Gingerbread with Lemon Curd + Donkey & Goat's Pinot Gris

For the final course of our Christmas dinner, I served my favorite festive sweet - gingerbread with lemon curd. And I paired it with Donkey & Goat's Pinot Gris.

In the Glass
Donkey & Goat's 2016 Ramato Pinot Gris is skin-fermented which resulted in a vivid salmon color . The wine smells like peaches and sea salt; and while it is light-bodied it's exotic and almost meaty. This wine, like many of Donkey & Goat's creations, is not for the faint of heart, but, like all of Donkey & Goat's wines, it's fascinating.

On the Plate

Ingredients

Gingerbread

• 1-1/4 C butter, plus some for greasing
• unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting pan
• 1 C unsulphered molasses
• 1 C organic granulated sugar
• 1/3 C ginger syrup
• 1 T ginger paste
• 1 t dried ginger
• 2-1/2 C flour
• 1 C ground almonds
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 C sour cream
• 2 eggs
• organic powdered sugar for serving

Lemon Curd

• 1 C fresh lemon juice
• 4 t fresh lemon zest
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 12 T butter, cut into cubes

Procedure

Lemon Curd

Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6 minutes.

Transfer lemon curd to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 1 hour.

Gingerbread 

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Butter pan and dust the pan with unsweetened cocoa powder to prevent sticking.

Melt the butter. In  large mixing bowl, whisk together molasses, sugar, ginger syrup, ginger paste, eggs, and sour cream. Pour in the melted butter and stir until well-combined.

Add in dry ingredients and stir till completely moistened. Spoon into buttered cake pan.

Bake for 1 hour or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Let cool for another 10 to 15 minutes.

To serve, spoon a dollop of lemon curd onto your serving plate. Top with a square of gingerbread. Dust with powdered sugar.