Gem Pan Dough?

[JulianH]

Hello,

I'm a home baker and recently purchased my very first gem pan. While it's clear what some of these pans were intended for, (e.g. muffins, corn sticks, and popover rolls), I don't see any clear use case for most of the others.

Does anyone on here know for a fact what kind of breads were intended for the rest? Were these yeasted breads, quick breads, sweet etc? Clearly something that benefited from a formed shape, (ruling out biscuits), was very popular in the past, but that's not a thing anymore. Thanks in advance.

 

[Doug D.]

The Gem & Muffin Pans page gives a general description of what constitutes a "gem". A web search of "gem batter recipe" returns several examples.

Gem & Muffin Pans - The Cast Iron Collector: Information for The Vintage Cookware Enthusiast

The Cast Iron Collector: Information for the Vintage Cookware Enthusiast. Gem, muffin, roll, bread, cornstick and breadstick pans.

www.castironcollector.com

 

[Carroll J]

Hot oven being 400 degrees. I don't recall where I got this from years ago.

 

[CraigA.]

Thanks Carroll.
Now I need to find some graham flour.

 

[D. Webb]

Here's a couple of recipes that I make. I use these for snacks and breakfast rolls.

• Nanna Moorehouse’s Ginger Gems
• 
  
• 2 oz of soft brown sugar
• 2 oz of butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons of golden syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of plain white flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
• milk to mix (approximately ½ a cup)
• 1 oz of extra butter to grease

1. Preheat your oven and gem irons in a hot 220°C (430°F) oven
2. In a large bowl, cream the sugar, butter and golden syrup.
3. Add the egg and beat in well.
4. Sift in the flour, baking and ground ginger and gently fold into the batter with enough milk to make a dropping consistency.
5. Remove the hot gem pan from the oven and put a dot of butter into each of the 12 compartments.
6. The butter should sizzle if the pan is ready. Brush the melted butter around the sides quickly.
7. Take a dessert spoon and drop batter evenly into each compartment until three-quarters to nearly full. Return the gem irons to the oven and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until golden.
8. Eat immediately while still piping hot with lashings of butter.
9. Makes 12

CARDAMOM PATTY CAKES​

Fragrant little mini cakes are baked in a gem scone pan and topped with icing sugar for a cardamom infused afternoon treat.


Makes - Approximately 30

Ingredients​

3/4 cup raw sugar
125g butter, melted and cooled
a pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cardamom (ground)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups self-raising flour
icing sugar to dust

Method​

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Grease a gem scone pan with butter. Dust with flour and set aside.

In a bowl beat eggs, sugar, butter, cardamom and salt until light and creamy. Add flour and milk. Beat for a couple of minutes until fluffy and well combined.

Spoon batter into prepared molds until 2/3rds full (each). Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes until golden and cooked through. Remove and gently loosen the cakes with a butter knife. Turn on to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

My Notes​

You can bake the batter into little cupcakes or a full sized cake topped with nuts by adjusting the baking times.

To make nutella or jam stuffed patty cakes, spoon some batter into the mold. Add a teaspoon of the filling, top with more batter and bake. Make sure each mold is only 2/3rds full.