Squidgy lemon-ginger cake

Squidgy lemon-ginger cake

This dense, sticky ginger cake is easy to make and a great Sunday teatime treat

Recipe uploaded by

5
 stars 7 ratings

Everyone would make this again

Recipe by Xanthe Clay

Tested

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts into 12 slices

Preperation and cooking times

Ready in 2 hours, plus cooling
Freezable

Freezable when undecorated

Method

  1. Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter and line a 20cm round cake tin (about 8cm deep) with baking parchment. Put dates in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Heat the butter in a small pan until melted, and stir in the sugar. Allow to cool slightly.
  2. Beat in the eggs, ginger and lemon zest. Drain the dates and chop them finely. Scrape them into the pan too, and mix well. Stir in the flour, then apple. Spoon into the cake tin, put the tin on a baking sheet (this stops the base browning too much) then bake for about 1¼ hrs, until well risen. A skewer stuck into the cake should come out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Leave it to cool in the tin.
  3. Break the white chocolate into a non-metallic bowl. Heat in the microwave, on medium setting, in one minute bursts until melted (or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water). Remove the cake from the tin and peel off the paper. Trickle the chocolate over the cake, scatter with the crystallised lemon peel and coffee crystals and leave to set before serving. If well wrapped, the cake keeps for at least a week - it just gets better and better. Or, wrap the cooled cake in several layers of cling film before decorating, and freeze for up to two months.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2005.

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Per slice

376 kcalories, protein 4g, carbohydrate 57g, fat 16 g, saturated fat 9g, fibre 2g, salt 0.53 g

Taste team comment

'It was an extremely easy cake to make and good for a beginner. A great Sunday teatime treat, it would be lovely slightly warmed with double cream or crème fraîche.'

Latest comments and suggestions

  • 09 November 2007

    cass rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    everyone loves this cake. EVERYONE.

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  • 14 December 2007

    doshis commented on this recipe

    hi it was lovely cake and im going to make it for christmas as some dont like christmas cake thanks doshis

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  • 01 January 2008

    Clare rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Yummy!!

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  • 14 January 2008

    Louise rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This cake was absolutely delicious. It took a long time to grate all that ginger but it was worth it. My daughter wants me to make it for her next birthday!

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  • 12 February 2008

    jax food1458 commented on this recipe

    This was great and sooooooooooo delicious!!!!

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  • 07 April 2008

    linkevica rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    very delicious but it takes some effort.

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  • 13 April 2008

    sally rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really, really good, I am not keen on cake but loved this.

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  • 10 May 2008

    Alison commented on this recipe

    This is an excellent recipe, and really easy to make.

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  • 10 May 2008

    Alison rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 07 June 2008

    stoof rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 07 June 2008

    stoof commented on this recipe

    forgot to say - i've never bothered with the topping!

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts into 12 slices

Preperation and cooking times

Ready in 2 hours, plus cooling
Freezable

Freezable when undecorated

Improves with keeping, if it lasts!

Ingredients

  • 200g dates , stoned
  • 200g butter , cut in pieces
  • 300g dark muscovado sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 50g fresh or frozen root ginger , grated
  • 1 lemon , grated zest
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • 1 Bramley apple (about 250g/9oz) peeled and chopped into pea-sized pieces
  • 50g white chocolate
  • 1 tbsp chopped candied lemon peel, to decorate
  • 1 tbsp sugar 'coffee crystals', to decorate
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Per slice

376 kcalories, protein 4g, carbohydrate 57g, fat 16 g, saturated fat 9g, fibre 2g, salt 0.53 g

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