Squidgy Lemon Ginger Cake Food

LEMON GINGER CAKE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 320F/160C. Grease an 8½ x 4¼-inch loaf pan and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and salt. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Set bowls aside.
• In another small bowl, toss together sugar, lemon zest, and grated ginger using your fingers until well combined or process the mixture in a food processor. This step is necessary to get the flavors out of the lemon and ginger.
• Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and lemon-sugar mixture. Beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Occasionally scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, beat in half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk mixture, and then the rest of the flour mixture. Do not over mix.
• Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top is browning too fast while baking, cover pan loosely with aluminum foil. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before adding the syrup.
• To make the syrup: While cake is in the oven, prepare the syrup. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, lemon juice, and water. Cook on medium-low heat until sugar dissolves and syrup forms. Set aside to cool.
• While cake is still warm, poke the top a few times with a toothpick, then brush with syrup. Allow cake to cool completely on a wire rack. The syrup makes it extra moist, so if it's cut while still warm, it may crumble.

LEMON-GINGER POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Make cake:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Generously butter pan, then flour it, knocking out excess. Chill 10 minutes.
• Finely grind together fresh ginger and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor (mixture will be wet).
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and salt.
• Stir together milk and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Beat together butter, remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Alternately add flour and milk mixtures to butter and eggs in 4 batches, beginning with flour and mixing at low speed until each batch is just incorporated. Mix in ginger sugar until just combined, then lemon juice.
• Spoon batter into pan, smoothing top, and bake in middle of oven until golden brown on top and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes (about 1 hour for loaf pan). Carefully loosen edges with a knife and immediately invert cake onto a rack to cool completely.
• Make glaze:
• Gradually add confectioners sugar to 1 tablespoon lemon juice, whisking until smooth and adding more juice, 1 drop at a time, if glaze is too thick. Drizzle decoratively over top of cake.

SQUIDGY PUMPKIN & GINGER LOAF

Steps:

• Put the pumpkin or squash in a microwave- proof bowl with a dribble of water. Cover with cling film, pierce with a couple of holes and cook in a microwave on High for 5-10 mins, or until the pumpkin is soft and mashable. Drain off the water and mash until smooth. Put the treacle, syrup, sugar and milk in a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin with a strip of baking parchment. Sift the flour, bicarb, spices and a pinch of salt into a bowl together. Tip in the diced butter and rub with your fingertips until no big lumps remain.
• Whisk the mash and the egg into the lukewarm syrupy mixture, then stir everything into the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into the prepared tin, scatter with most of the crystallised ginger and bake for 45 mins until a skewer poked into the centre comes out with just moist crumbs attached. Scatter over the remaining sliced ginger to stick, then cool in the tin. This cake tastes delicious once thoroughly cooled and sliced, but even better if wrapped in parchment and foil, and left for a couple of days to mature. Perfect with a cuppa, smeared with some butter.