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Original poster

Help deciphering Mum’s recipe for gingerbread cake

51 replies

StarlingsInSummer · 05/08/2019 17:06

I recently found my deceased mum’s handwritten cake recipe book and want to bake her gingerbread cake, but there’s an ingredient I can’t work out. It’s the last in the list of ingredients:

1 tbsp b.w.

What on earth might b.w. stand for? Does anyone have an idea? I’m trying to make in into baking soda/baking powder - which seems more likely for a gingerbread cake? I’m not an experienced baker! Help please!

OP posts:
NoSquirrels · 05/08/2019 17:09

Is it definitely a ‘w’? What are the other ingredients?

Do you have a photo?

Madvixen · 05/08/2019 17:13

It's normally bicarbonate of soda in a gingerbread cake. The only thing I can think of is that your Mum had her own abbreviation for it. Try it with bicarbonate, it will be yummy either way because it's based on her loved recipe

Cloudtree · 05/08/2019 17:13

what are the other ingredients

managedmis · 05/08/2019 17:14

We need the other ingredients - it depends on which flour she used

A pic would be best

evilharpy · 05/08/2019 17:17

Post a photo, we’ll be able to work it out by the other ingredients.

Original poster
StarlingsInSummer · 05/08/2019 17:19

It’s a bit of a muddle as she’d been adapting it since she was in her 20s so a lot of the quantities have changed, though 1 tbsp b.w. never did! She used to call it parkin but it doesn’t have oats so not such it can be parkin. Sadly anyone else from my family I could ask is also dead.

Help deciphering Mum’s recipe for gingerbread cake
OP posts:
Drum2018 · 05/08/2019 17:20

Boiled water?

Cloudtree · 05/08/2019 17:20

1tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda would be a lot though unless its a massive cake

Can you tell us what else is in it? We can then rule out other ingredients.

NoSquirrels · 05/08/2019 17:21

I think that’s an unjoined-up ‘s’ and it’s bicarbonate of soda.

Cloudtree · 05/08/2019 17:21

Yes I'd go boiling water

Original poster
StarlingsInSummer · 05/08/2019 17:22

It says it should make about a 1.5 lb loaf - would that be a large cake?

If it is boiled water, probably safe to leave out?

OP posts:
MustardScreams · 05/08/2019 17:23

No help but I love her ‘bung together’ method! Sounds like my kind of cook.

Tartyflette · 05/08/2019 17:23

A tablespoon of bicarb would be quite a lot! Normally it would be a teaspoon.
Boiled water sounds like a possibility.m

DramaAlpaca · 05/08/2019 17:23

I agree with NoSquirrels, that's an 's'.

It's bicarbonate of soda that you need.

Drum2018 · 05/08/2019 17:24

If the mixture is 'wet' enough without water then it would be ok. She might have just added it so as not to have a very dry mix.

NoSquirrels · 05/08/2019 17:25

Although, hmm, good point that a tablespoon would be loads, especially as ginger is 2 teaspoons. And it’s self-raising flour.

A cup recipe would be unusual at the time so it’s American in origin? She’s converted measures to lbs in parts. So perhaps it’s something with a different abbreviation in US?

Original poster
StarlingsInSummer · 05/08/2019 17:25

I mean, does 1tbsp of bicarbonate look ok for the rest of the recipe or would it mess it up? Would it be safe to eat without? I found a Mary Berry recipe that looks similar and doesn’t have any raising agent except the self-raising flour:

thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/classic-sticky-gingerbread

OP posts:
NoSquirrels · 05/08/2019 17:26

Why ‘boiled’ water, though?

Original poster
StarlingsInSummer · 05/08/2019 17:26

She used to make it with a small ceramic jug with a cow on it... that’s long gone. I think she inherited the recipe from my very English granny.

OP posts:
Tartyflette · 05/08/2019 17:26

I can't read the recipe very well -- is there any raising agent in it at all? And is the first ingredient self-raising flour?

Drum2018 · 05/08/2019 17:27

Google boiling water for gingerbread recipe and you find recipes with hot water and even tea so I'd say boiled water is a safe bet.

msmith501 · 05/08/2019 17:27

I read it as b(I) carb

RaininSummer · 05/08/2019 17:28

If the w could be an m then I think your ingredient is black molasses.

marigoldsmarigolds · 05/08/2019 17:28

Could it be 'Be Ro' which was a make of baking powder??

evilharpy · 05/08/2019 17:28

I think it’ll be boiling water to loosen up the mixture.

It’s quite different to parkin as I know it in that my MIL’s family recipe uses oats and bicarb but with SR flour it probably doesn’t need an additional raising agent, and a tbsp of bicarb would be far too much. So my money’s on water.