Sticky ginger cake

They say ginger’s good for the digestion – so here’s a cake that’s both a sweet treat and an antidote to a bit of seasonal over-indulgence!

It’s darkly sticky from the treacle and if you make it in advance, it’s even better after a few days – richer and stickier if you wrap it in greaseproof paper and foil for two or three days. It’s a good alternative to a Simnel cake if you’re not a fan of marzipan – it would be lovely with a bit of orange glace icing

I ripped it out of a magazine about a year ago and keep going back to it – it’s had a few tweaks every time I’ve made it (which is often!) so it’s a pretty forgiving and easy recipe.

You’ll need:

While the oven preheats to 180 degC, mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl – flour, mixed spice, ginger, baking powder, bicarb and salt.

In a jug, beat the egg into the milk. Now in a pan, melt together the butter, treacle, syrup and sugar, taking care that it doesn’t burn – gentle heat and give it a stir.

Now bring it all together – pour the butter/treacle mix into the dry ingredients then beat in the milk/egg mix. Beat well with a spoon to get rid of any lumps.

Pour the mix into a greased loaf tin lined with baking parchment. Cook in the oven for an hour or until a skewer comes out clean and the cake has come away slightly from the sides of the tin.

Pull it out by the paper and cool on a rack. Once cool, wrap up and leave for a day or two – or it’s especially good served warm with vanilla ice cream.