My Kind of Wedge
The word, wedge, brings to mind two things: cheese and shoes. Some are fabulous; some not so fabulous.
My kind of Wedge is more to my liking, because it is always delicious. Cherry Ginger Wedges resemble a scone, but they are so darn flat that I do not have the nerve to, realistically, call them scones.
Each month I host several friends over for a lunch meeting. The deal is that everyone rotates bringing in lunch and I take care of desserts and drinks. I had seen a recipe for Cherry Ginger Scones not too long ago and couldn’t quite get them out of my mind. I decided to throw the kitchen sink of scones together and see what happened.
Everyone at the luncheon was asked (a.k.a. told) to try them. Raving reviews were heard by all, and I didn’t even have to threaten to take away the Chocolate Covered Potato Chips, if they didn’t respond favorably. Everyone, truly, loved them.
Several factors came into play with my decision to experiment with the Wedges. I love the combined flavors of cherries and ginger and think the bright red color of the dried cherries is very appealing to the eye. Additionally, the Wedges are a breeze to put together.
I am pleased beyond words when I work with a recipe that affords me the luxury of making it on my timeline rather than requiring me to work around the generally hectic schedule of my kitchen. That isn’t to imply that I don’t love spending days in my kitchen baking, because I really do. Sometimes, though, it is challenging to fit my kids’ schedules into the equation.
With the Cherry Ginger Wedges, I mix the ingredients together, put the dough in the pans and then refrigerate the pans until I am ready to bake. This can be a couple of hours or the next day. Samuel appreciates this very much, since he would be most disappointed if his mommy did not pick him up from kindergarten, just because she was having too much fun in the kitchen (don’t worry, this has never happened.)
If the dried cherries and/or the crystallized ginger are not your thing, substitute other combinations of dried fruits instead. Whatever you add to your Wedges, they will have people smiling and coming back for more, unless of course they are hoping for cheese and shoes.
| Cherry Ginger Wedges | Print |
- Wedges:
- 3¼ cups all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup dried cherries, chopped
- 1 cup chopped crystallized ginger
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Topping:
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1½ tablespoons turbinado sugar
- For the wedges:
- Line two 9” cake pans with plastic wrap, allowing enough excess plastic wrap to be able to cover the top once the dough is put into the pans. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large metal bowl. Cut the butter into tablespoons and add to the bowl. Using either your fingers or a pastry whisk, blend the butter into the dry ingredients until it is the consistency of coarse meal.
- Add the cherries, ginger, buttermilk and cream. Use a large fork to combine the ingredients, mixing until nearly blended together.
- With your hands, do a final blend. Divide the dough in half and transfer the dough to the prepared pans. Using the palm of your hand, press the dough evenly into the cake pans.
- Cover the dough with the overhang of plastic wrap. Be sure the entire surface is covered. Refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Lift the plastic wrap out of the cake pan and transfer the dough, still wrapped, to a cutting board. Remove the top of the plastic wrap and cut into 10 wedges.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and transfer the wedges to the baking pans. Gently peel the dough off the plastic wrap if it sticks.
- For the topping:
- Brush the tops of each wedge with heavy cream. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake at 350° for 20-22 minutes. The tops will just barely push back when pressed and the bottoms will be a lovely golden color.
- Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheets. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- Turbinado sugar is also called Sugar In The Raw. It comes from the first pressing of the sugar cane and gets its name from the spinning it does in a cylinder or turbine. The sugar crystals are larger and have more of a golden color than plain sugar.
