Cakes & Bakes: Sticky ginger loaf

Every week I bake Justin a fresh “cake to have with a cup of tea at about 3 o’clock”.

I usually make something I haven’t tried before so that I can use it as the week’s Cakes & Bakes post.

Today it’s the turn of the sticky ginger loaf. It’s similar to McVitie’s Original Jamaica Ginger Cake oozing with Lyle’s Golden Syrup and Black Treacle.

I’ve topped my sticky ginger loaf cake with runny ginger icing and sprinkled the top with finely chopped stem ginger.

This tasty, old fashioned cake is quick to make; you’ll probably already have all the ingredients in your store cupboard. It’s perfect if you suddenly realise (like I did) that you’ve run out of “cake to have with a cup of tea at about 3 o’clock”!

Sticky ginger loaf

Flora

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Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Ingredients

For the cake

225 g/8oz self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
115 g/4oz butter
115 g/4oz demerara sugar
115 g/4oz black treacle
115 g/4oz golden syrup
250 ml/9floz milk
85 g/3oz stem ginger in syrup finely chopped
1 egg

For the icing

80 g/3oz icing sugar sieved
2 tbs stem ginger syrup
10 g/⅓oz stem ginger finely chopped

Instructions

For the cake

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4
Grease a 900g/2lb loaf tin
Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda & ground spices into a large mixing bowl
Melt the butter, demerara sugar, treacle and syrup over a low heat, until all the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the milk
Add the finely chopped stem ginger to the flour mixture, pour in the melted ingredients, stir thoroughly
Add the egg and combine before pouring the batter into the tin
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes away clean
Allow to cool completely before turning out onto a wire cooling rack

For the icing

Mix the sugar with 2tbs of ginger syrup to form a runny icing (add a tsp of water if necessary)
Drizzle over the top of the cake before sprinkling with the finely chopped stem ginger (or crystallized ginger if you have it)

Keyword cake, ginger, loaf cake, tea loaf

Cakes & Bakes: Lemon & poppy seed loaf

Whenever I ask Justin what kind of cake he fancies, his reply always starts with the word ‘lemon’.

Lemon isn’t my own personal favourite, but I decided to grant his wish today.

I’ve made him lemon drizzle cake, lemon curd tarts, lemon marmalade bars, lemon & polenta berry squares, lemon refrigerator cookies…

So something new – lemon & poppy seed loaf.

It has the sharpness of citrus combined with a slightly earthy tone provided by the poppy seeds.

The cake batter is quick and easy to make.

I folded whisked egg whites into the batter so the texture wasn’t too dense and heavy.

The resulting loaf is substantial, but also light and open textured.

It’s topped with a lemon glaze and a zingy, crunchy sugar topping…

…another request from the lemon-meister!

It’s one of those perfect afternoon cakes to complement a nice cuppa… and his Lordship is very happy!

Lemon & poppy seed loaf

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Course Tea

Cuisine British

Servings 8

Ingredients

For the loaf

115 g/4oz butter softened
225 g/8oz caster sugar
3 eggs separated
185 g/6⅔oz plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch salt
1 tbsp poppy seeds
85 g/3fl oz buttermilk
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 2 lemons

For the glaze

1½ tbsp icing sugar
juice of half a lemon
½ tbsp granulated sugar
pinch of lemon zest

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4
Grease a 900g/2lb loaf tin

For the loaf

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter & caster sugar until light & fluffy
Mix in the egg yolks
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt
Mix in the poppy seeds
In a measuring jug, add the buttermilk, lemon juice and lemon zest (reserve a pinch of the zest for the glaze)
Add the dry, flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture in two batches; interspersing it with adding the buttermilk & lemon mixture
Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks before folding into the mixture
Spoon the mixture into the greased loaf tin and bake on the lowest shelf for 40-50 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes away clean.. If the top of the loaf begins to get too brown, cover with tin foil
Whilst the cake is cooking, make the glaze.
Add the lemon juice & icing sugar to a small measuring jug and stir until any lumps have been removed. Set aside
In a small bowl, add the granulated sugar & lemon zest and with your fingers using a crumbing motion. Set aside
Once cooked, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin
Whilst still warm and using a pastry brush, spread the lemon juice & icing sugar glaze uniformly over the top
Once completely cool, remove the cake from the tin a place on a cake plate
Sprinkle the granulated sugar & lemon zest mixture over the top of the glazed cake
It's now ready to serve!

Keyword cake, lemon, loaf cake, poppy seeds, tea loaf

Cakes & Bakes: Coconut brownies

Justin and I share similar tastes in a lot of things, desserts are not one of them. He prefers lemon tarts & drizzles – cream cakes too. I adore chocolate fudge cake, death by chocolate, chocolate brownies… you get the picture! We do occasionally have common ground; we both like carrot cake and baked vanilla cheesecake.

Last week I was lamenting his lack of love of brownies when he said, “Coconut brownies might tempt me”. That was all the encouragement I needed to whip up a batch.

I made it with cocoa instead of the usual dark chocolate and used less butter than would be usual as I wanted a dryer, less dense and chewy texture.

He hasn’t said whether he liked it or not. All I know is that it didn’t hang around for long!

Click here to pin the recipe for later

Coconut brownies

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Cook Time 30

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 9

Ingredients

75 g/2½oz cocoa
75 g/2½oz dessicated coconut
150 g/5⅓oz caster sugar
50 g/1¾oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
175 g/6oz butter
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF/Gas mark 2
Grease a 20cm² / 8inch² cake tin
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and make a well in the centre
In a small bowl, microwave the butter for about 15-20 seconds to just liquefy but not cook. Allow to cool slightly
Lightly whisk the eggs in a measuring bowl before adding the vanilla essence
Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients and combine well using a spatula
Pour the batter into the greased tin and bake for 25-30 minutes
Allow to cool in the tin before slicing into squares
Can be stored in a cool place in an airtight container for about 3 days

Keyword brownies, chocolate, coconut

Cakes & Bakes: Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

I consider myself something of a greedy chocoholic (who edges the cake knife round a few millimetres when no one’s looking to get a bigger piece). But faced with this triple chocolate cheesecake, a small slice was sufficient… even for greedy old me!

It is the richest, most decadent chocolate fantasy I’ve ever made or eaten. A quick tally of all the ingredients brings it in over 2 kilos!

There’s a base made from crushed Oreo cookies…

…a thick, intense dark chocolate middle layer…

…and a sweet, white chocolate ganache topping (with dark chocolate flakes to decorate, of course!).

It was a real winner with everyone who tried it… and there’s now a note in my recipe file for ‘must make again!’.

Triple chocolate cheesecake

Oh My God Chocolate Desserts

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Ingredients

For the biscuit base

2 x 154g packets Oreo cookies
60 g/2oz unsalted butter

For the cheesecake filling

3 x 280g tubs cream cheese at room temperature
165 g/6oz icing sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
4 eggs
300 g/10oz dark chocolate

For the ganache topping

180 ml/6 fl oz double cream
175 g/6oz white chocolate
Extra dark chocolate for garnishing

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4
Put the Oreo cookies into a food processor and pulse until they have turned to fine crumbs
Put the butter into a microwave for 10-15 seconds to soften
Combine the butter with the Oreo cookie crumbs and spoon the mixture into the base of a 28cm/11inch spring-form cake tin pressing it firmly & evenly with the back of the spoon
Bake for 10 minutes then set aside to cool
Break the dark chocolate into pieces, putting them into a glass or pottery bowl
Put the bowl into a saucepan of water (just enough so that the bottom of the bowl doesn't come into contact with the water) and heat on a low flame until the chocolate has melted
While waiting for the chocolate to melt, put the cream cheese, icing sugar and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and combine well
Break the eggs into a measuring jug, whisk lightly until just combined before adding little by little into the cheese/sugar/cocoa mixture, stirring after each addition
Add the melted dark chocolate to the mixture and combine well
Pour the mixture on to the biscuit base and bake in the oven for 60 minutes
Switch off the oven, leave the oven door slightly ajar and allow the cake to cool for half an hour
Put the cake on a wire rack until it has cooled completely
Break the white chocolate into pieces, putting them into a glass or pottery bowl with the double cream
Put the bowl into a saucepan of water (just enough so that the bottom of the bowl doesn't come into contact with the water) and heat on a low flame
When the chocolate has begun to melt, stir the mixture well and allow to cool until it has thickened but still pourable
Pour evenly over the top of the cake allowing some to drip down the edge
Serve at room temperature or refrigerated
Keep refrigerated and consume within 3 days

Keyword baked cheesecake, cheesecake, chocolate

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: dessert

Cakes & Bakes: Sticky ginger loaf

Sticky ginger loaf

Ingredients

For the cake

For the icing

Instructions

For the cake

For the icing

Cakes & Bakes: Lemon & poppy seed loaf

Lemon & poppy seed loaf

Ingredients

For the loaf

For the glaze

Instructions

For the loaf

Cakes & Bakes: Coconut brownies

Coconut brownies

Ingredients

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

Triple chocolate cheesecake

Ingredients

For the biscuit base

For the cheesecake filling

For the ganache topping

Instructions