Candied gingerbread Bundt cake

Candied Gingerbread Bundt

• 1¼ cup unsalted butter
• ½ cup water
• 1¼ cup molasses (not blackstrap)
• ¾ cup local honey
• 1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
• ¾ tsp kosher salt
• ½ orange, zested
• 2 Tbsp candied ginger, minced
• 3 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground clove
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 whole eggs
• ½ cup milk, whole or 2 percent

Dark & Stormy Glaze

• 1 lb powdered sugar
• ½ lime, juiced
• 2 Tbsp dark rum
• 2 Tbsp ginger beer or ginger ale
• fresh whipped cream, for serving

| Preparation – Bundt | Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease bundt pan.

In a large bowl set over a pot of simmering water, warm butter, water, molasses, honey, brown sugar, salt, orange zest and candied ginger just until the butter and brown sugar have dissolved into the mix. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Sift dry ingredients together in a separate bowl or over parchment paper. Whisk eggs and milk into the liquid mixture, then sift the dry a second time on top of the batter in 3 batches, whisking well in between. Pour into prepared bundt pan and bake for 1½ hours until the top of the cake springs back when pressed gently. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, but not completely before overturning onto a platter to cool for 1 hour or overnight before glazing.

| Preparation – Glaze | If powdered sugar is lumpy, sift it first. Otherwise, whisk all ingredients together right before use.

| Assembly | Once bundt cake has cooled, pour glaze over top and then leave to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to firm. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Hot Chocolate Run

Molly and I did the Hot Chocolate Run.  It's a huge run , but is a lot of fun.  I did it will Anne last year, but she didn't make it this year.  There were 9 thousand people registered.  This is our before picture standing in front of the start

We were in the 4th wave of runners, so we were standing around for a while. I loved the marshmallows

The weather was perfect and the run was very easy.  It's so much easier when you set out know you are going to walk and run.  I must admit there was no way I wanted to eat chocolate after just running, so I brought my winners bowl home with me.  We finished in 37:21

We parked near Scottrade Center, so I got this cake on the way back to the car

MidCounty YMCA Reindeer Dash-Our December run

We ran the Reindeer Dash 5 k this morning.  It was a benefit for the MidCounty YMCA.  It wasn't timed, but I ran in 33:05, which was really good seeing as it was very hilly.  Sam and I both won our age categories, we left before they announced the awards, but luckily someone we knew was there that told us we won!!!!

Run for the Cookie....

I managed to browbeat Maggie into doing the 1 mile Girl Scout Run for the Cookie.  She just will NOT run with me at all.  However, she did really well this morning and we did the run in 10:40

November Run Webster/Kirkwood Turkey Trot 2014

Very cold morning, Sam said real feel was 16. We weren't too keen on doing this run since it snowed all day yesterday, but as usual we were glad we made the effort.

The race is getting very popular and it's hard to get around everyone because the course is so narrow.  That was fine for me as it was an easy pace, but annoying when you get jostled and almost run over by a stroller....

Twice-Baked Delicata Squash

Spiced nuts

• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup pecans, chopped

Squash

• 4 medium delicata squash, halved, seeds removed
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 oz goat cheese

| Preparation – Spiced Nuts | Preheat oven to 300°F. Mix sugars and spices in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, combine egg white and water and beat until frothy (you should not be able to see the bottom of the bowl). Add nuts and toss to coat with egg. Add spices and toss to coat. Spread mixture onto baking sheet covered in parchment paper, flattening with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven to cool.

| Preparation – Squash | Increase oven temperature to 450°F. Rub each seeded squash half with butter (including skin), then place skin-side down on a baking tray or dish.

Sprinkle each half with brown sugar, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. After 30 minutes, check every 2 minutes until a knife easily slices through the squash.

Remove squash from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Let squash cool until it’s cool to the touch. Carefully scrape squash meat into a bowl, leaving a thin layer of squash so the skin can act as a boat. The skin is very thin and you’ll need six squash boats, so be very careful while scraping out the meat.

Mix squash meat with goat cheese. Add more salt and pepper if desired. When squash mixture is smooth and no lumps remain, split mixture between six squash boats. The amount in each boat depends on the size of your squash – just ensure each boat has approximately the same amount of filling.

Place squash boats back on the baking pan and bake at 350°F for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until filling is heated through.

| To Serve | Using a fork or your hands, break apart the sheet of spiced nut brittle into small pieces. When the squash filling is heated through, remove from the oven and top with a small handful of nut brittle.

Sweet chocolate cake with Winter spices

• 4 oz Cortés Askinosie Chocolate 70 percent single-origin Honduran dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp high-quality natural cocoa powder
• ¾ tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp Vietnamese cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp grated fresh nutmeg
• 1½ cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup unsulphured molasses
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• zest of 2 medium oranges
• juice of 1 medium orange
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup boiling water

| Preparation | Preheat oven to 350 °F.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Line bottom with parchment paper; butter parchment liner.

In the top of a double boiler set over just-simmering water, melt chocolate, stirring frequently. When chocolate is completely smooth, set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add brown sugar and butter and beat on high until fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add melted chocolate and beat until incorporated. Add molasses, grated ginger, orange zest and juice and beat until combined; add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed until everything is homogenous. Add the flour mixture to the bowl in 2 parts, mixing for 10 to 15 seconds after each incorporation; scrape down the bowl and mix for 10 seconds more. With the mixer on low, stream in boiling water and mix until batter is completely homogenous, thoroughly scraping through to incorporate any dry patches.

Pour mixture into prepared springform pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, checking at the 40-minute mark for doneness. Cake is done when a wooden skewer or cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean or with a few crumbs, but remains slightly sunken in the center. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Release sides of springform pan and lift it over cake. Transfer cake to serving plate and slice to serve.