As you may know, this is my first Sugar High Friday during which I will have a blog – I feel compelled and ecstatic to (finally!) throw my hat in that ring!

The theme for this month is desserts made with Spices.  I took a look through my deep and disorganized spice drawer and was immediately drawn to one jar that still had the plastic shrink wrap enveloping the cap – cardamom.

I think I had purchased this particular (and expensive!) jar when contemplating a new recipe for ginger snaps, but eventually declined to deviate from my old standby in the Best Recipe cookbook.  I knew, therefore, that this spice was from the warm, dessert family (which I take to comprise cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, allspice, mace, and the like) and that it would be a fun experiment for this contest.

I went through many different cookbooks and magazines looking for a cardamom-based recipe and stumbled upon a coffee cake recipe in September’s issue of Fine Cooking.  Now, while coffee cake is not exactly dessert, it certainly fits into the Sugar High category based on the rich and delicious streusel alone.  But just to be certain, I decided to serve it alongside a saffron flavored ice cream.  Let the festivities begin!

First, make your ice cream.  This recipe is adapted from the cookbook “Ice Cream” by Liz Franklin, and I owe my friend Caroline a shout-out for giving me both the book and my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.

Southern Comfort, Saffron, and Ginger Ice Cream

1 1/4 c. milk
A good pinch of saffron threads
4 extra-large egg yolks
1/2 c. superfine sugar
1/4 c. orange blossom or clover honey (something lightly colored to avoid overpowering the flavor of the spices)
1/4 c. Southern Comfort (also known as a ‘nip’!)
1 c. mascarpone cheese
2 to 4 oz. crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped (I thought 4 oz. looked like a lot, even for a ginger-lover, but you be the judge!)

Pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the saffron threads.  Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, and leave the saffron to infuse for at least 30 minutes.
Put the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat until light in color and creamy in texture.  Return the milk to a boil and pour over the egg mixture, whisking until smooth.  Return the custard to the stove and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it has thickened, taking care not to let the mixture overheat, about 15 minutes or more – I would recommend waiting until the custard has reached the consistency of gravy and coats the back of your spoon to remove the pan from the heat.  Stir in the honey and Southern Comfort.

Let mixture cool completely, then beat in the mascarpone until thoroughly blended and smooth.  For best results, cool this mixture in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before adding it to your ice cream machine.  Churn until almost frozen, then fold in the crystallized ginger.

Continue to churn until the mixture is completely frozen, then transfer to a freezerproof container and freeze until ready to serve.  In the meantime, bake your coffee cake:

Plum and Pear Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar and Cardamom Streusel, adapted very slightly from Fine Cooking issue #94.

For the Streusel:
1/2 c. Flour
1/4 c. packed dark brown sugar
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
Heavy pinch ground cardamom
3 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

For the Cake:
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces; more softened for the pan
1 1/2 c. flour, more for the pan
2 large eggs
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. packed dark or light brown sugar

1/4 c. whole milk
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
2 firm-ripe medium plums, pitted and cut in sixths
1 barely-ripe small Anjou pear, seeds and stem removed, cut in sixths

Make the streusel: put the flour, sugar, kosher salt, and cardamom in a small mixing bowl and stir the ingredients with a fork until combined.  Drizzle the melted butter over the mixture and stir with a fork until the mixture resembles a clumpy dough.  Using your fingers, break the mixture into pistachio-size clumps and large crumbs.  If the streusel is sandy and won’t clump, add a little more melted butter, 1 tsp. at a time.  Refrigerate streusel while you prepare cake batter.

Make the cake: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375.  Lightly butter and flour an 8x8x2 straight-sided cake pan.  Beat the eggs lightly in a small mixing bowl.

Whisk in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, milk and vanilla until well blended.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, table salt, and cardamom until well-blended.  Add the butter pieces to the bowl and cut them into the flour with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles a very coarse meal strewn with pieces of butter the size of small peas and oat flakes.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture.  With a wooden spoon, fold and stir the ingredients together until it’s a thick batter speckled with visible lumps of butter, 45 seconds to 1 minute.

Scrape the butter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.  Break up the streusel mixture with your fingers and sprinkle half of it evenly over the batter.

Arrange the plum quarters and pear slices skin-side down, in any pretty pattern you like.  Push them down a bit into the batter.  Sprinkle the remaining streusel over the cake.
Bake the cake for 20 minutes and then rotate the pan.  Continue baking until the top of the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in thte center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 10-15 minutes more.
Cool the cake in its pan on a rack for at least an hour before cutting.  The magazine recommends you serve the cake within 24 hours of baking, otherwise the fruits’ juices will make the streusel soggy.

Serve warm with the ice cream or cinnamon whipped cream alongside and enjoy!