Chocolate Ginger Cake, Great With A Cuppa, Or As A Pud.

There’s nothing like a slice of cake on a dull dark afternoon to cheer the soul. I do love cake but I don’t particularly like icing, it’s too sweet.

Gran’s Wartime Ginger Cake is a firm favourite with everyone who has tried it. It’s also suitable for vegans, and it’s great warm with some custard, cream or ice cream as a pudding. You can find the recipe here.

I thought it might be an idea to try a chocolate version of this cake. I found half a jar of stem ginger in syrup the fridge that needed using up so chocolate ginger cake it is. Chocolate on it’s own would work well but then I would add all the golden syrup to the recipe, chocolate chips would be good but there’s the possibility they will sink. Dusting them in flour i meant to help prevent fruit sinking so that might work, I will have to try it next time.

Chocolate and Stem Ginger Cake.

2 cups plain flour minus 2 tablespoons.

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup sugar

4 oz butter or margarine

1 cup hot water

pinch of salt

2 large tablespoons stem ginger in syrup, chopped fine

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon of baking powder

vinegar

Method

Grease and line a loaf tin

Heat the oven to gas mark 4 or 180 C

1. Melt the fat and golden syrup (if using ) in the water
2. Sieve the flour into a bowl with the sugar and salt
3. Make a well and pour in the liquid and stir in the ginger.
4. Mix the bicarbonate of soda and baking powder with some vinegar in a cup, it will froth up, quickly pour into the mixture and beat everything together. Pour into the tin and bake for about an hour, watch the top doesn’t burn.

My cake sank a little as I took it out of the oven too soon, my main oven is broken so I cooked it in a combi microwave. It still tasted good.

It’s nice and chocolatey, squidgy with a lovely lovely warm ginger note, again this cake would be great as a pudding with some ice cream or clotted cream.

I ate it in front of the fire with a mug of tea after a bracing walk, it was just the job.