I was looking forward to making this weeks' cake as the photo in the book looked so inviting with the little gingerbread people dancing around the outside of the cheesecake. However, I was feeling a bit pressed for time and decided to skip making the gingerbread people. The making of the cheesecake was interesting enough as it transpired.
It called for 50mls of ginger and by that I mean take a large piece of ginger root and grate it, and then squeeze the juice out of the grated ginger and then weigh it and add it to the cheesecake mix. We aren't talking about powdered ginger, we are talking about fresh ginger. To be frank, I was nervous. Raw ginger is a pretty intense taste and much as we love ginger in this house, I just wasn't sure if 50mls would be too strong. Oh yee of little faith. I did taste it before adding it and sure enough it burned the end of my tongue. But when you add the greenish, burny liquid to a bowl full of creamy cheesy, sour creamy, eggy mix it transforms it. Again, Rose makes it all worthwhile. It was beautiful.
I did, unfortunately, have a bit of decorating disaster. There were three holes in the top of the cake when I unmoulded it and my usually very easy going husband gently suggested when he saw it that "perhaps it needs something". I thought maybe I could use the little tiny bit of whipped cream, leftover from a previous eating adventure, to mask the offending part of the cake. In the end, I think it just looks odd. Like an old ladies unfinished sentence...but it does hide the holes...so..there it is.
Next time though - going with the gingerbread people.