Walnut & Ginger Bite Ring

One of my close friends gifted me the Baby & Toddler cookbook by Tarla Dalal, just prior to the arrival of our daughter. I dug out this cookbook a good six months later,when I started weaning her off milk and into more of solids and made quite a few of the finger food recipes like cheese straws made of whole wheat flour etc since the alternatives readily available in the market (like bread sticks and Glucose biscuits ugh!) were usually made of plain flour which I wanted to avoid.
The other foods like dal,khichdi, soup and the like were our everyday food which I didn't need recipes for, and as she started eating more and more of what we were eating and I stopped cooking separate meals for her, the book lay forgotten.

While doing a spot of Diwali cleaning, I came across it lying with my other cookbooks and started leafing through it. I found this recipe for a Spiced Walnut Ring which I decided to make for a Diwali dinner we had been invited to and for which I had volunteered to get dessert. The evenings have just started turning chilly in Delhi and I thought this cake, with its spicy notes,would be apt for the occasion.

I did a fair amount of tweaking to the recipe and substituted the ginger powder (soonth) with chopped pieces of candied ginger. The spicy sweet pieces of ginger are a nice surprise when one bites into the cake.

I also cut down on the condensed milk and sugar quantities which I figured might be burnt off by active toddlers, but probably not by us!

I served it warm with a bit of vanilla icecream on the side, but some people also had it with chocolate sauce drizzled over. The warmth of the spices and the bite of ginger and walnut made it a delightful ending to a festive evening.

You can find the original recipe here

Walnut & Ginger Bite Ring

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chopped candied ginger pieces
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder

3/4 cup white butter (unsalted)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup condensed milk

3/4 - 1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease a ring mould and keep aside.

2. Sift the flour,baking powder and cinnamon powder together.

3. Whisk the butter and sugar together till soft and creamy.

4. Add the flour mixture, the chopped walnuts, chopped candied ginger, condensed milk and combine till mixed together.

5. Add 3/4 cup of milk and mix till you reach a cake batter consistency, add some more milk if it's too thick.

6. Spoon the batter into the greased ring mould and shake to settle evenly. Bake for 30 minutes till done and a skewer inserted into it comes out clean.

7. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes and then turn out of the ring onto the rack and let it cool further.

This is my entry for November for the Think Spice.... event hosted by Sunita's World

where this month's spice is Ginger.

This is the first food blogging event I'm participating in and I thought this versatile spice would a good place to start!.