Sticky Gingerbread

'Tis the season to be full of gingerbread... regardless of the actual season. If you live in the Southern hemisphere, you feel me, right?

Sticky Gingerbread

slightly adapted from here

225g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground mixed spice

115g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

115g molasses

115g golden syrup

115g dark muscovado sugar

275ml full cream milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a large loaf pan and line it with baking paper. Set aside. I use my largest loaf pan which is 3 litre capacity.  It's probably a bit too big, but better than trying to cram too much batter in a smaller pan and having the inevitable spill-over. Just use the biggest pan you've got and don't fill it right up to the rim. Or, the other option is to make two smaller cakes, in which case cooking times will vary.

Put the molasses and golden syrup into a small pan and warm it gently until runny. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a separate pan, heat the milk and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to lukewarm.

Put the flour, baking soda and spices into a food processor and blitz for about 10 seconds to mix. Add the butter and blitz briefly until the mixture resembled breadcrumbs. Tip into a large mixing bowl. Add the milk mixture and whisk, then quickly add the molasses mixture, followed by the egg. Whisk until it is a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 - 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin before turning out. Wrap the loaf in a fresh piece of baking paper and then in foil and leave for a day before slicing. Store in an airtight container. It will get stickier the longer it is kept.