Lemon drizzle ginger cakes

I’ve cooked up these gloriously sticky treats to celebrate World Baking Day  this weekend – 20th May – an event sponsored by Stork to get everyone into their kitchens.

I appear to have gone into baking overdrive lately, I would apologise, but really, do I need to say sorry for bringing more cake into your life?!

The recipe is inspired by the success of this ginger cake I made a while back, combined with a version I found on Good Food Magazine’s marvellous website.

These glistening ginger cakes are spicy and sticky and have the added joy of a lemon icing drizzled copiously on top to add a bit of tang. I can honestly say this is a joyous cake to eat. Sooooo soft, it really is a pleasure.

The recipe makes enough for one small loafcake and a dozen fairy cake-sized 0fferings. Perfect if you want to either freeze some for another day, or perhaps give the loafcake to a deserving friend.

To get an extra amount of gingery ooze I used the great trick of spiking them all over with a fork once they were out of the oven, and then spooning over a little of the syrup from the stem ginger jar and letting it sink into the sponge as it cools.

I then enlisted Sam to make the lemon icing. Perfect job for a young ‘un – squeezing lemons, sieving icing sugar and then mixing. “Awsome” according to Sam.

I wasn’t sure if he’d take to eating the spiced sponge, but it was definitely a hit.

So if you bake one thing this World Baking Day, then please let this recipe be it. I promise you won’t regret it!

Lemon drizzle ginger cakes
(Makes 1 small loafcake & 12 fairy cakes)

225g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 heaped tsp ground ginger
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
1 heaped tsp ground mixed spice
115g butter, cubed
115g soft brown sugar
115g black treacle
115g golden syrup
250ml milk
5 pieces stem ginger, drained and very finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
syrup from the stem ginger jar

For the icing
1 lemon, juice only
6 heaped tbsp icing sugar, sifted

1.  Prepare your tins – one small loaf tin greased and lined, and one muffin tray lined with 12 cake cases – preferably silicone.

2. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Sieve the flour and spices with a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the cubes of butter and then rub it in using your fingers until it’s the consistency of breadcrumbs.

3. Put the  soft brown sugar, black treacle and golden syrup into a saucepan along with the milk and heat gently until the mixture combines and the sugar has dissolved. It will be a lovely rich brown colour. Remove from heat and allow to cool a little.

4. Put the chopped stem ginger in with the flour mix and then gradually add the warm sugary liquid mixing all the time. Then slowly add the beaten egg, again mixing all the time. You will be left with quite a runny batter – that’s fine!

5. Pour your cake batter into the loaf tin and cake cases – filling each 3/4 full and then bake in the oven. The small cakes will take around 20-25 mins. The loaf will take more like 50 minutes. Test them by prodding with a skewer or knife, and if it comes out clean the sponge is cooked.

6. Spike the surface of each cake several times with a fork or skewer, then using a teaspoon spread a little stem ginger syrup over the surface. This will help keep the sponges perfectly moist and permeate more ginger flavours.

7. Allow to cool and then make the icing. Combine the lemon juice with the icing sugar, mixing until smooth and runny but not watery consistency is achieved. Just add more icing sugar if it’s all too runny.

8. Either spoon it over your cakes, or for a neater finish pour your icing into a disposable icing bag, snip a small hole at the end and pipe your icing in lines, squiggles or swirls across the top of the cakes. Allow to set a bit and then enjoy with a nice cuppa.

If you fancy taking part, then why not bake something on the 20th and tweet using the #caking hashtag.

Thanks to Stork for sending me the kit of baking goodies which I used to make my recipe