Black Sticky Gingerbread – A Random Recipe

It's probably just another one of my odd ideas, but gingerbread always seems to be the perfect thing to take on a country walk, especially in the autumn or winter. For some reason, though, it's something that I rarely bake. On this occasion I had no choice since it's the recipe that came up as my random selection for this month’s Random Recipe challenge hosted by Dom over at Belleau Kitchen.

The book that I randomly selected this month is ‘Leith’s Book of Baking’ by Prue Leith and Caroline Waldegrave published back in the 1990s. I don’t think this book is in print any longer, but it consists of recipes taken from the Leith’s Cookery Bible, which is still available. I've rarely used this book, but I now realise that there’s no good reason for that. This turned out to be a lovely, moist gingerbread with the blackness coming from a healthy dose of treacle. You can find the recipe here.
Sticky Black Gingerbread
The original recipe calls for 1½ hours baking time uncovered followed by 1 hour covered with greaseproof paper. That's proved to be too long when I've baked it and I recommend 1 hour uncovered followed by 45 minutes covered. On this occasion, I halved the quantity given in the recipe and used a loaf tin, which reduced the baking time a little more, as you might expect. I also increase the amount of ginger a little and reduce the amount of cinnamon - but that's just down to personal preference. Definitely a recipe I'd recommend, especially if you're planning on strolling through the countryside any time soon.
Autumn in Surrey

Comments

  1. Jean13 November 2013 at 11:44

    We love ginger cake in this house, in fact I have recently discovered, after intense interrogation, that it's the only cake my OH actually likes!
    This particular recipe looks like it would hit the spot, especially, as you say, on an autumn day, after a bracing walk.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Phil in the Kitchen16 November 2013 at 23:02

      Much as I love ginger cakes, I'm afraid that I love far too many other types of cake too. This recipe did remind me how good classic ginger cakes can be, though.

      Delete
  2. Unknown13 November 2013 at 13:28

    love this book and I actually think i've made this exact recipe and it was so good... totally agree that gingerbread is made for autumnal walks... nice to see such a classic random recipes from you this month, thanks for the entry x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charlene13 November 2013 at 16:50

    Yum, I love gingerbread!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Snowy17 November 2013 at 14:00

    I love gingerbread too - you can't have too many gingerbread recipes! I have Leith's Cookery Bible, but am afraid I've not used it much. You've given me inspiration to have a good look at it and to make this gingerbread.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ozlem's Turkish Table18 November 2013 at 14:26

    love gingerbread, such a handsome looking cake, you inspired me to have a go at this one, thanks Phil :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Couscous & Consciousness20 November 2013 at 21:47

    I love a good, dark, sticky gingerbread. This looks perfect, and definitely just the thing to take on a long walk for a little snack.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Choclette23 November 2013 at 19:39

    Just what we could have done with today Phil to give us some energy whilst we were hauling seaweed around the countryside. I don't know why either, but I haven't made gingerbread for years.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cakeyboi25 November 2013 at 20:46

    This looks dark, delicious and tempting Phil!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous1 December 2013 at 05:36

    What a great bread for the season!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Unknown24 May 2020 at 20:59

    I have just made this gingerbread from Prue Leith's Cookery Bible - bloody enormous and delicious!

    ReplyDelete

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