I LOVE ginger! It’s one of my favourite flavours. It’s right up there with vanilla and chocolate for me. As Christmas is only a matter of weeks away, I thought I would share this. My husband isn’t such a huge fan of Ginger (one less person to share with I guess) its a pity that my children enjoy it though, I have to share with them.....
This recipe is courtesy of a dear friend of mine from High School - Nicola. She was given this recipe from her Grandmother. This recipe is actually called “Parkin” and Ginger bread doesn’t get any more traditional than this recipe.
This cake is not to be made and eaten the day its prepared. This cake should be made at least 1 - 3 days before you want to serve it. The longer you leave it, the stickier it will become. You can serve it on its own or with lashings of fresh butter. Both are recommended! It's due to the waiting time of letting the cake "develop in flavour" that makes this cake utterly wonderful to serve for events and gatherings. You can make it a few days in advance, forget about it and serve.
I wish I had been aware of this recipe when pregnant with my babies. I suffered from severe morning sickness with all 4 pregnancies (when I say severe, I mean severe. I was recommended to go to hospital and have a drip it was so bad). Many have claimed that ginger has been known to help with this ailment - as I don’t plan on having another baby to test this cake on morning sickness, if you have a friend who is suffering from this condition, why not test it out on her and let me know how it went?
I add finely chopped Buderium ginger (crystalised) to my batter. I love the small jewels of ginger that give you a burst of flavour and texture. A word about the batter - it is very thin and liquid like. This is normal. Please don’t add any extra flour, this high liquid content is what gives this recipe the wonderful stickiness that I crave. To maintain the sticky moistness: keep each loaf wrapped in grease proof paper, then aluminum foil and in an air tight container. Any air will cause the cake to go hard and will lose all that wonderful stickiness.
Recipe
225g butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup treacle
1 1/2 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons powdered ground ginger
1 cup warm milk
2 teaspoons bicarb soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup finely chopped ginger
Pre-heat your oven to 170oC (355oF).
Grease and line 3 loaf tins. If your loaf tins are slightly larger, than only grease and line 2.
In a sauce pan, melt the butter, brown sugar and treacle together and set aside to cool slightly.
In a bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon and ginger. Use a whisk to air-ate the flour mixture.
Warm the milk and add the bicarb to it.
Pour the milk mixture and eggs into the flour mixture and stir well to combine.
Add the finely chopped ginger and the slightly cooled buttery solution.
Stir well.
Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared tins and pop into your pre-heated oven.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, don’t just touch the top of the cake to see if it’s cooked, use a toothpick to check that it’s cooked.
Let sit on a wire rack for 15 minutes to cool slightly.
Remove from the tin, but keep the grease proof paper attatched to each loaf.
Cool completely then wrap in more grease proof paper (so that each loaf is completely covered), then fully wrap that in foil and pop into an air tight container (such as Tupperware) and leave for 1 - 3 days.
Slice and serve with or without butter OR with caramel sauce and ice-cream as an after dinner treat.
Grease and line 3 loaf tins. If your loaf tins are slightly larger, than only grease and line 2.
In a sauce pan, melt the butter, brown sugar and treacle together and set aside to cool slightly.
In a bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon and ginger. Use a whisk to air-ate the flour mixture.
Warm the milk and add the bicarb to it.
Pour the milk mixture and eggs into the flour mixture and stir well to combine.
Add the finely chopped ginger and the slightly cooled buttery solution.
Stir well.
Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared tins and pop into your pre-heated oven.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, don’t just touch the top of the cake to see if it’s cooked, use a toothpick to check that it’s cooked.
Let sit on a wire rack for 15 minutes to cool slightly.
Remove from the tin, but keep the grease proof paper attatched to each loaf.
Cool completely then wrap in more grease proof paper (so that each loaf is completely covered), then fully wrap that in foil and pop into an air tight container (such as Tupperware) and leave for 1 - 3 days.
Slice and serve with or without butter OR with caramel sauce and ice-cream as an after dinner treat.
Happy cooking!
Elizabeth x
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