COOKBOOKS GALORE

  I love ginger in all its forms.  As with all ginger cakes, this one is better the day after you've baked it, as its flavours can then  develop. This version has dates in it, hence the title I've chosen! So you need:  75g unsalted butter 100g dark muscovado sugar 125g black treacle 125g golden syrup 2 eggs 225g self raising flour 2 teaspoons ground ginger 50g stem ginger, finely chopped 75g dates pitted and finely chopped For the icing: 100g icing sugar 1 tbspn stem ginger syrup (from the jar of stem ginger) Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4                Line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment or a liner Put the butter, sugar, treacle and syrup in a pan and melt together over a gentle heat. Cool for about 5 mins before beating in the eggs. Fold in the flour and the ground ginger, then stir in the dates and chopped ginger. Spoon into the tin and bake for about 50 mins. Cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn out onto a wire rac...

I recently bought a set of 4 mini pudding basins, so had to try them out. I love the combination of chocolate and ginger so decided these flavours would be in my little sponge puddings. The only drawback to these puds is that they need to be steamed. Maybe you could do them in the microwave? Have made a large sponge pudding in my microwave, so perhaps these little ones would work too? Lightly grease 4 small pudding basins [ I got mine from Lakeland]. Put 100g soft margarine or butter, 100g sr flour, 100g caster sugar, 25g cocoa powder and 2 eggs in a bowl and beat together. Chop up 25g dark chocolate and 50g stem ginger and add to the batter. Spoon between the 4 basins  up to 3/4 full. Cover the top with circles of parchment paper then a pleated piece of foil. Steam for about 45 mins till puddings are springy and cooked. To serve with them  - chocolate custard. Beat 2 egg yolks with 1 tbspn caster sugar and 1 tbspn cornflour to make a nice smooth paste. Heat 300ml...

Another one of my favourite loaf cake recipes. This one uses stem ginger to give a better flavour than ground ginger. I've found a similar shop to the much missed [by me anyway] Julian Graves stores, so I stocked up on walnuts and dried fruit, including apricots. This such a quick loaf to make, and you can chose whether to ice it or not. I think the recipe is a WI one, as my mil gave it to me, and she usually used their recipes. Preheat oven 180C/gas4 and grease and line a 900g loaf tin. In a large bowl put 115g wholemeal flour, 115g plain flour, 11/2tspns baking powder, 150g soft brown sugar, 115g soft butter, pinch salt, 2 beaten eggs, zest of a lemon and 2 tbspns of milk - beat it all together with an electric hand mixer. Stir in 175g chopped dried apricots [the no soak ones] and add 3 pieces of stem ginger chopped finely together with 4 tbspns of the ginger syrup. Finely slice a 4th piece of ginger and keep for the top. Spoon mixture into the tin, level, then arrange the 4...

I haven't made a loaf cake for a while, but having a sort out of my baking cupboard, I found some wholemeal flour, stem ginger and a bag of dried apricots that needed using. Thought they'd make a good combination in a loaf cake. I find using just wholemeal flour make cakes too heavy for my taste, so I always do half wholemeal and half white. It's a quick loaf to make - preheat your oven to 180C/gas 4 and grease a 900g loaf tin. Put 115g wholemeal flour and 115g plain flour in a bowl with 11/2 tspns of baking powder. Add 150g soft light brown sugar, 115g butter, 2 eggs, zest of a lemon and 2 tbspn of milk. Beat together using an electric mixer for about 2 mins then fold in 175g of dried apricots [not the ones you have to soak] which have been chopped. Finely chop 3 pieces of stem ginger and you need 4 tbspns of the syrup from the jar, Add these to the cake mixture. Thinly slice 1 more piece of stem ginger. Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and level the top, then arra...