With Goodness: Recipes and Stories, a new cookbook that features a collection of recipes and stories from chefs, you can do good while cooking delicious foods. In the cookbook, growers and food activists explain why good food matters and their interpretation of community and share their best recipes. Here, Lora Kirk of Ruby Watchco in Toronto shares her recipe for ginger stout cake using Red Rocket Spiced Stout by Saw Dust City Brewery. Half the proceeds from the book will be donated to Community Food Centres Canada.
Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9- x 11-inch cake pan.
In a large saucepan, combine stout, molasses, and fresh ginger and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, then stir in baking soda. Let sit until foam dissipates.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a bowl using a wooden spoon, cream together eggs and sugars. Add oil and mix to combine.
In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
Add stout mixture to sugar mixture and mix until incorporated. Add flour mixture in two batches, mixing each batch until well incorporated. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
Once cake is cool, turn out onto a serving plate. Decorate top of cake with orange meringue. Using a brûlée torch, caramelize meringue. Cut into portions and serve drizzled with coffee caramel.
Orange meringue
Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium speed until they hold soft peaks.
Increase speed to high. Add sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, continuing to beat until very stiff and shiny peaks form. Add orange zest and mix to combine.
Coffee caramel
In a small bowl, stir coffee powder with 2 tbsp water until dissolved.
In a heavy saucepan over low heat, combine remaining 6 tbsp water and sugar and heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil mixture, without stirring but occasionally brushing down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped into water and swirling the pan to prevent crystals from forming, until syrup turns deep amber, about 8 minutes.
Remove the pan from heat. Add cream, butter, and coffee (mixture will bubble vigorously). Return to heat and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until smooth.
Whisk in salt. Set aside until ready to use.
- Yield:
- 1 9"x11" cake
