Ginger beer cake and the Movember Nordicware winner

Now this cake really couldn’t be simpler.  You put all the ingredients in a bowl, beat and then bake.  It took about five minutes to get it ready for the oven!

It’s such a versatile cake in that you can serve it warm with custard or ice cream for dessert (perfect for wintry evenings!) or at room temperature with a cuppa.  Like many ginger cakes it improves with age so I’d recommend making a couple if you’re entertaining over Christmas.

I decided I wanted to make a cake to celebrate the end of Movember (thanks to everyone who donated, by the way – winner of the Nordicware bundt tin is announced below!) and then I saw this ginger beer with its moustache theme and the decision of what cake to make was made for me!  I had to include the bottle cap in the picture - look at its little 'tache!

You could, if you prefer, use non-alcoholic ginger beer.  I think it’s the fizz and the flavour that’s important, rather than the alcohol.  It does bake for over an hour in the oven so there probably isn’t much alcohol left, but I know it’s important to some people.

We had the cake on the day it was made for pudding with custard, and then on subsequent days as a slice of cake.  It’s lovely both ways.  If you’re heating it I recommend only heating the slices you want hot – don’t warm the whole cake.  I put the slices in a piece of foil as I find this stops it from drying out during re-heating.

The cake has a close, dense texture but isn’t heavy.  We preferred it warm with custard than at room temperature but that was personal preference; it has a lovely flavour either way.

And now....drum roll please...the Movember donor who was drawn out of a hat (literally) by Mr CC and is the winner of the Nordicaware heritage bundt pan: Jo Hill!  Congratulations Jo – please email me your address (you can email me via the button on the right hand side of my website) and I’ll pop your prize in the post.  Thanks to everyone who donated and helped Mr CC raise so much money.

Ingredients

260g plain flour
170g caster sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground  cinnamon
170ml ginger beer
80ml vegetable oil – I used olive oil suitable for baking
260ml golden syrup
3 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder

Method

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

Line a 20cm round springform tin with baking paper- if you have one of those paper cases that looks like a giant cupcake case, use that, as the batter is very liquid.

Place all the ingredients in a bowl.

Beat together until smooth and well combined.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for approximately 1 hour 1o minutes, but check it after 45 minutes just in case your oven is quicker than mine.

When a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean the cake is done.  Remove from the oven and place the tin on a wire rack, leaving to cool.

You can serve the cake warm with custard for dessert, or have it at room temperature with a cup of tea.

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

Eat.