Baking: Gingerbread

Baking: Gingerbread

I have tried many Gingerbread recipes and have not found one that gets it quite as right as the recipe below (The photos have come out very dark and really do not do it justice). I have adapted this recipe primarily from Ruth Pretty's "Esther's Gingerbread". However Ruth's is more cakey and less moist. Hers also has a stronger mixed spice flavour, which I think overpowers the ginger. However if you wish to produce a cakier gingerbread, like Ruth's, replace the almond meal with 1/3 cup flour.

Sometimes I make this without the mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg, and it still produces a beautiful loaf, perhaps with a less complex flavour. I recommend playing with the recipe, until it produces something which suits your tastes.

I have served this with just cream and butter or with vanilla apple cream cheese frosting. To make this use cream approx 250g butter with 1 pottle of cream cheese, 2 teaspoons apple syrup, 1 large teaspoon vanilla bean paste and approx 1 1/2 cup icing sugar (only add as needed, may require more or less). 

TIP: Never eat hot, its terribly crumbly like this! Allow to cool, then it will cut beautifully.

Ingredients:

1 2/3 Cups Flour

3/4 Cup Almond Meal

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
3 Level Dessertspoons Ground Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Mixed Spice (optional)
1/2  Teaspoon Nutmeg (optional)
1/2  Teaspoon Cinnamon (optional)
1 1/3 Cup Golden Syrup - I am quite generous with this, and perhaps put in more like 1 1/2 cups
225g Butter
3 Small / 2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Milk

1. Preheat oven to 150 C

2. Heat butter and golden syrup in saucepan until butter is just melted. Leave to cool.

3. Place all dry ingredients in bowl and mix.

4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredient mixture and add the milk and eggs. Roughly mix this, making sure the egg yolks have been broken. 
5. Add cooled butter/golden syrup mixture and mix until just combined.
6. Pour into a large loft tin, two small loft tins or a 23cm spring foam cake tin which has been lined with baking paper and greased.
7. Cook for 45 - 50mins in small loaf tins or 1 hr 10mins for a larger one. Keep an eye on the gingerbread as times will vary (likely to take more time than less).