Sticky ginger loaf - A revelation

I am on a baking spree; more specifically on a spree of baking cakes. And I am baking like there is no tomorrow. When this incessant bug hits me then it is pretty much chaos in the hearth. It does not matter that certain ingredients are not available. I either go the whole length of making them from a scratch (case in point : cream cheese) or take the easy way out (substitution).

Of course it does help that I have excuses in the form of celebrations owing to kids and hubby's birthday. I do need to bake them a cake right ? How else would I express my gratitude for their ever ready nod to be my doting guinea pigs :D 

This month's hush-hush week for AGC was assigned by Roshni and it is Ginger. I so love the gnarly root for its  healing properties and if you know me well then you will know that I am totally addicted to ginger tea. The versatility of the root because of its all round taste makes it a winner in a variety of dishes. 

My fridge is never short of ginger and the pantry too has a good stock of dry ginger powder/dry ginger. So for the AGC this month I decided on baking a ginger cake that I have been meaning to bake for quite some time but had not gotten around to. This sticky loaf has ginger written all over it. But it is not overpowering. The ginger in the loaf is a revelation and the ginger syrup that we so unabashedly topped it for every slice was sensational. The bake was devoured with a vengence. If the cake tastes as good as this sticky ginger loaf then the weighing scales be damned :P

I made the ginger syrup from a scratch with a little help from Wiki How. And it ain't a rocket science ---

For the ginger syrup :-

• Water- 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Fresh Ginger - 1/4 cup (thinly sliced or grated)
• Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp

Mix the water and sugar and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer till the sugar dissolves completely. Now tip in the ginger and let the whole mix stew on a low flame for 15-20 minutes.

Drain the syrup and set aside the ginger. The ginger syrup as well as the candied ginger is ready to be used in a variety of ways - for the cake, in the tea, for ginger ale and many more ---

The recipe for the cake is from the book Traditional Family Cakes and is a keeper recipe. I substituted golden syrup with honey and used normal white sugar in place of dark muscovado sugar. 

Ingredients:-

• Plain White Flour - 175 grams
• Baking Powder - 1 tbsp
• Dry Ginger Powder/Ground Ginger - 1//2 to 3/4 tbsp
• Sunflower Oil - 175 ml  {+ for greasing}
• Sugar - 85 grams
• Honey - 85 grams
• Eggs - 3 (beaten)
• Candied ginger - 3 to 4 pieces (finely chopped) {Recipe above}

Here's How :-

Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F. Grease and line the loaf tin. Sift the flour,baking powder and ground ginger in to a large bowl. Add the oil,sugar,honey and eggs and beat them well to a smooth batter. Stir in the chopped candied ginger.

Tip in the mixture to the prepared tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 50- 55 minutes or until well risen and firm.

Leave it to cool for 10 minutes then turn out  and finish cooling on a wire rack. To serve brush the top of the cake with ginger surp and candied ginger (if you please)

Slice and serve