I noticed a tub of mascarpone cheese in the fridge and was inspired to make the "Mascarpone Gingerbread Bars" from Samantha Seneviratne's latest cookbook, The Joys of Baking. I bought the cookbook at The Strand bookstore during a weekend trip to New York City at the end of February.
I really like Seneviratne's contributions to New York Times cooking and her previous cookbook The New Sugar & Spice, so when I heard that she had a new cookbook coming out last fall, I planned to buy it right away. But when I discovered that it doesn't include weight measurements for the ingredients, I decided to take a pass. I honestly don't understand why The Joys of Baking uses volume measurements only because The New Sugar & Spice and Seneviratne's recipes for The New York Times include weights. It's rare that I will purchase a new cookbook without weights because I find it so imprecise and irritating to have to rely on volume measurements. But The Strand had a used copy of The Joys of Baking that was in perfect condition but only half the price of a new book. So I decided that at half price, I would buy the book with the volume measurements.
These bars come together quickly and you don't even need a mixer. You make a gingerbread batter by combining melted butter, dark brown sugar, white sugar, molasses, and eggs; and folding in the dry ingredients (flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves). Then you make a mascarpone batter by combining room temperature mascarpone, an egg, granulated sugar, and vanilla. You add the two batters to a parchment-lined 9-inch pan in alternating dollops and swirl the two batter together.
I decided to take these bars to my friend Dorothy and her family; I was already planning to walk over to her apartment to drop off a Pandemic Legacy board game for her sons (they have been playing the regular Pandemic board game I gave them a few years ago, but I figured that in light of current events, an expansion game was appropriate). We were careful to observe social distancing when I stopped by; we skipped our customary hugs hello and goodbye and we stayed on opposite sides of her dining room table. But Dorothy and her family loved the bars.
I kept two bars that Tom and I ate for dessert after dinner. We loved them. The flavor of the gingerbread portion evoked a gingersnap cookie; the texture was more like a bar cookie than cake, which was perfectly fine with me. The mascarpone was such a perfect complement to the gingerbread -- it was light and creamy without being overly sweet, and it cut through the spiciness of the bar. While this would be a wonderful bar to serve around the holidays, I wouldn't hesitate to make or serve these any time.
It was three weeks ago that I baked these bars and as I think about it, that was the last time I was physically inside someone else's home. But I'm still making and sharing baked goods. Now Dorothy and her sons bike over to my house, where I hand over the baked goods at the front door and they enjoy a first taste in my front yard before starting the trip home.
Recipe: "Mascarpone Gingerbread Bars" from The Joys of Baking by Samantha Seneviratne.
I really like Seneviratne's contributions to New York Times cooking and her previous cookbook The New Sugar & Spice, so when I heard that she had a new cookbook coming out last fall, I planned to buy it right away. But when I discovered that it doesn't include weight measurements for the ingredients, I decided to take a pass. I honestly don't understand why The Joys of Baking uses volume measurements only because The New Sugar & Spice and Seneviratne's recipes for The New York Times include weights. It's rare that I will purchase a new cookbook without weights because I find it so imprecise and irritating to have to rely on volume measurements. But The Strand had a used copy of The Joys of Baking that was in perfect condition but only half the price of a new book. So I decided that at half price, I would buy the book with the volume measurements.
These bars come together quickly and you don't even need a mixer. You make a gingerbread batter by combining melted butter, dark brown sugar, white sugar, molasses, and eggs; and folding in the dry ingredients (flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves). Then you make a mascarpone batter by combining room temperature mascarpone, an egg, granulated sugar, and vanilla. You add the two batters to a parchment-lined 9-inch pan in alternating dollops and swirl the two batter together.
It was three weeks ago that I baked these bars and as I think about it, that was the last time I was physically inside someone else's home. But I'm still making and sharing baked goods. Now Dorothy and her sons bike over to my house, where I hand over the baked goods at the front door and they enjoy a first taste in my front yard before starting the trip home.
Recipe: "Mascarpone Gingerbread Bars" from The Joys of Baking by Samantha Seneviratne.
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