It's Christmas 'til the tree comes down

I love a bargain as much as the next person - possibly more.  Thrift stores are my preferred hunting grounds, but post-Christmas there's a veritable open season in all sorts of shops.  Holiday items receive some of the deepest discounts, which this [new] year led to my baking of some somewhat belated gingerbread people.  At a fourth of its original price, my new Nordic Ware pan was not to be refused.

Naturally, I had to test it; our Christmas tree is still standing, so the smiling little cakes should similarly still be considered seasonally acceptable.  Plus, gingerbread will always be a welcome warmer in the cold winter months.  The packaging on the pan contained a recipe for gingerbread with a serving size of the six small cakes, so that was the recipe I used, with some adaptation.  It can be found here in the Recipe Box.

I added a pinch of black pepper to the other spices to give the cake some extra heat.  I also substituted milk for the cup of water called for on the packaging, some dark brown sugar for a portion of the granuated sugar, and I added a second egg.

The batter is thick until the addition of the liquid, but once the milk (or water) has been stirred in it is easily poured into the wells of the pan.

As the recipe was - it seemed - written for the pan, I thought that the cakes would probably not rise too high and spread out of the wells...  I should have listened to my instincts that the wells looked too full.

My gingerbread people needed to go on a diet after their sojourn in the oven.  The pan claims that 'Baked goods rise evenly, cook uniformly and are finely detailed thanks to the excellent thermal conduction of the heavy walls'.  The pan certainly is weighty, and from previous pan experimentation I thought that the light coating might reflect heat for an even bake, even before reading their statement that 'A special heat-reflective exterior and premium nonstick surface assures perfect results'.  Well... given that the recipe could have filled two pans, I'm not sure that it would be fair to judge the rise against this first test run.  The cake did bake uniformly, however, and the recipe was tasty.  If the downside was a surprise double-batch, that can't be considered a bad thing - two for the price of one!

The pan did make good on its claims of detail and easy removal, although it did also call for preparing the pan in the normal way, with grease and flour, despite its 'premium nonstick surface'.  This was just as well, because I felt like experimenting by adding a bit of cinnamon to the flour for a little extra flavour - I think it worked!  Once out, the cakes just had to be separated from each other, and from their overly-large backsides.  The first step was easy, with a small sharp knife.

Step two was fairly simple, if a little bit messier.  Using a tiny turntable, I removed the backs of the cakes in the same way you would split a layer of a round cake.  If your cakes overflow like mine, definitely wait for the cakes to be cool before moving on to this.  Better still, split the batter into two batches, making twelve gingerbread people.

I decorated the people halves with royal icing to make them colourful and to accentuate the details from the pan.  If you don't feel like wasting the time, they would also look nice with a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

For the blobby halves I plopped a couple in a pair of bowls and served with fresh cream whipped with a hint (but not too subtle) of brandy.

Taste trumps beauty.