The guys who put together the awesome dessert book Baked are completely right when they say “curd is an ugly word for a delicious dessert.” Why is this magical, velvety, citrusy better-than-pudding substance called something that sounds so gross?

The guys who put together Baked are also not afraid of EXTREMELY rich desserts, and while I admire that, I also get a tiny bit panicked when I see that a recipe calls for eleven egg yolks. ELEVEN! I am not afraid of butter or sugar, and I will happily use cream, but for some reason eleven egg yolks seemed excessive, so I scaled it down a bit and I don’t think anyone missed those 5 extra yolks.

After last week’s gingerbread cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting I decided the lemon-ginger combination doesn’t occur enough in my life, so instead of the graham crackers called for in the crust, I used gingersnaps and I definitely think that was the right decision! These are incredibly rich, but sometimes life just calls for incredibly rich dessert.

Recipe:
(adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)

crust
1 cup unsweetened dried coconut
2 cups gingersnap crumbs (pulse about 20 gingersnaps in the food processor)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

lemon-lime curd
6 egg yolks
5 large eggs
1 3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp grated lime zest
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and sliced 1″ thick
1/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast for about 8 minutes or until golden.

Stir together the gingersnap crumbs, coconut, sugar, and butter, and pat evenly into the bottom of a greased 13 x 9″ baking dish. Bake for about 12 minutes, then remove and let cool completely before adding filling.

To make the filling, turn the oven up to 325 F. Combine the egg yolks, eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lime juice, lemon zest, and lime zest in a large, clean saucepan. Whisk to combine, then set over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is 180 F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat and whisk in the softened butter and cream until smooth. Pour through a mesh sieve into the cooled crust, then gently tilt the pan so the curd covers the crust evenly. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the filling is set.

Put the pan on a wire rack to cool to room temperature, then cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours before cutting into squares to serve.

You know those articles about people who find their dream job and get to spend every day doing what they love? I thought it was all just a bunch of crap, until I got this job. Yes, teaching middle school definitely has its moments, but I honestly feel like there is nothing in the world I would rather do. Even as much as I love baking, (and considered trying to make it a career at one point), I think being in the classroom is the perfect place for me.

But obviously I’m still going to bake (for fun), and I’m going to take a lot of what I bake to school, because my co-workers are truly amazing people who are making my first year as a teacher so much less stressful than it could be. Okay, I think that’s about enough sappiness for one blog post. Onto the cupcakes.

Gingerbread, cream cheese frosting and lemon are almost magical when combined into one cupcake. As someone who loves anything and everything ginger (and believes most things are better with cream cheese frosting), these were an ideal treat. And I know my co-workers agreed because they vanished pretty quickly!

Recipe
(adapted from Epicurious)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup boiling water

frosting
6 ounce cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tbsp butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line 12 cupcake tins with paper liners.
Sift the flour, salt, ginger, and cinnamon together into a medium bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy, then add the egg and molasses and beat on medium until smooth.
Combine the boiling water and baking soda in a small bowl, mixing so the baking soda dissolves. Add to the molasses mixture, and stir well. Then add the flour, and mix on low until all traces of flour disappear.

Pour into the prepared pans and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely (the tops may sink slightly).

To make the frosting, mix the butter and cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the lemon juice, zest, and powdered sugar. Add additional powdered sugar if it seems too runny, then spread onto cooled cupcakes.

I think my feelings for ginger are about on the same level as most people’s feelings about chocolate. I am more than a little obsessed with it. Gingerbread, pickled ginger, candied ginger, ginger tea, and of course ginger cookies – I love them all.

These cookies definitely have plenty with both ground and chopped candied ginger. They also get a lot of flavor from molasses, and a little boost from some nutmeg and cinnamon. I bought blackstrap molasses without realizing it, but it works well in this recipe (with no strong aftertaste). I’m sure if all you have is unsulphured, they’ll be great too.

Recipe:

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
granulated sugar (for rolling)

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a few baking sheets with parchment or Silpats.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, followed by the egg. Sift the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda together and stir into the butter mixture. Gently fold in the crystallized ginger.

Roll about 2 tsp of dough at a time into a ball and coat with granulated sugar. Place 3″ apart on the prepared cookie sheets (they spread a lot!) and bake for 10-12 minutes (shorter for soft and chewy cookies, longer for crisper cookies).

Let cool on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

My husband came home from the store the other day with the largest head of cabbage I think I’ve ever seen. It’s pumpkin shaped, and barely fits into the produce drawer in the refrigerator. Cabbage is one of his favorite vegetables, so this was a big score for him… but for me, well, there are many vegetables I’d rather eat.

Still, I like to be accommodating, so I’ve been trying to dream up new applications for cabbage in the kitchen. You can only have so much cabbage stir fry or coleslaw (and this is coming from the girl with an incredibly high tolerance for repetition), so I knew I needed to branch out if we were ever going to get through the abundant quantity currently occupying the bulk of the refrigerator.

I would like to take a moment to convey my new-found affection for ground pork. It’s readily available here, and much cheaper than ground beef, so I’ve been using it much more often than I ever did at home (when I think I only ever used it in pot stickers). It just begs to be mixed up with great Asian flavors like sesame oil, soy sauce, and green onions, and I’m perfectly willing to oblige. I realize it’s not the healthiest meat out there, but I tend to use it sparingly, so I’m confident my arteries are not completely clogged yet.

So, anyway, about all that cabbage. I had seen some appetizing recipes for lettuce wraps floating around, and thought ‘why not make cabbage wraps instead?’ So I did. With pork and rice, so you can almost count these as a complete meal!

Recipe:
3/4 pound lean ground pork
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
3 tbsp chopped green onions
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup cooked rice
soft outer leaves from one head of cabbage

Combine the pork, ginger, green onions, soy sauce, and sesame oil and mix well.
Cook in a large nonstick frying pan until the pork is thoroughly cooked, then add the rice and stir.
Cut the cabbage leaves into 3″ triangles (or just tear into pieces that are about 3″ on each side).
Spoon about a tablespoon of filling onto a piece of cabbage, fold it up, and eat!