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Gingerbread Loaf


Fresh Gingerbread with Lemon Icing
How to be a Domestic Goddess - Nigella Lawson

Ingredients
 
150g unsalted butter
125g dark muscovado sugar
200g golden sugar
200g black treacle
2 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1tsp ground cinnamon
250ml milk
2 large eggs, beaten to mix
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water
300g plain flour


Icing

1 tbsp lemon juice
175g icing sugar
1 tbsp warm water


Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 170c/gas mark 3.
  2. In a saucepan, melt the butter along with the sugar, golden suagr, treacle, ginger and cinnamon. Off the heat, add the milk, eggs and bicarbonate of soda in it's water.
  3. Measure the flour out into a bowl and pour in the liquid ingredients, beating until well mixed (it will be a very liquid batter). Pour it into the tin and bake for 3/4 to 1 hour until risen and firm. Be careful not to overcook it, as it is nicer a little stickier, and anyway will carry on cooking as it cools.
  4. And when it is cool, get on with the icing. Whisk the lemon juice into the icing sugar first, then gradually add the water. You want a good, thick icing, so go cautiously and be prepared not to add all the water. Spread over the cooled gingerbread with a palette knife, and leave to set before cutting.

Notes:  Nigella calls for this to be baked in a 30 x 20 x 5cm, greased and lined roasting tin, but I decided to bake it in a loaf tin and there was actually enough for 2 loaves.

I baked the loaves for 1 hour and 20 minutes, which resulted in two lovely moist loaves. They are lovely, but not really sticky, so I think I will take one of them out 10-15 minutes earlier next time, to see if I can get the real stickiness! I iced one of the loaves, but Graham just cut it off, he prefers it plain and I can see his point, it is very tasty and you don't really want to hide that taste.

25 comments

  1. nice looking gingerbread loaf! The icing is nice and white!

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  2. Icing looks good but I agree with Graham that it tastes better plain - or even nicer with a slab of butter on it! Love your roll call of foodie shows - what a lovely way to spend an evening!

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  3. Hi Kevin, I would do without the icing next time.

    Hey Johanna, now you mention it, I did had a couple of slices with butter!
    It was a great line-up for a 'curl-up on the sofa' night.

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  4. I LOVE Come Dine with Me and Masterchef! And the loaf looks amazing.

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  5. Looks fantastic! For some reason, I'm never really in the gingerbread mood except for about 2 weeks before Christmas...but maybe I'll have to make an exception...

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  6. Looks fab, I just love anything with ginger in.

    Also wanted to let you know that I gave a jar of the Hot Mango Chutney to one of my neighbours for Christmas. She told me that it's the best she's had and has finished the jar already. Nice one, Holler!!!!

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  7. That is my way to spend a quiet evening at home with the Food Network. The gingerbread cake would be very flavourful; a great end to the evening!!

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  8. Yum. Looks moist and tasty. We are hip-deep in root veg, though, so anything I make at the moment has to have carrot or parsnips in it, so this will have to wait... So far, carrot cake is great... I'm trying parsnips in ginger cake next... we'll let you know how it goes!

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  9. That looks wonderful, Holler. Love gingerbread and also Come Dine With Me! Keep missing Masterchef though - so I'm not up to speed with it this time round :-(

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  10. Hi Holler,

    In the last few months, you may remember receiving an email invitation to become a part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher Program. With all the recipe-writing and food photography to be completed, we know emails can easily get lost in the shuffle, so Foodbuzz would like to re-extend our offer of inviting you to be a part of our food blogger network. I would love to send you more details about the program, so if you are interested, please email me at Shannon@foodbuzz.com.

    The ginger loaf looks fabulous, by the way. So good it doesn't even need butter (although it never hurts, either :P).

    Cheers!

    Shannon Eliot
    Editorial Assistant, Foodbuzz.com
    shannon@foodbuzz.com

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  11. Yum! I own a copy of that cookbook actually. I'll have to try this, as Dave just loves Gingerbread.

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  12. Now, I had gingerbread as a main course tonight. Is that so very wrong? Would it have been better if I had eaten it with potatoes lol? Lovely recipe, by the way.

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  13. Yummy! What a way to end a night of food TV! I thought of you when I saw Jamie's new show last week on Food Network. Have you seen it yet? I think it is called "Jamie Cooks At Home" ?

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  14. thanks Yvonne, I love those programmes too and need a fix everyday, even if if is just a rerun!

    Hi Mike, you must have a family tradition about gingerbread, so you think about it just before Christmas, is my guess, prbably completely wrong, huh?

    Hi Lynn, Glad the hot mango chutney went down well, I have had a few good compliments too, especially for my apple and red onion chutney! I wish I had kept some for myself now!

    Definitely Val!

    Let me know how that goes Tadmack? Interesting stuff! Are you trying to use up your delivered veg box then?

    Aww, don't be sad Jen, they will replay it all again soon!

    We should do a come dine with me, next time you are through this way, another couple of local bloggers and we are there! I am counting Katie of course!

    Hi Shannon, thanks and I will think about it, it is not as obtrusive as I thought it might be!

    You will have to make some for Dave now that the statement is in print, Lisa! I think you would like it with much more ginger in it!

    Hi Hullaballoo, oh, no not with potatoes, I am begging you! Yuck! Not even as a joke!

    Yeah, Jamie at home is good, I avert my eyes when he does meaty stuff! Are you liking him Deb?

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  15. That's a great way to spend an evening. Want some company next time? Give me a call, I'll come over and we can have some of your amazing gingerbread. I LOVE gingerbread!

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  16. Well, I'm definitely going to be in Edinburgh in May for the huge Christian Aid booksale. They have a large cookbook section and the little old ladies who run it know Kate and me by sight... Up for it?

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  17. Well I think my problem would be waiting long enough for it to cool before adding the icing. Looks like it would have tasted wonderful!

    One of my favorite ever gingerbreads was a recipe I found for adding pumpkin and then serving warm with some warm caramel sauce and a dollop of whipped cream.

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  18. Ooo gingerbread loaf sounds good. I made one once but was disappointed as it was too molasses-y for me. I'd love to find a good gingerbread loaf recipe though. I've yet to try out any Nigella recipe.

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  19. My favourite kind of cake. Yours looks wonderful. And I kind of like it with lemon icing - I think the contrast is really good.
    Your evening of food programmes sounds heavenly - I too am a huge fan of 'Come dine with me'. Very amusing!

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  20. Hi Susan, you are welcome, but hope you have a private jet handy, I am going to watch the replay of Friday's Dine with me in an hour or so!

    Hi Jen, Let em know the date and I would love to come! Would Kate not mind?

    Hi Edi, Thanks for visiting!

    And to cake cooling, I can wait, but Graham has no patience for it!

    Hi Ashley, This one is fine, not too much of a molasses taste, but it could be improved my more ginger, in my opinion!

    Hi Antonia, I don't think I would bother with the icing next time, it just doesn't need it!

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  21. I was just going to say: MORE GINGER! I'd say 2 tbsp fresh, 1 tbsp powdered, 1/4 cup diced candied. And on top of that I'd add some black pepper, to make it even spicier!

    Sounds like a good base recipe, but a bit timid. ;)

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  22. Hey David, Black pepper sounds interesting and I will definitely be putting more ginger in next time!

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  23. Yep - it is, but it makes for a truly spicy gingerbread. T's got a recipe that calls for all that I mentioned plus vinegar! Talk about wild, but it was one of those cakes which just disappeared, you know? I mean, no topping, no butter, just ... gone. Sigh.

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