Miraval Recipes: Warm Pear Gingerbread & Walnut Ice Cream

The holidays are in full swing, which means a house full of food and delicious treats to delight in. What better way to stimulate your senses, nourish your body, and warm the house than to bake a seasonal bread, fresh in your kitchen oven? Miraval’s Warm Pear Gingerbread recipe fits the bill perfectly – we love the addition of pears to this holiday favorite, and, there’s even some seasonal yellow squash in there too. To up the presentation ante, cut some extra slices of pear and arrange them on top of the bread. And, if you’ve got a sweet tooth, make your own walnut ice cream to serve with this cozy bread – a match made in heaven! We’ve included Miraval’s Walnut Ice Cream recipe below.

Warm Pear Gingerbread Ingredients (Serves 6-8):

1½ cups unbleached flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground cloves
1½ cups shredded yellow squash
¾ cup Wax Orchards Fruit Sweet (natural sugar substitute made with concentrated pear juice, concentrated peach juice, concentrated unsweetened pineapple juice)
⅓ cup prune puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 cup pears, peeled, cored, and diced
Vegetable cooking spray

Instructions:
1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.      Combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves in a large bowl and stir well. Add squash, stir well and make a well in the center of the mixture.
3.      Combine fruit sweet, prune puree, vanilla and egg whites; stir well. Add to dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened. Quickly stir in the diced pears.
4.      Pour into a 9-inch cake pan coated well with cooking spray.
5.      Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan, and cool completely on rack.

Nutritional information per 1 slice of cake: 120 calories, 2g protein, 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 26g carbohydrates, 2g dietary fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 220mg sodium.

Walnut Ice Cream Ingredients (Makes 2 quarts):

1¼ cups raw cane sugar, divided                             1 egg yolk
½ cup honey                                                                  5 oz. pasteurized egg whites
1 tbsp plus 1½ tsp fresh lemon juice                       1 cup fat-free milk
2 tbsp plus 1½ tsp vanilla extract                              6 cups fat-free plain yogurt
2 tbsp Italian dessert wine                                         ⅓ cup finely chopped walnuts

Instructions:
1.      In a saucepan combine ¾ cup of sugar, honey, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over low heat. Boil for 1 minute; remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and wine.
2.      In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolk until light yellow. Slowly stir in the hot sugar to temper the egg yolk. Cool to room temperature. Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until fluffy. Gradually whisk in ½ cup sugar and whip until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
3.      In a large bowl, combine the milk and yogurt. Whisk until smooth. Fold the syrup into the yogurt. Gently fold in the egg whites and walnuts.
4.      Using an ice cream maker, freeze blended contents to manufacturer’s instructions.

Nutritional information per ½ cup serving: 180 calories, 7g protein, 2.5 total fat, 0g saturated fat, 31g carbohydrates, 0g dietary fiber, 50mg cholesterol, 95mg sodium.