Sticky gingerbread cake
2019 was a bulldozer of a year. It pushed me to not only embrace the new and step out of my comfort zone, but also to let go of the past. At the start of my Christmas break, all I could have told you was how exhausted I was. I am always very grateful for all the good in my life, and this year was objectively a significant one. I also met some incredible people I will carry into the future. However… I just can't bring myself to say that I was happy in 2019. It's odd, isn't it? Did any of you feel this way? For 2020, yes I want to learn and grow and love as much as I can, but God, I also want to be happy. And I really feel like I will be. Thank u, next, 2019.
I know my tone is usually more (relentlessly) upbeat, but it’s okay. Reflection is a good thing. Today I am fittingly bringing you a cake that is more complex in flavour, though no less easy or quick than any of the other cakes on my blog. Its deep, dark, treacly sweetness marries with the warmth and spice of ground and stem ginger to give you a cake that is both plush and sticky all at once. This is a really moreish cake, and it pairs beautifully with a cup of coffee.
I first tried this cake last year at a work do and couldn’t stop raving about it. I wasn't alone. This is my friend Ruth’s adaptation of Mary Berry’s recipe. I make the full tray if it’s for work, or half the recipe in a 9” square pan when it’s for just a few friends. You can serve it the same day (though I’d suggest waiting a day for the flavours to set in), or make it in advance. The cake, unfrosted, will keep really well wrapped up tightly in foil for a few days. Does it need the cream cheese frosting? Not at all. But the contrast of that creamy vanilla sweetness is a delight.
Happy New Year, my friends.
Ruth and Mary’s sticky gingerbread cake
Serves 16. Adapted from Mary Berry’s recipe.
INGREDIENTS
225g butter
225g light soft brown sugar
225g golden syrup
225g black treacle
450g self-raising flour*
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 eggs
300ml milk
2 balls stem ginger, finely diced, plus syrup from the jar
METHOD
Cut a rectangle of non-stick baking parchment to fit the base and sides of the tin. Lightly grease the tin and then line it with the paper, pushing it neatly into the corners. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/325°F. Measure the butter, sugar, golden syrup and black treacle into a medium pan and heat gently until the mixture has melted evenly. Allow to cool slightly.
Put the flour and ground ginger into a large mixing bowl and stir together lightly. Beat the eggs into the milk. Pour the cooled margarine and syrup mixture into the flour with the egg and milk mixture , tip in the diced stem ginger, and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, tilt gently to level the surface and bake for about 50 minutes, until well risen, golden and springy to the touch. Allow the gingerbread to cool a little in the tin, then turn out on to a wire rack.. While still hot, brush the cake with two or three tablespoons of syrup from the jar of stem ginger. Leave to cool completely and then cut into 16 squares.
Notes: Mary suggests using half wholemeal and half white self-raising flour, but for ease you can just use all white. The stem ginger isn’t a part of the original recipe, so feel free to leave out if you can’t find a jar, but the little bites of ginger are so good in this. If you make half the recipe in a 9” square pan, start checking the cake after 40-45 minutes.
For the cream cheese frosting, this cake doesn’t need the sturdiness of a proper cream cheese frosting, which just means I use a lot less icing sugar in it. Simply mix the following to taste: 180g (1 regular tub, definitely NOT light) Philadelphia cream cheese, 40g (a pat, really) very soft butter, 1/2 cup icing sugar and 1 teaspoon good vanilla paste/essence. Beat until smooth and creamy and then add more sugar or vanilla to taste. Spread over the cake using an angled spatula or the back of spoon, and don’t worry about making it neat.
