The best Ginger Loaf

It was one of those days. I had to come up with something quick, easy to make and delicious that would satisfy a crowd. Yesterday the builders were back and I had a food blogger friend, Anne, coming for afternoon tea. Whatever I baked it needed to appeal to a couple of big burly blokes and one discerning food lover.

I think it passed the test. Still warm, one loaf was gone by morning tea (they loved it) - just as well I held back the other one to ensure my friend and I got some later in the day! 

The loaf has to be smeared with lashings of butter - not margarine - just think you are helping rebuild Fonterra's profits - don't hold back - it adds to the experience!

With all the sugar in the mix it is definitely not for diabetics and although nearly a tin of golden syrup seems excessive it helps make it the most glorious, gingery, moist sweet thing to have with coffee or dessert (with whipped cream of course) EVER!

The recipe says it will make three loaves, I made mine in two tins, one medium size and one much larger. If you do this, obviously one will take longer to cook than the other. About three quarters through the cooking I placed a piece of tin foil over the top. I have found they may burn slightly on top if not watched. And if need be, adjust the temperature for your fan oven.

For peace of mind I lined my tins as well

Not concentrating and listening to the radio, I made a mistake and added allspice instead of mixed spice - but it didn't seem to matter with the final result.

It is a relatively new recipe for me. I had previously ordered the Ginger Loaf at The Penthouse Cinema Cafe (pretty much the only theatre we go to) so when I spotted it in the paper it was duly filed away for future use. I love that it can be all piled into one large bowl and mixed, but just a tip - it does take a while to get the whole mixture well blended so take the time to ensure that it is.

A recipe this size really does come in handy. For me, making three loaves means one can go to the cake stall, one to slice for my Old Girls morning tea and one to pop in the freezer for those unexpected guests. Perfect! Oh, and by the way it passed the taste test with Anne too! We ate it with a nice cup of Earl Grey tea along with the faint smell of her beautiful freshly picked Daphne in the air.

Ginger Loaf (The Penthouse Cinema Café – as in Dominion Post)

4 cups of flour

2 cups of brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

2tsp baking powder

4 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp ground cinnamon

850g golden syrup

250g butter roughly chopped

4 eggs lightly beaten

2 cups milk

Method

Preheat oven to 160 °C.  Grease and line three loaf tins.

Sift all the dry ingredients together. Combine the eggs with the milk.

Melt the butter and the golden syrup together.

Add the syrup/butter mixture to the dry ingredients, followed by the egg and milk mixture.

Whisk well until combined.

Note this is a very wet mix.

Pour into greased loaf tins.

Cook for 60 minutes, then leave to cool in the tins overnight. (I didn't do this step and they were fine - just cool a little, remove from tin and place them on a cake rack).