OK – I realize my blog topics are all over the map (as usual), but stick with me here…   (I promise I’ll get back to bitching about one thing or another soon). 

And I realize that it is bad form to compliment oneself, but I am really stoked about the dessert I made last night; Shortcake with Peaches and Gingercream.

Mmmm-mmmmh!

I discovered this fabulous flavor combo last summer while eating gingersnaps and peach sorbet and have been in search of the perfect peach/ginger recipe ever since.  Last night’s dessert is certainly on the shortlist.

The original recipe came from last August’s Bon Appetit and can be found here, but necessity (and laziness) being the mother of invention, I made a few modifications;

  • For the shortcake I used Bisquick and added the minced crystallized ginger because, when it comes to baking, I never seem to get a more satisfying product from scratch as I can from the box.  And, frankly, when it is stinking hot out and miserably sticky, so you know that shortcakes aren’t going to rise anyway, why not take the path of least resistance. 

Note: This should not be construed as sheer laziness on my part.  I am perfectly willing to stand over a double boiler for 40 minutes whisking egg whites to make the perfect buttercream frosting, because, let’s face it, frosting from a can is revolting (unless, of course, you’re spending Friday night alone with a heating pad and a bottle of Midol, in which case frosting from the can should be considered dinner - and a bit of a lifering all in one).  But for the actual baking part, I confess, I use a mix…

  • I used a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger instead of the crystallized stuff in the whipped cream.  I’d like to tell you that I did this because I thought the fresh ginger would better infuse the whipped cream, but, truthfully, it was because I used all of my crystallized ginger in the shortcake, having forgotten I needed to double the recipe when I was shopping earlier in the day.
  • I peeled the peaches, because, while I love the flavor of peaches,  peach-fuzz gives me a hairball.
  • I macerated the peaches with a splash of Grand  Marnier (no explanation of that decision required, I should hope)

If it’s peach season where you are, make sure you grab yourself a bushel.  I can’t think of anything that tastes as much like summer as fresh peaches.