Esther's Gingerbread
(makes 1 loaf/cake)
Esther Woollaston, quilt maker extraordinaire, also works out front for Ruth Pretty Catering. It's not just chefs I hit up for recipes. This is the best gingerbread I have ever tasted.
Ingredients
280g (2 cups) flour
200g (1 cup) brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 dessertspoons ground ginger
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
360g (1 plus 1/3 cup) golden syrup
225g butter (roughly diced)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
250ml (1 cup) milk
Method
· Preheat oven to 150°C.
· Grease and line the base of an 11cm x 30cm loaf tin (or alternatively a 23cm square tin).
· Into a large bowl sift flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, mixed spice, nutmeg and cinnamon.
· In small saucepan melt golden syrup with butter.
· To the dry ingredients add the golden syrup mixture followed by eggs and milk. Combine ingredients well, using a whisk (this is a very wet mix). Pour into prepared tin.
· Cook in loaf tin for 1 hour 10 minutes (in the square tin for 45 minutes) or until metal cake skewer comes out clean. When cooked leave in tin to cool for 30 minutes or more before turning out.
· Serve warm or cold.