Banana Gingerbread with Blueberry Whipped Cream

In my previous post I talked about the wonderful blueberry inspired Thanksgiving feast Erika Kerekes hosted with the US Highbush Blueberry Council. There were several delicious dishes, all of which included some form of that wonderful little blue fruit, the blueberry. There was everything from Pumpkin Soup with Blueberry “Dust” to a spectacular Pumpkin Blueberry Trifle.

I’ve never been a pumpkin pie fan, so this Pumpkin Blueberry Trifle was the perfect dessert for me. While it got me the necessary Thanksgiving pumpkin dessert, it was the creamy vanilla pudding and blueberry sauce that made the dish a winner. It was light and refreshing and not at all heavy like pumpkin pie usually is. What does this have to do with Banana Gingerbread? Well, the spices in Erika’s pumpkin bread, which made up the base of the trifle, reminded me of gingerbread. And since the blueberries paired so well with the pumpkin bread, I knew they’d pair just as well with gingerbread.  But instead of plain old gingerbread, I wanted something a little richer, something that would put an exclamation point on my holiday dinner. I know Thanksgiving has come and gone, but Christmas is just a few weeks away and nothing screams the holidays like nice warm gingerbread.

I usually enjoy my gingerbread with a dollop of whipped cream on top. The cream cuts the richness of the moist cake and also adds a little refreshing respite from the dessert. Since the blueberries were so yummy with Erika’s pumpkin bread, I thought I’d add the blueberries to my whipped cream and make a blueberry whipped cream that I’d spread over the whole cake. Not only did the whipped cream lighten the cake, the blueberries added a nice tart punch to the whole experience. And since blueberries are now available from October through March thanks to farms in Chile and other South American countries, this is the perfect dessert for your Christmas Dinner.

Banana Gingerbread with Blueberry Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pastry flour
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1-1/2 cups molasses
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 2 cups whipped cream
• 1-2 drops purple food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 2 9-inch square pans and set aside.
2. Whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Beat together the butter and 1/2-cup sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and fresh ginger and mix until combined. Mix in the mashed bananas. Add the eggs, one at a time mixing after each egg.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter/molasses mixture, until fully combined.
5. Pour the cake into the prepared caked pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick when inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan then place on a rack and let cool completely.
6. While the cake is baking, make the whipped cream – Place the blueberries in a food processor or blender and process for a minute or two. Set aside.
7. Whip the cream until it starts to thicken. Once thick, but still soft add the remaining 1/4-cup sugar and the mashed blueberries and continue beating until the whipped cream is stiff.  (If you’d like your blueberry whipped cream more purple, feel free to add a drop or two of purple food coloring.)
8. Spread the blueberry whipped cream on top of one layer of gingerbread, leaving about 1/4-inch of space around the sides. Place the second layer of gingerbread on top, pressing down slightly so the whipped cream spreads to the edges. Spread the rest of the blueberry whipped cream on top of the cake and serve.