Gingerbread with Spiced Creme Anglaise

In my effort to find something Irish in nature to make yesterday, I came across this gingerbread that contained Guinness, and decided to give it a try. I'm not sure if it counts as a St. Patrick themed food, but we liked it. 

I had no idea what "creme anglaise" was, but after I looked it up I found wikipedia defines it as a "light pouring custard", which is exactly what it is.  This one is the perfect complement to this spiced cake, not too heavy or sweet.  

I also made an onion soup that contained Guinness that I will try to post up soon.  Here's the cake recipe from Food Network.

Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup turbinado sugar (recommended: Sugar in the Raw)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 cup Guinness, or other dark beer
• Spiced Creme Anglaise, recipe follows
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9-inch cake pan and line with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg. In a third bowl, combine the molasses and beer and stir to dissolve. Add the dry ingredients and beer mixture alternately to the egg mixture, beating after the addition of each.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake until puffed and set, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack. Spoon the Creme Anglaise onto the middle of 12 dessert plates. Cut the gingerbread into 12 equal portions and place on plates. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and serve.

Spiced Creme Anglaise:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup sugar

Combine the cream, the zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and frothy, about 2 minutes. Slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup of the hot cream, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to warm milk and stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until thick, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve warm. (Or, to serve chilled, place in an ice bath to cool, then cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.)