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. I used a 23cm round springform tin instead of the square one in the recipe and it worked fine.
Another fine ginger cake looking splendid on its black stand. Cake stands are hard to store and, following a few clear outs, I think I have just one left these days. I admire your collecting fervour, though.
ReplyDeletePhil, I am definitely running out of space now. The collection amounts to about sixty of them, although only thirty on each side of the English Channel (!)
DeleteMany of them have their own story. Maybe there's a blog post or two in there, if I run out of cakes.