Hey everyone and happy 3rd of December,
This is another instalment of my handmade Christmas gift guide and this recipe wasn't meant to be a cake recipe but instead it was meant to be gingerbread cookies with royal icing. But I got a lot of the measurements wrong and that failed and they turned into cakes. So I went and checked for a proper recipe for gingerbread cake so you can all make it properly and it will hopefully be a lot nicer. I have made this cake before and it was amazing and I don't usually like ginger at all. The recipe I found was for an orange icing, so I did make that but you could just use normal icing or even a spoonful of cream would work with this cake. I wouldn't give this as a present because obviously they won't last long like cookies but you can still take them into work or give to family just before Christmas so they can enjoy them! Also you don't have to cut them into stars either and you could just leave them like a tray bake and cut them into squares which will prevent wasting any of the cake!! I would usually also add candied orange peel which I make myself but I only had one orange and I needed that for the icing, but I will still give you the recipe.
You will need ...
225g self-raising
225g unsalted butter
225g light muscavado sugar
225g Golden Syrup
225g black treacle
Zest of 1 orange (same orange that is used for the icing)
2 eggs
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp stem ginger (chopped finely)
2 tsp cinnamon
300ml milk
For the Icing:
150g Icing Sugar
1 orange
For the candied orange peel:
1 orange (peeled and then cut into thin strips)
100ml cold water
100g caster sugar (you may need more though depending on how much orange peel you have)
Method ...
225g unsalted butter
225g light muscavado sugar
225g Golden Syrup
225g black treacle
Zest of 1 orange (same orange that is used for the icing)
2 eggs
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp stem ginger (chopped finely)
2 tsp cinnamon
300ml milk
For the Icing:
150g Icing Sugar
1 orange
For the candied orange peel:
1 orange (peeled and then cut into thin strips)
100ml cold water
100g caster sugar (you may need more though depending on how much orange peel you have)
Method ...
First you will want to preheat the over to 160c and line a square cake tin with baking parchment.
Place the butter, treacle, sugar and golden syrup into a pan and heat gently until the mixture has evenly melted. Once the mixture has melted fully and been mixed together then take off the heat and set aside to cool down slightly.
While that is cooling down, you will want to sieve the self-raising flour into a bowl. Add the stem ginger, cinnamon, zest of one orange and the ground ginger to the flour and mix gently. Pour the melted butter, treacle, sugar and golden syrup to the flour. Then add the eggs and the milk and stir with a wooden spoon until it has combined fully.
Pour the cake batter into the lined square cake tin and level the mixture with the back of a spoon. Place in the oven and bake for around 50 minutes to an hour, or until the cake has risen and gone golden brown, or when a skewer will come out clean when inserted into the cake. Allow to cool in the tin slightly and then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.
To make the icing, you will want to sieve the icing sugar into a clean bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the orange juice and mix until it becomes a smooth paste. Once the cake has fully cooled down pour the orange icing on top of the cake and let it fall down the sides naturally.
While that is cooling down, you will want to sieve the self-raising flour into a bowl. Add the stem ginger, cinnamon, zest of one orange and the ground ginger to the flour and mix gently. Pour the melted butter, treacle, sugar and golden syrup to the flour. Then add the eggs and the milk and stir with a wooden spoon until it has combined fully.
Pour the cake batter into the lined square cake tin and level the mixture with the back of a spoon. Place in the oven and bake for around 50 minutes to an hour, or until the cake has risen and gone golden brown, or when a skewer will come out clean when inserted into the cake. Allow to cool in the tin slightly and then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.
To make the icing, you will want to sieve the icing sugar into a clean bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the orange juice and mix until it becomes a smooth paste. Once the cake has fully cooled down pour the orange icing on top of the cake and let it fall down the sides naturally.
To make the candied orange peel, you will want to cut the zest of your orange into long thin strips. Place the peel into a saucepan of cold water and then bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the water from the saucepan and recover the peel with 100ml of cold water. Bring this up to the boil and simmer for roughly 30 minutes. Place a sieve on top of a clean bowl and then drain the peel into the sieve, keeping the water in the saucepan. Then add 100g of caster sugar to the 100ml of water that was used to boil the orange peel. Pour this into a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Add the peel and then simmer for roughly 30 minutes until the peel becomes translucent and soft. Leave to cool in the syrup and then remove the peel with a slotted spoon and arrange on a lined baking sheet and then place in the oven on the lowest setting for 30 minutes. Then sprinkle some sugar over the top and make sure that each peel is evenly covered in sugar. Then place the orange peel on top of the cake once it is fully cooled down, and then cut into squares.
I have obviously cut my cakes into stars just to make it look more pretty for the blog but obviously you don't have to worry about doing that and you can leave it as just a tray bake, and cut it into squares. I also didn't cover each cake in icing because that also failed miserably but hopefully yours will look a lot better that mine and they do still taste incredible even if they don't look great.
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