Sunday 7 October 2012

Golden syrup ginger cake





There’s something about the onset of Autumn that just makes me want spice, syrup and sultanas...so this cake was the perfect choice for me! 





As soon as I made the batter I thought ‘this is far too runny to support the sultanas during baking’ and I was right.  The sultanas sank – even dusting them in flour couldn’t save them.  Personally, I didn’t care; my logic is that sunken sultanas are better than no sultanas but I think next time I might hold the sultanas back till the end and scatter them over the batter hoping that the sponge will start to firm before they can reach the bottom.





I served this as a cake with a cup of tea, but it would also be heaven warm with custard for dessert.  It’s a joyously sticky cake – best eaten with a fork!  At first it’s all about the golden syrup then the ginger burns through and you get that heavenly warming sensation in your mouth – I love ginger!




Chop the stem ginger as finely as you can – I used a mini processor because, as with peel, I find lumps of ginger an unpleasant texture to encounter in a cake.  Also, as with my note on the sultanas above, this is a runny batter and won’t support large inclusions.





I must end with a comment regarding the texture of this cake – it’s amazingly light.  It has the airy sponginess you only normally get from a steamed sponge pudding.  Of course, this means you can eat a much bigger slice.....




Ingredients

200g golden syrup
2 tablespoons ginger syrup from the stem ginger jar
110g unsalted butter
50g (approx 3 balls) stem ginger – chopped as finely as possible
130g sultanas
110g muscovado sugar – I used half light, half dark
250g self raising flour
3 teaspoons ground ginger – I like it hot, use 2 teaspoons if you don’t!
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 eggs
250ml milk – I used full fat (normally I use semi-skimmed, but I had some full fat to use up)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Line a 20cm round springform tin with a paper liner.  The batter is very runny so make sure you line the tin well.

Place the syrup, ginger syrup and butter in a sauce pan and melt over a very low heat; stir occasionally to ensure it combines.

Add the chopped ginger, sultanas and sugar and continue to heat until melted and combined.  Don’t let it boil at all.  Turn off the heat and put to one side.

In a large mixing bowl mix together the flour, ground ginger and bicarbonate of soda.

Stir the contents of the saucepan into the flour.

Gradually stir in the eggs and milk.

Don’t panic – the mix is runny.  But, make sure you bring the dry ingredients up from the bottom of the bowl as the batter is resistant to mixing!

Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.  Mine took a bit longer – just over 40 minutes.

Leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack, remove when cool.

Store in an airtight container – the cake keeps well for days...actually it improves with age.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.

28 comments:

Gloria Baker said...

absolutely delicious I love ginger so much!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my it looks delicious! Def must try this :) x

Dafydd said...

Dafydd said...

Looks lovely - ideal for bonfire night.

Victory Rolls & Mixing Bowls said...

Now this looks like my kind of cake!

Nom!

Soo said...

Looks like a perfect cake for a day like today. Ginger - yummmmm.

Caroline said...

Yum, I love ginger! I remember making a cake very similar to this with added sultanas and thinking they wouldn't hold (and they didn't...). It was a Nigel Slater recipe I think. Still very tasty though. The only consolation of autumn is the baking...

Hello said...

Nothing beats a sticky ginger cake :-) x

Cakeyboi said...

Ooh - a lovely dollop of thick cream would be great with a slice of that! And I agree with you re:raisins - better sunken than none at all ;)

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Oh yes CC, that does look good and do love a good ginger cake!

Susie @ Fold in the Flour said...

That does look good and sounds just my kind of cake - I love ginger, too and bet it's fantastic with the sultanas. :)

Unknown said...

That looks gorgeous!xx

Dipika @ The Very Hungry Baker said...

This looks awesome! I'm a huge ginger cake fan. And I most certainly would not put in less than 3 tsp of ground ginger :o)

Maggie said...

Everything I love in a cake - perfect. Cake cum pudding is always a hit with me.

Choclette said...

You're right, it does almost look like a steamed pudding. I love ginger and I love sticky, so I'm very sure I'd love this cake.

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Anonymous said...

Oh Crusader, you have prepared ne of my favourite things - ginger cake!!! This one looks delightful and soooooooo high.

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Ivana said...

it looks great ... im sure it taste good as much it looks ...
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sensibilia said...

I've been having trouble accessing my favourite blogs recently, and am now back online. I've missed the weekly cake post so much! Can't wait for the next one!

Jo said...

Mmmm I do love a sticky, syrupy spiced cake :)

With Love & Confection said...

I need a piece of that right now.

morri said...

Made it yesterday (I just can't leave anything with ginger alone, can I?). It really is a cross between cake and a steamed pudding. It has the most curious texture - when I took it out of the oven, it was almost wobbly and jelly-like, and when it cooled it took on a more cake-like appearance. I think it could be a perfect match for warm custard, and I'm planning on serving it like that today after dinner. Just beware of the baking time - never mind 40 minutes, mine took about an hour to set!

The Caked Crusader said...

Hi Morri

Glad you tried the recipe and I envy you having it warm with custard!

Cooking times are such a strange beast as our oven are so different - we must always rely on our eyes as cooking times can only ever be a guideline.
I find on different days a recipe I make frequently can take 10 mins more or less!

Enjoy your pud!

Kim said...

Delicious! This is my favourite kind of cake, and the more burny ginger the better. I actually think I'd prefer sunken sultanas because it means I can easily chop them off and get rid!

edzbird said...

Baking one right now!

Anonymous said...

I have to add..the cake was delicious. We've had it as cake. We've had it warmed with cream. We've had it with added syrup, warmed with cream. I've just had the last slice with a cup of tea..and yes, it gets better and better - it's now 5 days old and perfect but THERE'S NONE LEFT!

Anonymous said...

It’s in the oven as we speak. Smells delicious, but it is taking longer than the 30/40 minutes to cook. I’m sure it is going to be something special. I simply love anything ginger.