Mary Berry Sticky Ginger Cake Food

MARY BERRY'S GINGERBREAD CAKE

Steps:

• This mix makes enough to fill 2 x standard 7inch Victoria sandwitch tins or 1 x 10inch diameter tin. Grease and base line your tin(s) with baking paper; preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3.
• Gently heat the margarine, sugar and treacle together in a pan, stirring until smooth. Allow to cool a little.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and ground spices. Pour in the treacle mix and stir thoroughly to combine. Mince the stem ginger finely and stir with the eggs into the mix.
• Warm the milk gently in a saucepan, stirring gently to avoid it burning at the base of the pan. Add the bicarb of soda and let it foam a little. Stir into the gingerbread mixture until well blended.
• Pour into the prepared tin(s).
• Baking time: for 2x 7 inch cakes is 25-30mins (bake both together). For 1x 10inch cake bake for approx 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
• This cake keeps really well in an airtight tin, and actually improves over the first 2-3 days. Enjoy!

LARDY CAKE

Steps:

• Mix the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowland rub in the lard.
• Make a well in the middle and pour in the water, bit by bit- mix to a soft dough.
• Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
• Place in an oiled bowl& cover with oiled clingfilm; Leave to rise for about 1 hours or until doubled in size.
• Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out to a rectangle about 1/4 in thick.
• Dot the surface with about 1/3 each of the lard, butter, dried fruit and sugar.
• Fold into three, bringing one end up and the other end down (or to the left and right) Seal the edge to trap the air and then give the dough a quarter turn.
• Repeat with the remaining fat, fruit and sugar.
• Lightly butter a 9in by 12 in roasting tin, lightly roll out hte dough to fit and place the dough in the tin.
• Cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise until doubled in size (about 30 mins).
• Score the top of the dough in a criss-cross pattern and bake in a preheated oven at gas mark 6/200 degC/400degF for about 30 mins until well risen and golden brown.
• Leave to cool in the roasting tin for about 10 mins- this is to let the cake soak up the sugar/fat mixture that will have run out.
• Dissolve the caster sugar in the boiling water& brush on top of the loaf.
• Eat when cool.

STICKY STEM GINGER CAKE WITH LEMON ICING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4. Butter and line an 18cm round, 7cm deep cake tin with greaseproof or parchment paper.
• Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda and all the spices into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Put the sugar, treacle, syrup and milk in a medium saucepan and heat, gently stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to just below boiling point.
• Add the stem ginger to the flour mixture, then pour in the treacle mixture, stirring as you go with a wooden spoon. Break in the egg and beat until all the mixture is combined and it resembles a thick pancake batter. Pour this into prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes-1 hour, until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out fairly clean. Leave to cool completely in tin before turning cake out. (To freeze: wrap in greaseproof paper, then in cling film. Freeze for up to 1 month.)
• To make the icing, mix together icing sugar and lemon zest, then gradually add lemon juice until you have a smooth, slightly runny icing, adding more juice, if needed. Drizzle icing in a zig-zag pattern over surface of cake, turn cake around and drizzle again to create the cross-hatched finish (see below). Cake keeps for up to 2 weeks stored in an airtight container.