the best things are ginger

time for a change, a good opinion. no post yesterday, that being foul mood tuesday, and i resisted a third negative post in a row.

so many good ginger things, ginger beer, ginger megs, julianne moore, bjork in the i miss you video, stem ginger, root ginger, ground ginger, pickled ginger, preserved ginger, chocolate ginger, ginger ale pick me up spray, canada dry and pringles (the only food that isn't poisonous, ginger snaps, those foxes ginger cream biscuits, maybe the only bad ginger i can think of is ginger coloured clothing.

so without further ado, i give you the best ginger cake recipe ever, and it's a freakin sinch to make (one i prepared earlier is pictured above, thanks again mr nigel slater)

Double ginger cake

250g self-raising flour
2 level tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
200g golden syrup
2 tbsp syrup from the ginger jar
125g butter
3 lumps of stem ginger in syrup (about 55g)
2 heaped tbsp sultanas
125g dark muscavado sugar
2 large eggs
240ml milk

You will need a square cake tin measuring approximately 20-22cm, lined on the bottom with baking or greaseproof paper.

Set the oven at 180°C/gas mark 3. Sieve the flour with the ginger, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda and the salt. Put the golden and ginger syrups and the butter into a small saucepan, and warm over a low heat. Dice the ginger finely then add it to the pan with the sultanas and sugar. Let the mixture bubble gently for a minute, giving it the occasional stir to stop the fruit sticking to the bottom.

Break the eggs into a bowl, pour in the milk and beat gently to break up the egg and mix it into the milk. Remove the butter and sugar mixture from the heat and pour into the flour, stirring smoothly and firmly with a large metal spoon. Mix in the milk and eggs. The mixture should be sloppy, with no trace of flour.

Scoop the mixture into the non-stick or lined cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. Unless you are serving it warm, leave the cake in its tin to cool, then tip out on to a sheet of greaseproof paper. Wrap it up again in foil and leave to mature for a day or two before eating.



as a new addition to the blog i will now post some music of the day.
todays selection is:van morrison's astral weeks