Cake of the Month - Warming Ginger Syrup Cake

Shirley made this for us -  Heaven! Sweet, spongy and sticky. The perfect garden treat on a cold February day. Yum.

Ingredients

  • 225 g (8oz) golden syrup
  • 100 g (31/2 oz) butter
  • 100 g (31/2 oz) caster sugar
  • 75 g (3oz) stem ginger in syrup (drained, chopped, reserving 3 tbsp of syrup for the glaze)
  • 200 ml (7fl oz) milk
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 225 g (8oz) self-raising flour
  • 1 tblsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 900 g (2lb) loaf tin

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4), then line the base and sides of the loaf tin with baking parchment, with the paper coming above the sides of the tin to enable the cake to be lifted out easily.
  2. Place the golden syrup, butter and sugar in a saucepan and stir over a medium–low heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside and allow to cool, then mix in the ginger, milk and eggs.
  3. Meanwhile, sift the remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then pour in the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Tip the mixture – which will be quite runny – into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 50–60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
  4. Remove from the oven and drizzle or brush the reserved stem ginger syrup over the loaf while it's still hot. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then carefully lift the cake out of the tin with the lining paper and place on a wire rack. Peel away the baking parchment and leave to cool down fully.