Sticky Gingerbread Food

EASY OLD FASHIONED ENGLISH STICKY GINGERBREAD LOAF

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4.
• Grease and line a 2 lb loaf tin.
• Mix the flour with the salt, baking powder, ground ginger & raisins if using.
• Melt the butter or margarine and add the sugar, black treacle - mixing them together very well.
• Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture - and mix with a wooden spoon.
• Gradually beat in the egg and milk mixture to make a smooth, thick batter.
• Pour into the greased and lined 2 lb loaf tin and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a skewer when inserted comes out clean.
• The gingerbread loaf should be well risen and slightly sticky to the touch, although it gets stickier the longer it is kept.
• Slice and eat warm with butter, or leave to go cold and store in an airtight container.
• Also wonderful served warm with custard or cream.
• Keeps very well for a week or more.

STICKY GINGERBREAD.

Steps:

• sift flour, sugar,ginger,mixed spice & salt together.
• melt butter & treacle together.
• warm milk & add bicarb.
• add wet ingredients to flour mix, and stir well.
• add egg & stir again.
• place in a greased & lined tin & put into a pre-heated oven, 180c gas 4-5 and cook for approx 45-50 min, insert skewer or knife, if it comes out clean, I check after 30 min & cover top with greasproof paper to stop top from burning. Remove from oven when cooked & leave for 5 min before placing on a wire rack to cool. It will be moist & sticky next day but also delicious warm. The tin I use is 7.5 inches wide x 9.5 inches long & 3 inches in depth.

BLACK STICKY GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper that has been cut to hang over two opposite edges by a couple of inches. This overhang will make removing the cake from the pan clean and simple.
• Combine the butter, water, molasses, honey and brown sugar in a medium non-reactive saucepan and place over low heat. Stir the mixture frequently until the butter is melted, and all of the ingredients are well blended. Remove from the heat, pour into a large bowl and set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves, and set aside. When the molasses mixture feels just warm to the touch, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the milk and stir to combine. Fold the dry ingredients into the batter in four additions, using big, long strokes. Don't be concerned if you can't get all the lumps out--settle for most of them! Stir in the grated ginger.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the top of the cake springs back when touched and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then, using the overhang of parchment, lift the cake out of the pan and cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. Well-wrapped in plastic, this gingerbread actually improves with age. If stored at room temperature, it will have a sponge-cakey texture and will keep for about 4 days. Refrigerated, it becomes stickier, denser, and wonderfully chewy and will last at least a week. Allow the cake to return to room temperature before serving. This cake is fabulous warm, and the only adornment it needs is mounds of softly whipped cream.

STICKY GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Set oven to 160°C Grease a 11 x 9" tin with baking parchment.
• Sift the flour, ginger, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl. Place the sugar, butter, syrup and treacle in a pan and heat until the butter has just melted. Don't allow it to get too hot.
• Stir in the milk then beat in the egg. Pour in the dry ingredients and beat together.
• Pour immediately into baking tin and bake for 1-1/4 hours until firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then turn out of tin and allow to cool completely.
• NB You can also add a few finely chopped pieces of stem ginger to the mix if you wish.

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.

STICKY GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Put flour, ginger, mixed spice, and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl.
• Put the butter, black treacle, syrup, brown sugar into a pan and heat until fat has melted.
• Cool slightly and add to dry mixture.
• Mix in the eggs and enough milk to make a cake batter.
• Pour into a lined 7 inch square tin.
• Sprinkle with the almonds (optional).
• Bake in a preheated oven Gas 3 for 1-1/2 to 2 hours until firm to the touch.
• Cool on a wire rack.
• This gingerbread keeps really well, and will become softer and stickier the longer it is kept in an airtight container. But, will it last?

RICH AND STICKY GINGERBREAD WITH MARMALADE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan; line bottom with parchment paper.
• Sift flour and ground ginger into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in molasses. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in marmalade, then raisins, and crystallized ginger. Transfer to prepared baking pan.
• Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 38 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)
• Cut cake into 9 squares. Cut each square in half, making eighteen 1 1/2x3-inch pieces.