Ingredients

1 ½ cups unbleached stoneground cake wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp mixed spice

½ tsp ground cloves

1 scant tsp salt

½ cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup treacle sugar (or caramel or brown sugar)

110 g soft butter

½ cup golden syrup

2 extra large eggs, beaten

5 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped into tiny pieces

45 ml water

90 g sugar

Method

Sieve the flour into a bowl with the baking powder, spices and salt.

In a separate bowl, stir the buttermilk and vanilla essence together and set aside.

In a large baking bowl, cream together the treacle sugar and butter, using a wooden spoon. 

Add the golden syrup and 3 Tbsp chopped ginger and combine well with a wooden spoon.

Add the beaten eggs, one at a time, and combine well.

Add a third of the flour mixture to the sugar/butter/golden syrup mixture, mix well, then half of the buttermilk mixture. Then add another third of the flour mixture, combine, then the remainder of the buttermilk mixture, combine, and finally fold in the remainder of the flour mixture.

Grease a 22 cm x 12 cm (more or less) loaf tin well with butter. Pour in the batter and smooth it out. Bake for about 55 minutes, then leave on a rack out of the oven.

While it’s cooling, heat the 90 g sugar and 45 ml water in a saucepan on the stove. When dissolved, add 2Tbsp chopped ginger. Simmer gently for 4 to 5 minutes and then turn off the heat.

Make about 12 holes all over the cake, until about halfway down, with a slim skewer. Pour the syrup over. Leave to cool before removing from the tin. DM168/TGIFood

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