I don’t want to mention the ‘C‘ word since we’re still only in September but there’s no denying the nights are drawing in. The temperature & weather in Edinburgh has still been somewhat unpredictable but I know I’m already craving some cosier comforts that come with Autumn. And what’s better than a door-stop sized slice of Gingerbread?
Smother it in a layer of butter and serve it up with a cup of tea and you’ve got the perfect cold night treat! The warming spices, the sticky top and stodgy-cakey centre. If it doesn’t make you feel Autumnal, nothing will.
I played about with a few recipes before concluding this one was the absolute best. The perfect balance between Golden Syrup and Treacle, as well as opting for brown sugar for a deeper flavour. Ginger is obviously a must and is nicely complimented by the Ground Mixed Spice but the addition of some Cinnamon and Nutmeg makes this Gingerbread more delicious than any I’ve had before.
Put the kettle on, crank up the heating and get ready for Autumn!
Ingredients:
Butter or Margarine
Either will do and it’s personal preference to which you choose. I opt for margarine as a way to omit the dairy. Usually I would say to have your butter or margarine at room temperature for a cake but we will be melting it for this Gingerbread recipe so this isn’t necessary
Treacle
For that deep colour and warming flavour to your Gingerbread, treacle is a must! For those outside the UK struggling to get treacle, molasses can be used as a substitute, although you may need to experiment with the quantities to get the perfect flavour.
Golden Syrup
Similar to treacle, golden syrup will give your Gingerbread Loaf a warming flavour but also an undeniable punch of extra sweetness.
Milk
This Gingerbread recipe is a long, slow bake so a moist batter is a must. Milk helps with this and you can use dairy milk or whatever plant milk substitute you prefer (I use soya).
Self-raising Flour
As with most cake, self-raising flour is required. But if you only have plain to hand, fear not! You can use a plain flour with the addition of some extra-extra baking powder.
Baking Powder
Although our flour already has some raising power, as this cake batter has a lot of liquid we give it a little extra help with some baking powder too.
Soft Brown Sugar
As if this cake wasn’t sweet enough with the treacle and syrup, we’re also going to add some sugar too! Soft brown sugar is ideal for getting into the batter and adding a caramel-like flavour too.
Ground Ginger
And plenty of it! I recommend 4 teaspoons but if you like a really ginger-y gingerbread, add a little more.
Mixed Spice, Nutmeg and Cinnamon
All delicious extras which add more flavour and depth to your gingerbread.
Free-range Eggs
The traditional glue of choice in any cake batter. I don’t tend to stress to much about the size of eggs in a loaf cake, as long as they’re free-range.
Gingerbread
Ingredients
- 110 g Butter
- 100 g Golden Syrup
- 100 g Treacle
- 150 ml Milk
- 225 g Self-raising Flour
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 55 g Soft Brown Sugar
- 4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Gound Mixed Spice
- 2 Free-range Eggs
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 160°c (140°c for fan assisted ovens or Gas Mark 2), line a 2lb loaf tin with some greaseproof paper and set aside.
- In a saucepan, warm the butter, golden syrup and treacle over a low heat until melted and just combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, sugar, ginger and spices. Add the melted mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Add the eggs to the batter and mix until combined.
- Transfer the batter to your pre-lined loaf tin and bake in your pre-heated oven for 1 hour – 1 hour 30 mins. You'll know the cake is ready when a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Loosely cover the top of the loaf with a sheet of tin foil and allow to cool in the oven.
Notes
Free-from
Dairy-free: Use dairy-free margarine and your dairy-free milk of choice.
Nut-free: There is no nuts in this recipe but double check your ingredients.
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Any chance the ingredient list could be also published in US cup measurements?
Margot Petersen here is a useful website for converting
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/cooking/cups-grams.php
Is the subscription free
Can I check that this gingerbread actually needs 90mins in the oven. Don’t want to dry it out so just checking first. Thanks in advance.
Can I freeze this gingerbread?