Dark sticky gingerbread
Makes 1 loaf You will need:
• 60g butter
• 75g treacle
• 50g golden syrup
• 140g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bread soda
• Half teaspoon baking powder • 2 teaspoons ground ginger • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon • 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg • 100g caster sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 120ml milk For the ginger syrup, you will need: • 75g caster sugar
• 75ml water
• 2 teaspoons finely grated root ginger, or finely chopped crystallised ginger 1 You’ll also need a 2lb loaf tin. Preheat the oven to 170°C, 340°F, Gas 3. Line the base and sides of the loaf tin with parchment paper. 2 Melt the butter, the treacle and the golden syrup in a small saucepan on a low heat, then set aside. 3 Sift the plain flour, the bread soda and the baking powder into a mixing bowl, then stir in the ground ginger, the ground cinnamon and the freshly grated nutmeg.
Mix in the caster sugar and the pinch of salt. 4 In another bowl, whisk the egg, then add the milk, and the melted butter, treacle and golden syrup mixture you set aside earlier. Pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until smooth. It will have a wet, sloppy consistency. 5 Pour the cake mix into the prepared loaf tin and bake it in the oven for 50-55 minutes, or until it is risen and firm to the touch, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. (Wait for at least 45 minutes before opening the oven to check whether the gingerbread has cooked, otherwise it can collapse in the centre.) 6 While the gingerbread is cooking, make the ginger syrup. Place the caster sugar, the water and the grated fresh ginger or the chopped crystallised ginger, whichever you’re using, in a small saucepan over a medium heat, and boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes until the mixture is slightly thickened and syrupy. 7 Once the gingerbread is cooked, take it out of the oven and, leaving it in the tin, pierce it all over the top with a fine skewer, pour over the warm syrup, and leave the loaf to cool in the tin. 8 When it’s cooled, take it out of the tin and cut it into slices to serve.