Sticky Stem Ginger Cake

Ooops!

I borrowed this recipe from the Good Food Magazine but having looked at the ingredients I made a couple of changes and substituted the black treacle with golden syrup. If you feel that there just aren't enough calories in this cake you can add lemon icing for a bit of zesty enjoyment. Having just started a strict diet I thought I would leave the topping out. 

 

The original recipe suggests that you grate the stem ginger but I decide to chop mine into fine chunks. However, these do tend to sink to the bottom of the cake but I prefer chunky pieces of stem ginger.

Ingredients

225g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground mixed spice
115g butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing the tin
115g dark Muscovado sugar
230g golden syrup
250ml semi-skimmed milk
85g drained stem ginger, finely chopped
1 egg

Method

1. Preheat the oven to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4. Butter and line a 2 lb loaf tin, with grease-proof or parchment paper.
2. Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda and all the spices into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Put the sugar, syrup and milk in a medium saucepan and heat, gently stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to just below boiling point.
4. Add the stem ginger to the flour mixture, then pour in the treacle mixture, stirring as you go with a wooden spoon. Break in the egg and beat until the mixture is combined and it resembles a thick pancake batter. Pour this into prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out fairly clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin before turning cake out.

The finished cake is very light and moist and it will improve with age.

A Perfect Sponge

Continuing the tea-room theme I decided on making a simple but perfect sponge from a recipe that has been passed down through the generations of my family.

Making the perfect sponge may sound like the most boring of recipes but it does help to understand the basics of baking.

Top Tip: Rather than worrying about a recipe that asks for large, medium or small eggs weigh your egg (whole with shell) and then weigh out each of your ingredients to match the weight of whole eggs. Today my eggs weighed a total 280 g (shell on).

Ingredients:

280g Eggs (4 eggs) then weigh out the rest of your ingredients to match.
280g Margarine hard
280g Castor sugar
280g Self raising flour
1 tspn vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Method:

1. Prepare two 20 cm/8" sandwich tins, grease each tin with margarine and place a circle of grease proof paper in the base of each.
2. Beat the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy and pale in colour.
3. Break the eggs one at a time into the mix and beat until combined.
4. Sieve the flour and salt into the mix and fold in gently with a large spoon.
5. Split evenly between two sandwich tins using a palete knife spread evenly in the tin.
6. Place in a pre-heated oven 160Fan/180C/Gas Mark 4 for approximately 35 minutes.
7. To test if cake is done lightly press the centre of each sponge which should spring back.
8. Place tins on cooling rack for 5 minutes then carefully remove from the tins and leave until cold.

Butter Cream Ingredients:

50g Softened butter
100g Sieved icing sugar
1 tbsp Boiling water

Method - Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until light and creamy.

Build your sponge!

1. Spread approx. 3 tbsp of jam (flavour and quantity entirely up to you) onto one half
2. Spread the butter cream on the other half.
3. Take the half with the butter cream and sandwich together with the jammy half.
4. Dust liberally with icing sugar.
5. Now eat it!

Afternoon Tea Anyone?

The Olympic flame arrives in the UK today and the Jubilee bank holiday is just around the corner with many of you probably planning street parties or perhaps a simple afternoon tea to celebrate.  Yikes, the weather even sounds promissing.

This recipe for scone has been handed down from my mother and has been passed between family members for years! 


This recipe is really straight forward and simple to do even for even a newbie baker and will guarantee many oohs and aaahs from your friends and family when you load the table with these delicious goodies.

Plus, you'll save oodels of wonga by making them yourself!

Homebaked Scone

Ingredients:

16oz self raising flour
4oz hard margarine
4oz granulated sugar
4oz sultanas
A pinch of salt
Milk 240ml
1 beaten egg

Oven temperature - 180C Fan/Gas Mark 7/425F

Time: 20 to 25 minutes

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C/Fan and grease a large baking sheet. I use margarine to grease my baking sheet.
2. Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl, add the margarine. Rub the margarine into the flour using your finger tips or mixer until fine breadcrumbs are achieved.
3. Mix in the sugar and sultanas
4. Add the milk and mix lightly until a ball of dough just comes together. It should not be too wet or too dry.
5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently form into a ball. Top Tip do not over handle.
6. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 3/4 inch and using a 2 1/2" fluted cutter cut the dough into 16 rounds. Bring any extra pieces together gently to use all the mix.
7. Place on greased baking sheet 1" apart and lightly glaze the top with the beaten egg.
8. Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until well risen and golden.

Allow to cool and serve with butter, jam and whipped cream!

To make bite size scones use a 1 1/2" cutter and bake for approx. 15 minutes.

Let me know how you get on! Victoria sponge recipe to follow this post...