Re-Fashioned Ginger Cake

This one really does take the cake in my books. It's an old-fashioned number, made with molasses to give it that slight bitterness and fresh ginger for the keen ginger lovers. I like to jazz it up by topping it with roasted plums, caramel sauce, apple chips, nuts, or whatever else is in my toolbox.

Photo: Loving It

Ingredients

• 150g butter
• 200g golden syrup
• 200 grams molasses
• 125g brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 250ml milk
• 2 good tablespoons fresh grated ginger
• 300g flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• good pinch ground cloves
• 100g soft  butter
• 2 cups icing sugar
• 1 good tsp ground ginger
• pinch of salt
• dash of vanilla extract
• a few splashes of milk 

Method

Preheat oven to 170°C. Line and grease two 24cm cake tins.

Melt the butter, golden syrup, molasses and brown sugar in the microwave for a few minutes. Whisk together the milk, eggs, and fresh ginger. Add to the sticky golden syrup mixture, and mix well – a electric hand whisk makes this easy work.

Combine the remaining dry ingredients, and add to the wet mixture. Beat well to make a smooth batter. This is a very wet mixture, which makes for a delightfully moist cake!

Divide between the two tins and bake for approximately 25 minutes. Press the centre gently – if the cake springs back, it’s done. Leave for a few minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, combine all the ingredients except for the milk and give it a good minute with your hand mixer. Don't be lazy and forget the salt – it's crucial! Add a splash or two of milk till you have a creamy, spreadable consistency.

To assemble, spread one layer with 1/3 of the icing, then top with remaining layer and spread over the remaining icing. You can leave this cake as is, or really go to town and top with glistening deep red plums, dollops of caramel, toasted nuts, the works!