Come November and the winter urges set upon me, the cosy, warmly lit nights, the pumpkin pie, the mulled cider and the spiced cake. I’d never made a ginger cake that quite satisfied this image of wintertime for me, so I set about finding the recipe that would be the standard bearer of the form going forward. The following are what I narrowed it down to:
- https://rainydaymum.co.uk/sticky-gingerbread-loaf-cake-recipe/
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/spiced_gingerbread_45369
- https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/international/american-mexican-and-caribbean/dark-jamaican-gingerbread
- https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7322/favorite-old-fashioned-gingerbread/
With some final parkin variations for future consideration:
- https://lostinfood.co.uk/parkin/
- https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/international/european/british/traditional-oatmeal-parkin
- https://www.daringgourmet.com/yorkshire-parkin-cake/
- https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/nov/03/how-to-make-parkin-recipe-felicity-cloake
- https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7322/favorite-old-fashioned-gingerbread/
There is a limit, so I settled on the first and last of the standard ginger cake recipes. The sticky gingerbread loaf and the old fashioned gingerbread.
I pumped up the spices in the sticky loaf, doubled them if I recall, and it was definitely the right call to increase it over the stated quantities, though double may be just a hint too much and did give the occasional, though not necessarily wholly unwelcome, bite of bitterness.
The old fashioned gingerbread was exactly as is written.
The conclusion? The sticky loaf was the unanimous victor, though it should not be stated with any disrespect to the old fashioned gingerbread, which was delightfully silken and airy, with different flavourings you could use it as a refined sticky toffee or other such base.
However the sticky loaf was provided with two or three times the spices that the recipe states, and though I think it may have been the tiniest smidge too much, it certainly needs the extra kick that a heavy hand of ginger provided.
I also want to note that the other recipe is no slouch and on another day or with different palettes it may have emerged victorious. Beautifully light, well spiced and moist. I have been thinking that it would be an excellent basis for other cakes, drop the spice and up the syrup and an excellent sticky-toffee-pudding could be had, for example. Worth consideration.
Other recipes, parkin as well, must be tried another time, but for now we have a victor (preserved here for posterity).
INGREDIENTS
- 150 g Unsalted Butter
- 125 g Dark Brown Sugar
- 200 g Golden Syrup
- 200 g Black Treacle
- 2 tsp Ground Ginger (Sam’s note: use lots more… 3 or 4 tsp)
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon (Sam’s note: can probably double this too)
- 250 ml Semi-Skimmed Milk
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda dissolved in 2 tbsp of warm water
- 300 g plain flour
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the over to 170C
- In the saucepan melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup, black treacle and spices.
- Once melted remove from the heat and add in the milk, eggs and dissolved bicarbonate of soda.
- Stir to combine all liquid ingredients together.
- In a large mixing bowl sieve in the flour.
- Now pour in the liquid ingredients.
- Mix the mixture well until thoroughly combined.
- Line a 2lb loaf with a loaf pan liner.
- Pour half the batter into the loaf pan liner.
- If you have another tin do the same. If not wait till 1 cooks then repeat filling and cooking again.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1hr until it’s risen and firm. You want it to be sticky so better to test it at the hr point.
- Set aside to cool.