LEMON DRIZZLE GINGER CAKE
Amounts below for one square tin (9.5” x 9.5”). Takes 60 mins prep + 55-65 mins to cook (test after 55 mins). The cake is dark and rich with flavour and the icing has a gorgeous lemon flavour.
500 gms (27 ozs) Self-Raising Flour, sieved
2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
2 tbsp Ground Ginger (that’s tablespoons!)
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tsp Ground Mixed Spice
½ tsp Salt
230 gms (8.1 ozs) Butter (I use salted), softened
230 gms (8.1 ozs) Dark Muscovado Sugar
230 gms (8.1 ozs) Black Treacle
230 gms (8.1 ozs) Golden Syrup
400 mls (0.9 pint) Whole Milk
170 gms (6 ozs) drained Stem Ginger, finely grated
2 Eggs
For the Icing
300 gms Icing Sugar, sifted
Juice (strained) 0f 1 largish lemon and zest of 3 medium-sized Lemons
Preheat oven to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas Mk 4. Butter, and dust with flour, one square tin.
In a large bowl, sift and add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice and salt. Mix thoroughly, then set aside.
Gently heat a medium-sized pan and one at a time add butter, sugar, treacle, syrup and milk, gently stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to just below boiling point.
Add the grated stem ginger to the flour mixture and mix thoroughly, then pour in the butter/sugar/treacle/ syrup mixture, stirring as you go. Break in the eggs and beat until all the mixture is combined and it resembles a pancake batter.
Pour mixture into prepared baking tin. TAP TIN ON BENCH TO DISPEL AIR BUBBLES AND MINIMISE CAKE RISING IN THE MIDDLE. Bake in the middle of the pre-heated oven for 60 - 70 mins (test after 60) at 160C (fan oven) or until tester clean. Leave to cool completely before turning cake out of tin.
To make the icing: mix together the icing sugar and zest of 3 lemons. Add lemon juice progressively (not too much at a time) until you achieve a smooth, slightly runny, consistency. Apply to the top surface of the cake, taking care not to over-apply (but it’s nice to have some icing drizzling down the sides ☺ ). Cake keeps for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container and can be frozen (un-iced) for up to one month.
