That plan's out the window..

By the time I'd got to the last dozen or so recipes, I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to make and when. This weekend, I intended to head down to Timaru and help Mum and Dad move house, inevitably proffering some Edmonds baking, namely a ginger cake (p48).


Sadly, I caught a head cold that's been doing the rounds at work, and despite repeated doses of hot blackcurrant and extra sleep, I haven't managed to get rid of it yet. While I'm not actually incapacitated, it would be a very bad idea to take my germs to Timaru, where Mum and Dad, worn out from weeks of packing and house-moving stress, would fall easy prey to my greeblies.


So I'm stuck at home, but still had to make the cake. I guess I'll just have to eat it myself.


I started by creaming butter, sugar and golden syrup. The next step is to sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and mixed spice into a separate bowl, and beat eggs in yet another. Then you add the dry ingredients and the eggs alternately to the bowl, and mix that all in.


This makes a fairly stiff dough, and you have to mix it quite a lot to get it all combined. The next additions of walnuts and crystallised ginger are supposed to be stirred in as well, but I figured that could wait until I'd made the final addition - baking soda dissolved in milk.


It was 3/4 cup of milk, which is a fair bit of liquid to try and combine with something of a dough-like consistency. It made for a sloppy, lumpy mixture in the end. I have to say I don't understand the reasoning behind this sort of method. Would it really come out any different if I'd just bunged it all in together and mixed it up? It would dirty fewer bowls, anyway.


I'd been unusually organised and prepared my tin in advance, lining it first with brown paper and then baking paper. I poured my cake mixture in, spread it out as evenly as possible, and placed the cake in the oven.


After 35 minutes, I took the cake out and left it in the tin for another 10, then took it out to cool on a wire rack. I gave the cake a little time to cool before cutting a slice. I was surprised at the soft, light texture; I guess I was expecting something a bit more dense. The ginger flavour is understated, though it's quite pleasant to come across the occasional chunk of crystallised ginger as a little burst of flavour.


So not a bad cake, really. Pity I couldn't share it with Mum and Dad!