Gingerbread
Sift:
125g plain flour
2 tsps bicarbonate of soda
2 tsps ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
into a big mixing bowl. Stir in:
75g of chopped stem or crystalized ginger
125g wholemeal flour
in a saucepan melt:
125g butter
4 tbs golden syrup
4 tbs back treacle
(if you use a spoon dipped in hot water in between each scoop it really helps)
then stir in
50g brown sugar
Pour the sugar mixture into the flour mixture and stir well
Finally mix in
1 beaten egg
150 ml milk
Then pour the mixture into a 25x18 cm shall rectangular tin, lined with non-stick backing parchment or greaseproof paper (you can do this perfectly, but I find that if you fit the paper to the longer sides, you needn't worry too much about the shorter ones, esp if the pan is non stick. If you leave the paper sticking out quite a bit on either side, then you can pull the ends to get the cake out of the pan.
Bake at 180C/305F/Gas Mark 4 for about 45 mins or until a squewer poked into the middle comes out clean
Cool for 2-3 mins and then turn out onto a wire rack. Cut up and eat. This cake goes stickier (and nicer) after a couple of days in an air tight tin.
You can vary the sugar/syrups if you like. I've made it with substitutes of honey for the syrup, and different sorts of brown sugar (if you use a very dark sugar you want less treacle and more syrup to balance it out). Stem ginger comes in a jar in syrup, which can be added in place of the golden syrup for a more gingery cake. Sultanas, raisins or walnuts can be used instead of the ginger if you like, in roughly similar proportions.
This cake is fairly forgiving, but don't overcook it. Tis quite scrummy