I never stopped my baking or eating crusade but every time I sat down to write another post I just thought 'oh no it is too late now, the last one was too long ago'. So no more excuses...
Gingerbread with lemon icing
The last thing I made was 'Gingerbread with Lemon Icing' in Nigella Lawson's "How to be a domestic goddess'. I have never grown tired of this book despite having had it for years. I followed the book but the recipe can also be found online here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9294855/Fresh-gingerbread-with-lemon-icing.html This is the first time I have made this despite wanting to very time I see the picture in the book (much nicer that the one on this link).
As is usually the case with me baking cakes, I added a tiny bit more of the sweeter stuff (extra tbsp or so of syrup and sugar) but it didn't make it too sweet.
I don't have a picture of cake with icing (I was feeling impatient/hungry and didn't wait until the cake had cooled properly so the results weren't photo-worthy) however the un-iced version is below. Unlike the recipe, which describes more of a tray bake, I made the cake in a loaf tin because in my head that's how gingerbread looks. I followed pretty much the same cooking times but did check every now and again just to be on the safe side. The result was a dense looking (yet surprisingly light to eat) gingerbread which benefitted from the freshly grated ginger and a lot of fat and sugar. As the loaf was rather large we ended up freezing some of the cake which still tasted good upon thawing and actually would have been good heated up as more of a pudding (ideally with some sort of ginger toffee sauce). Definitely recommend making this despite being the wrong time of year, especially with the lemon icing which balances the rich liquorice taste from the treacle in the cake.
Finished Loaf minus icing
Melted butter, sugar, syrup, treacle etc. (do not try and eat from the pan like I did...)
I will definitely be making this again nearer to bonfire night i.e. the right time of year.
