Phil Vickery's ginger cake
Sticky Ginger Loaf Cake
Makes 1 loaf cake, appropriately 8-10 slices
Ingredients:
150g salted butter, soft
150g dark brown sugar
2 tbsp treacle
100ml full fat milk
2 medium eggs, at room temperature, beaten
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
200g self raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
For the sauce:
100g dark brown sugar
2 tbsp finely chopped stem ginger
2 tbsp syrup from the stem ginger jar
50ml water
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, 180°C fan, Gas 6 and line a 1kg loaf tin.
2. Start off by melting the butter, dark brown sugar, treacle in a pan, being mindful not to overheat it.
3. Once you have let this cool slightly, slowly add the eggs into the mixture.
4. Mix together the ground ginger, lemon zest, flour and baking powder in a large bow. Add the mixture from the pan, then mix well but do not over beat.
5. Spoon the mixture into the lined loaf tin and cook for 35-40 minutes, checking on it frequently toward the end. Test to see if the cake is cooked by inserting a skewer in the centre - it should come out clean. If the cake is browning too much, loosely cover it in foil. Once cooked, remove from the oven.
6. Towards the end of the cake being baked, we can start on the sauce. Start off by bringing the dark brown sugar, stem ginger, syrup and water to a simmer, over a medium heat and cook until slightly thickened.
7. Pour the sauce evenly over the warm cooked cake and leave to cool completely before turning out.