Treacle Gingerbread Loaf
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott adapted from Grandma's Quick and Thrifty Cookbook
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Serves: 8 slices
- 300g/10.6ozs. cake flour*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon flaked salt
- Pinch cloves
- 100g/3.5ozs. crystallised or stem ginger, chopped plus 4 extra pieces for decorating
- 250g/8.8ozs treacle
- 140g/5ozs. brown sugar
- 200ml/7ozs. buttermilk
- 80ml/3flozs. oil
- 2 eggs, room temperature
For icing
- 150g/5.3ozs. icing or powdered sugar
- 2.5 tablespoons ginger syrup
Cake flour can be bought at the supermarket. You can also make it at home. To make 1 cup/150g/5.2ozs of cake flour replace 2 tablespoons of plain all purpose flour with cornflour/fine cornstarch and whisk well. I usually mix up a big batch of this and keep it in a container ready for baking cakes as it produces a softer texture.
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line a 19x10x11cms/7.5x4x4.3inch square loaf tin on the base and sides with parchment. Place the flour, baking powder, bicarb, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves in a bowl and whisk and then scoop out a couple of tablespoons of the flour and toss the ginger in this and set aside. Then in a large jug whisk the treacle, brown sugar, buttermilk, oil and eggs together. You may have to beat the mixture for a bit just to break up the egg yolks and treacle but it will form an emulsified batter.
Step 2 - Make a well in the flour mixture and gradually pour the wet mixture in stirring with a spatula. Do this slowly so that there are no lumps. Then mix in the floured ginger pieces and flour and then pour into the prepared tin. Let rest on the counter for 10 minutes, then bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until the centre springs back when pressed (the centre may sink, that's fine). Cool in the tin for 15 minutes then cool on a cake rack.
Step 3 - Place the icing sugar in a food processor and process until all lumps disappear. Add the ginger syrup one tablespoon at a time adding the last 1/2 tablespoon if you need it. It should be a pourable but not thin icing. Spoon over the top of the loaf and then add 4 ginger pieces. Slice into thick slices and serve with room temperature butter.