Deep, Dark & Delicious Gingerbread

 

This week I was craving a cake. Oh, we still have Christmas cake left, but I wanted cake cake.  Something without raisins and currants and peel . . .  just cake. Something that I could just sit down and enjoy a slice of with a nice hot cup of herbal tea.

 

It didn't have to be fancy smancy . . .  just pleasant and satisfying.  I toyed with making a Victoria Sandwich Cake (which is our favourite cake) or a Coffee Walnut Cake (another favourite), but they just weren't ticking the boxes of my desire.

 

I wanted something spicy and dense, dark and delicious and then I remembered this gingerbread cake recipe that I have had in my big blue binder for about a bazillion years. In fact I think its been about a bazillion years since I have made it.

 

You cannot call it a pretty cake by any stretch.  It is the ugly step sister of pretty cake.  The country cousin of the city mouse . . . a cake you might be tempted to overlook when glancing upon it sitting in the glass case of a bake shop.

 

Were you to do so you would be making a grave mistake.  This is the kind of gingerbread cake that sonnets could be written about, poems . . .  novels.  This is the kind of gingerbread cake that you could imagine Meg, Amy, Jo and Beth sitting down to enjoy on cold winter's evening while the fire burns low in the grate, whilst Marmee reads to them the latest missive from their pa  . . .

 

It is a gingerbread cake that gets more delicious with each day that it stands . . . denser, moister . . .

 

The cake you will find yourself sneaking down the stairs to steal a smidgen of in the middle of the night.  Midnight feast cake has no calories, everyone knows that!

 

This is the kind of cake as a child I imagined Mary Poppins picking up for Michael and Jane Banks, with shiny gold stars stuck to its surface, all wrapped up in brown paper  . . .

  

Oh, I know I do have a fanciful mind.  It comes from a lifetime of reading books.  I come by that habit honestly. My father inspired a love of the written word in me when I was very young . . . I can still hear his voice reading to me in my mind's eye. He would change his voice with each character in the story. It is a beautiful memory that I hold dear and close in my heart.

 

In any case I do hope you will bake this lovely ugly step sister of a cake and that you will enjoy it.  The ginger glaze icing is quite tasty  . . .  and it would be lovely spread with softened butter as well, or . . .  dare I suggest it, lemon curd.

 

Today I fancied a little bit of indulgence with a small squirt of squirty cream  . . . .

  

They do say a little bit of what you fancy does the body and the mind good  . . . I believe that's true.

Yield: 16

Author: Marie Rayner

Deep, Dark & Delicious Gingerbread

A moist, sticky and dense slice with plenty of ginger spice!

ingredients:

• 250g butter (1 cup +1 1/2 TBS)
• 250g soft dark brown sugar (1 1/4 cup, packed)
• 250g molasses or dark treacle (9 fluid ounces)
• 300ml whole milk (1 1/4 cups)
• 2 large free range eggs
• 5 knobs of preserved ginger in syrup, chopped finely
• 375g plain flour (2 1/2 cups + 3 TBS)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

instructions:

How to cook Deep, Dark & Delicious Gingerbread

1. Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter a 9-inch square baking tin and line it with baking paper. Set aside.
2. Put the butter, sugar, and molasses into a saucepan. Cook over low heat to melt the butter and sugar. Whisk in the milk. Set aside to cool some.
3. Whisk together the flour, soda, ginger, allspice and cardamom in a large bowl. Stir in the chopped glace ginger. Make a well in the centre.
4. Beat the eggs into the liquid ingredients thoroughly. Pour into the well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, stir together, gradually drawing in the dry ingredients from the side of the bowl until you have a smooth and thick batter. Pour into the prepared baking tin.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, until well risen and firm to the touch. Do NOT be tempted to open the door prior to that time or the cake may sink in the middle. Once an hour has passed, check the cake. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. If it doesn't cook for a further 10 minutes and try again. The cake is done when the skewer comes out clean.
6. Leave to cool completely in the tin. Once cold remove from the tin and either wrap tightly and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
7. Optional Icing - Whisk together 65g of sifted icing sugar (1/2 cup) and enough ginger syrup to give you a smooth drizzle icing. Drizzle decoratively over the cold cake.

NOTES:

Note - if you can't get preserved stem ginger, you can use candied ginger.  I would say about 12 pieces, chopped finely. Instead of syrup in the glaze icing use some fresh lemon juice

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Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #EnglishKitchen

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I enjoyed this with a hot cup of Taylor's Spiced Apple Tea.  It was definitely a  "Home Sweet Home" moment and made for a great beginning to my year.   

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Christmas Gingerbread Roll

 

If you are looking for a fabulous dessert to finish your Christmas celebratory meal with I say look no further!  This wonderful Christmas Gingerbread Roll fits the bill on all counts! Not only is this really delicious but it is also very simple to make.

 

I am not sure what it is about those warm baking spices and gingerbread.  They go together with Christmas like peas and carrots!

 

The cake smells heavenly when it is baking . . .  the scent of Christmas  . . .  ginger and cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and a bit of ground cardamom for good measure . . .

 

I think Mary Berry herself would be very proud of the distinct roll I achieved, don't you?

 

Flavoured and sweetened with warm, earthy molasses and fragrant vanilla  . . .

 

That filling is lush and moreish  . . .  light . . .

 

Its simply whipped cream mixed with lemon curd  . . .  perfectly flavoured.

 

Not too sweet, not too tart . . .  just perfect with the sweetness of the cake.

 

You could also stir in a TBS of ginger syrup from a jar of preserved stem ginger if you wanted to inject even more warmth and flavour, but I can assure you it is pretty perfect just as it is.

  

It cuts beautifully into lovely slices . . .  a light dusting of icing sugar is the only adornment it needs  . . .

 

Oh this would be lovely with a hot cup of something like coffee, or tea  . . .  herbal or otherwise  . . .

 

This is the perfect finish for any meal, be it on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day . . .

 

I can't think of anyone who wouldn't be happy with a slice of this set before them, can you?

Yield: 10

Author: Marie Rayner

Christmas Gingerbread Roll

This makes for a delicious light dessert.  Spicy gingerbread rolled around a lush lemon cream filling.  Its a lot easier to make than one would suppose.

prep time: cook time: total time:

ingredients:

For the cake:

• 105g plain flour (3/4 cup)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp each, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 large free range eggs, at room temperature
• 145g caster sugar (3/4 cup)
• 50g soft light brown sugar (1/4 cup, packed)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 80ml molasses (1/3 cup)
• 65g icing sugar, sifted (for rolling) (1/2 cup)
• 30g icing sugar, sifted for dusting at the end

For the lemon cream filling:

• 480ml double cream (whipping or heavy cream, 2 cups)
• 115g good quality lemon curd (about 1/3 cup)

instructions:

How to cook Christmas Gingerbread Roll

1. Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.  Butter a 10 by 15 inch Swiss roll tin and line with baking paper. Butter the baking paper.
2. Sift together the flour, spices and salt.  Set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs with an electric whisk, slowly adding the caster sugar until light and fluffy.  Whisk in the brown sugar, vanilla and molasses, continuing to whisk with the electric whisk until the mixture becomes thick and billowy.  This will take about 3 minutes.  Fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until combined and no white streaks remain.  Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking tin. Tap gently on the counter to allow the mixture to settle.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 16 to 18 minutes, until the cake bounces back when lightly touched.
5. While the cake is baking lay out a large clean tea towel on a flat surface. Dust lightly with half of the first amount of icing sugar.
6. Tip the baked cake onto the dusted tea towel as soon as it comes out of the oven and carefully peel off the paper.  Dust with the other half of the first amount of icing sugar. Make a tiny cut along the  width of it at one narrow edge about 1 inch in. Using the tea towel as a lever and beginning at that end  gently roll up the cake tightly. Place onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Once the cake is completely cold. Place the whipping cream into a chilled bowl.  Whisk with your electric whisk until it doubles in volume and starts to form soft peaks.  Fold in the lemon curd. It will continue to thicken when you add the lemon curd.
8. Unroll the cake carefully and spread completely with the lemon cream.  Carefully re-roll.  Trim off the ends and place onto a serving plate.  Dust with the remaining icing sugar.  Keep, covered,  in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it.   Cut into slices to serve.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #EnglishKitchen

Created using The Recipes Generator

 

This will probably be the last sweet recipe I post before Christmas.  I think most people's menus have probably already been decided now and you can only eat so much sweetness.  I may post one or two quick ideas for suppers, but we will see how it goes!  In the meantime, don't forget to take some time to relax a bit and to enjoy the sweet spirit of these final few days before the big day itself.  If you are like me, its all done now and you can breathe a bit easier until the big day itself!  I am doing the Easy Turkey from Piper's Farm this year so all I have to do is cook the side vegetables.  The turkey comes with stuffing and bacon wrapped sausages and stock for gravy.  All I have to do is pop it all into the oven.  Easy peasy.  Since there is just the two of us, I am taking the easy route this year!

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