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Friday, June 03, 2011

Sweet sweet Friday: Ginger crunch

It has been quite a week at our house, with very little going on in the kitchen but too much happening out of it. I made this last night and have been self-medicating with it ever since.

Spicy Ginger Crunch With Double Thick Icing

Spicy Ginger Crunch
This is a pimped-up version of a Kiwi classic, with an extra-thick layer of icing and nuggets of crystallised ginger in the base. Oh, and an extra-secret spicy kick that the esteemed members of the Country Women's Institute would never have thought of. Leave it out if you're a nervous Nellie...

1 1/2 cups flour
1tsp baking powder
2tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
1/2 cup caster sugar
125g butter
1/2 cup crystallised ginger, finely chopped

Icing
150g butter
1/4 cup golden syrup
2 cups icing sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp ground ginger
1tsp Chinese five-spice powder


Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a slice tin with baking paper.
Sift the flour, baking powder, spices and sugar into a large bowl - or a food processor, or the bowl of a freestanding mixer. Add the butter and rub/process/beat until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the crystallised ginger and press into the prepared tin. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
For the icing, melt the butter and golden syrup together, then add the icing sugar and spices. Cook, stirring constantly, for about one minute, beating with a wooden spoon until smooth. Pour over the hot base and leave to set. Cut into bars and store in an airtight container.
 

Hope you all have a sweet, sweet weekend x

19 comments:

  1. I've never heard of this kiwi classic before, but why not? It looks delicious - just the sort of ting for self madicating, or nibbling with a cup of tea, or coffee, or just on its own! I've bookmarked it for when I am back from hols!

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  2. Oops! Can't spell today - sorry.

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  3. This sounds perfect medication- delicious and hopefully doing the trick?

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  4. Wow look at the thick layer of icing, these bars looks so yummy!

    Maria
    x

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  5. I've never heard of this classic and it sure looks like it deserves to be one. Yum!

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  6. God that looks good! I love ginger crunch. Still can't believe the rest of the world don't know about this one yet!?! So gooooood.

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  7. oooh The Viking's gonna love this one... everyone's been having a tough day today!... must be something in the stars... nothing that these ginger bars and a bottle of posh wont eradicate!

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  8. Fantastic! Have a great weekend.

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  9. Wow! I've never seen anything like it. Looks like the perfect afternoon tea accompaniment!

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  10. oh yummo, anything ginger and sweet and spicy is a winner at my house

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  11. Ginger and five-spice - what a killer combination!

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  12. Looks fab - love the thick icing, can just imagine sinking my teeth into that!

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  13. Hope the self-medicating is doing what you need it to. I love the addition of five-spice powder, very exciting. I'm so glad my tastebuds have got to the stage where I now love ginger, as opposed to hating it as I did until about five years ago...

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  14. Don't think we ever got a slice of this Kiwi classic in our 6 months jaunt around the islands - damn shame as it looks mighty fine. Love your secret kick ass ingredient.

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  15. Can't wait to try this version - I recently started a batch of ginger crunch only to find there was no ground ginger in the house - when you want Ginger Crunch nothing else will do, so I soldiered on with a combo of chopped crystallised ginger and grated fresh ginger: Yum.

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  16. This has to be the most perfect dessert ever!

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  17. amazing that the rest of the world don't know of this kiw classic, beloved of our mothers! Your version sounds wonderful, just the thing for a cake stall slice that I have offered to contribute

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  18. Love this! Think it will become a regular bake!

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Hello - thanks for stopping by. If this was real life I'd make you a cup of tea and open the biscuit tin, but in lieu of those things, let's have a chat anyway...