in that kitchen aid bowl that you have hopefully washed at this point, add
1 large room temp egg
1 large yolk at room temp
1/2 cup sugar
16 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons finely chopped crystalized ginger
Beat the hell out of this stuff as well. There will be small clumps of the ginger, you just dont want any cream cheese clumps. You cant over mix this so go for it.
Spread 2 cups of your favorite peach or apricot jam (I used a jam that had the combo of them both) right ontop of the filling and then pour the cream cheese mixture over it and spread evenly.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Let cool then put in fridge for at least an hour. I found that I liked the crust after they had been in the fridge overnight.
You're welcome
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