VANESSA’S WAY... GINGER CAKE WITH COCONUT LIME ICING
In the early 1980s, buying a cake from a convenience store was a bit of a thrill, as were late-night convenience stores themselves. A popular choice among us five siblings was a sticky ginger cake, a version of which I make at this time of year. Like Mary Berry of Great British Bake Off, I love a strong ginger taste in this type of bake, so I have used stem ginger in addition to ground ginger.
If you are in a hurry, this ginger cake recipe can be served without icing (simply dust with icing sugar). If you are making the icing, it’s important to use the right consistency of creamed coconut, so I invert a tin of full-fat coconut milk, leave it in the fridge overnight then scoop out the thick separated cream.
GARY’S WAY... GINGER AND PASSION FRUIT CRÈME BRÛLÉE, GINGER SABLE, GINGER & APRICOT COMPOTE
When I was a commis chef back in the late 1990s myself and my buddies Gearóid, Tara and Marguerite often used to meet up for dinner. Each of us would get our turn to pick a spot, but regardless of where we went, if duck leg confit and crème brûlée were on the menu, two of my choices were already done and dusted. Cooke’s Café had the best duck leg confit in Ireland at the time, in my opinion, but the crème brûlée crown went to a very short-lived restaurant in Galway city called The Archway. Why it didn’t last, I’ll never know, but for the rest of my life I’ll remember their classic crème brûlée. It’s hard to beat a classic. Here’s my twist.
