This homely recipe goes down a treat buttered with a cuppa tea! Makes 1 loaf or 12 muffins.
This recipe was originally in ounces which I have converted to grams.
Notes:
- This recipe may also be baked in a pre-greased muffin pan having 12 sections or in a cylindrical nut roll tin, as I do with my Old-Timer's Boston Date Loaf/Roll/Cake
- Never open the oven door in the first 10-15 minutes of baking.
- All measures are leveled off with the back of a knife.
- When measuring your syrup, smear the spoon with oil, and the syrup will just glide off without leaving a trace.
- Note on sugar: Use equal weights when converting brown sugar to white sugar, and it will result in the same sweetness.
- How to grease and flour a loaf pan: Grease the inside well. Lightly dust the inside with sifted flour, tilt the pan - turning it around and around, then invert the pan over a container and lightly tap the pan to release any excess flour. Using this method, you will never need to line your pans with baking paper or fear the cake sticking to the side walls of your pan.
Ingredients:
170g (6 oz) Cake Flour (85 ml)
2.5ml salt
10 ml ground ginger powder, or to taste (up to 15 ml)
2.5ml cinnamon powder
2.5 ml tsp nutmeg (optional) - I always include it
3.75 ml baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
114 g (4 oz) maple or golden syrup (82ml)
30 g (1 oz) butter (32 ml) A hard margarine will do fine if you want to economize
28g sugar - 33ml brown or 27ml white - white sugar is sweeter
1 egg, (large) beaten
60ml boiling water
Method:
- Grease and flour a loaf pan and set it aside.
- Preheat your oven to 160 C/320 F/gas mark 3.
- Using 2 bowls, sift your flour thrice.
- Add the salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda to your sifted flour.
- Add your syrup, butter, and sugar to a micro-safe bowl or a pot - big enough to contain all your ingredients.
- Dissolve your syrup, butter, and sugar mixture in a microwave oven or over your stovetop, stirring until dissolved, and set aside to cool.
- Unclip your beaters from the electric beater and use them to stir your dry ingredients into your wet mixture alternating with the egg.
- Plug in your beaters, switch on your machine, and beat until smooth and aerated.
- With a spatula, ease your mixture out into your prepared pan.
- Bake until well risen. The loaf is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean, and the cake pulls slightly away from the sides of the tin. And when pressed with a finger, it should feel slightly springy to the touch and spring back. It should not leave a dent when pressed with a finger.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Remove from pan and Serve with lashings of butter.
Enjoy!