Since we’re not the only ones experiencing confusing weather and many of us are wet as well as chilly, here’s a recipe that’s a great antidote for grey days! I've made this cake twice in the last three days and it's really worth the effort...you get a lot of very tasty cake for very little effort!
This cake’s a cinch to make; keeps for a week (if it lasts that long) and gets better each day. It’s deep, dark and delicious with a fragrant aroma redolent of exotic islands and faraway lands and best of all you can adjust the spice to suit you and your family. I like to chop up crystallised ginger and add it at the end but you could substitute pecan nuts or bittersweet chocolate chips or just add all three if you can’t make up your mind. And should the sun come out, like ours did yesterday for a little while, try a piece with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream…yummy!
This cake’s a cinch to make; keeps for a week (if it lasts that long) and gets better each day. It’s deep, dark and delicious with a fragrant aroma redolent of exotic islands and faraway lands and best of all you can adjust the spice to suit you and your family. I like to chop up crystallised ginger and add it at the end but you could substitute pecan nuts or bittersweet chocolate chips or just add all three if you can’t make up your mind. And should the sun come out, like ours did yesterday for a little while, try a piece with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream…yummy!
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| No you can't eat it...It's a picture |
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C - Grease and flour a 9 by 13 inch / 23 by 33 cms cake pan
1 ½ cups self-raising flour
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 - 3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 - 2 tsp ground mixed spice
2 – 3 tsp ground powdered ginger
4 tsp cocoa powder
4 large eggs
1 cup soft brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup plain yogurt, soured milk or buttermilk
½ cup molasses
1 cup melted butter
½ cup chopped crystallised ginger or chopped pecans or bittersweet chocolate chips
Sift the first eight ingredients together into a suitable bowl. Beat the eggs with a whisk or mixer in a large mixing bowl until foamy. Add the sugar and the next three ingredients, beating until well mixed. Fold in the flour mixture and the ginger pieces until combined, don’t over mix. Put batter into prepared pan and jiggle it until level. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until the centre springs back when lightly touched and the sides have shrunk slightly, away from the pan’s edges.
Allow to cool slightly then glaze with the following:
Juice of one fresh lemon
Enough Icing sugar to make a paste the consistency of thick cream
Mix until smooth and then pour in the middle of the still-warm cake and spread evenly over the middle. The glaze should seep to the edges as it cools.
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(Note - this recipe makes 16 to 20 portions, great for sharing!)
The pictures were taken in the kitchen and just outside the window is our un-mowable lawn! Un-mowable because it's too wet right now for our mower. The grass is about the only thing growing out there; all the herbs and flowers are just waiting. The chili plants, an experiment I'll admit, haven't grown since they were planted out over a month ago so I think I'll have to bring them in and put them on a sunny windowsill. Oops! What sun?
Hope you’re all enjoying the summer, whatever the weather, and for those of you in America, have a happy, safe Fourth of July!
