‘Tis the Season for Gingerbread

Here’s a simple gingerbread cake recipe to spice up your holidays.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 tablespoon marmalade
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt
1 cup whole-wheat flour
confectioner’s sugar to dust

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

• Line and 8-inch square cake pan with waxed paper, grease lightly with butter and dust with flour. (I don’t have a square pan, so I use an 8-inch round pan and the recipes turns out fine)
• Combine butter, sugar, dark corn syrup and marmalade in a saucepan over low heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
• In a bowl, beat together eggs and milk, then stir in the syrup mixture.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the self-rising flour, baking soda, spices, salt and whole-wheat flour.
• Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just smooth. Do not overbeat.
• Pour into cake pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
• Allow to cool in the pan.
• Remove from pan, peel off the wax paper. Sprinkle the top with confectioner’s sugar. Cut into squares and serve.

Gingerbread is wonderful served with pears and whipped cream and a nice strong pot of tea.