Ginger Mascarpone Icebox Cake with Peaches

Here is another ginger and peach combo. The recipe comes from the final cookbook in a series that was published for seven years or so; they were titled The Best American Recipes of..... (whatever year) . Annually test cooks gathered what they thought were the best recipes from all the cookbooks published that year. In 2006 they published the book The 150 Best American Recipes which the editors considered the best of the best. The following recipe made the cut, although I added the peaches. I'm sure the cake could be served with any fruit that tastes good with ginger such as mangos or poached pears.

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Ginger Mascarpone Icebox Cake with Peaches

Serves 12

Make a day ahead.

2 c gingersnap crumbs from about 36 Nabisco gingersnaps, most easily done in a food processor
5 T unsalted butter, melted
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 c plain low-fat yogurt (I used full-fat yogurt because that is what I had on hand)
2/3 c sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 c minced crystallized ginger
1 pound mascarpone (found in the deli cheese case in most grocery stores)
1/3 c heavy cream

Peaches
ginger simple syrup (below)

Spray a 9-inch spring form pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter it lightly. Dust the pan with a little sugar and shake out any excess.

In a medium bowl, combine the gingersnap crumbs and butter, rubbing them together with your fingertips to combine thoroughly. If you run the gingersnaps through the food processor, just pour the butter in and pulse a few times. Sprinkle half of the crumbs over the bottom of the pan and pat down evenly; reserve the rest.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, whip together the cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, vanilla, and ginger until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the mascarpone and cream and whip until the mixture is thoroughly combined and just holds peaks. Don't over whip, or the mixture may separate. Carefully spoon  the mixture over the crust, spreading it evenly to the edge of the pan, smoothing the top as best you can. Let the cake sit covered in the refrigerator overnight. About an hour before serving, top with the remaining crumbs, pressing gently down on them to make them somewhat cohesive. Serve cold with gingered sauced peaches (optional).

Ginger Sauced Peaches

This is my own addition, and I've never served this to 12 diners at one sitting. I make the simple syrup, let it infuse the fresh ginger, and cut enough peaches for the number of guests I'm serving, about 1/2 large peach each.

For the sauce:

1 c sugar
1/2 c water

Bring to a boil and stir to make sure the sugar is dissolved, then remove from heat. Peel and slice an inch piece of fresh ginger and place in the hot liquid. Leave the lid on and let it infuse for 30 minutes. Remove ginger slices. When completely cool, peel and slice peaches and drizzle 2 T syrup per peach over the fruit in a bowl and allow to macerate for at least 30 minutes.

Slice the cake and place on a serving plate and add a large spoonful of peach slices on the side, spooning a little of the sauce over the fruit.

Note:

Mascarpone is fairly expensive and may be hard to find. I haven't tested it, but I think you could substitute cream cheese (using a total of three 8 oz. packages), but you might need to add an addition 1 or 2 T sugar since cream cheese is more tangy. I don't think it would change the texture much.