STICKY GINGER CAKE and a new cake stand!

 

For Nick's birthday last November he requested a ginger cake (again).

 

No surprise there but I was glad to have a reason to bake a recipe I had been hanging my nose over for some time.  It's on the Clandestine Cake website and is one of Lynn Hill's own recipes.  The Clandestine Cake Club as such folded some time ago but the concept is still alive and well in websites and social media.

 

 

It was easy to make and ticked all the birthday cake boxes.  Very gingery with a lovely crumb and a slight stickiness - there's a clue in the name.

 

 

I was also pleased to have a reason to use my new black cake stand.

 

As a person who has more cake stands than a sensible person should ever need I did hesitate briefly before buying it.  (Very briefly.)  I had been hankering after a black one for a few years but never found one that I liked.  Last year I made one for myself - from a black plate glued to an almost black (charcoal grey) candle stick.  It's fine but, just like buses, when you have finally given up hope and ordered a taxi, the bus you were waiting for turns up.  This one turned up in an antique/vintage shop at Cromford Mill and was very modestly priced, so I swooped.  It's made from black glass and is said to be vintage 1950's.

  

The cake was so good it will be my go-to ginger cake from now on.  You can see the recipe here but it can be difficult to read due to the multiple adverts obscuring the text.  If, like me, you mostly use an iPad it can be impossible.  Consequently I have given my version here.

I used a 23cm round springform tin instead of the square one in the recipe and it worked fine.

Ingredients

180 softened butter or baking spread (I used Sainsbury's Buttersoft)

180 soft light brown sugar

3 eggs

180g self raising flour

2 tsp ground ginger

2 pieces stem ginger from a jar, chopped

3 tblsp golden syrup

For the topping

2 pieces of stem ginger from a jar, chopped

4 tblsp ginger syrup from the stem ginger jar

For the icing

4 tblsp icing sugar

1 tsp boiled water

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C / 160 fan / gas mk 4.  Grease and line a 20cm square or round springform tin.

Cream the butter and sugar together using a hand held electric whisk (or a wooden spoon and beat like mad!).

Beat in the eggs one at a time.  Adding a tbslp of the measured flour with each egg will help to prevent the mixture from curdling.

Fold in the flour and ginger powder then stir in the golden syrup and stem ginger.  Mix well.

Pour or transfer the mixture to the tin, level the top and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack.

While the cake is still warm, poke a few holes in the top and pour over the ginger syrup.  Scatter the chopped ginger pieces evenly over the top.

To make the icing, mix the icing sugar with enough water to make a runny but creamy consistency and drizzle imaginatively over the top.

Cuts into 8-10 slices.