Halloween spiced ginger cake

I love a really sticky and spicy ginger cake. It's the sort of food that seems so appropriate for this time of year, when the clocks have gone back, the temperature is dropping and the landscape is changing from the lush green of summer to the austere bleakness of winter.

It's also a time for celebration with Halloween and Bonfire Night just a week apart. And it also provides a gentle introduction to the spice fest that is the Christmas feasting period.

I made this cake earlier in the week and decided to give it a Halloween feel by adding skull and bone marshmallows that I found in a local shop. However I normally serve it on its' own, with a cup of tea or coffee and snuggled down beside the fire.

One word of warning however, do not serve this the day you make it. It will be quite dry and uninspiring. What it needs is to be wrapped in foil and stored in a cool place for at least three days to allow the flavours to develop and the cake to take on its' sticky moreish characteristics. If you can bear to wait a full seven days, then even better.

Because I like a really ginger taste in mine, I have used both dried and fresh ginger. If you are using fresh, then you can be as daring as you want, my quantities are just a guideline. If too much spice is not your thing,then you can just stick to the dried spices. Anyway I hope you enjoy and look forward to receiving your comments.

I made my cake in a 7 inch tin; you can make it in an 8 inch but it will be slightly flatter.

Ingredients

175 grams of black treacle
40 grams of soft brown sugar, either light or dark but dark will give you a fuller flavour
75 grams of unsalted butter
175 grams of plain flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
A 20 gram of piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
Half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
100ml of whole milk
2 eggs, beaten

Method

First of all grease and line the base of your cake tin and heat the oven to 170 degrees (fan)

Next place the treacle, butter and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently until melted and combined. You will need to stir a couple of time to prevent the butter and sugar burning and sticking to the bottom. Set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile sift the flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl.

Grate the ginger into the treacle/butter/sugar and stir well. Pour into the dry ingredients.

Next add the milk, followed by the beaten eggs. Mix quickly and thoroughly as the bicarbonate of soda will start working once the wet ingredients are added. Pour into the prepared cake tin. Do not worry at this stage, the batter will be very liquid.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for between one hour and one hour and fifteen minutes (test after and hour). The cake is cooked when a skewer comes out clean.

When cooked remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before removing and leaving to cook on a rack. When cool wrap in foil and leave in a cool place for a minimum of three days.