Name: Sticky ginger lemon drizzle cake
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: Cuts into 12 slices
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 140g butter cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing; 300g self-raising flour; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 4 tsp ground ginger; 2 tsp mixed spice; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 140g dark muscovado sugar; 140g black treacle; 140g golden syrup; 300ml whole milk; 1 large egg; zest and juice 1 lemon; 50g granulated sugar; 50g preserving sugar or crushed sugar cubes; about ½ jar good lemon curd; 2 balls stem ginger diced; 4 tbsp syrup from the stem ginger jar; 100g soft cheese; 200ml double cream; 3 tbsp icing sugar sieved

140g butter
cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
300g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
140g dark muscovado sugar
140g black treacle
140g golden syrup
300ml whole milk
1 large egg

For the lemon drizzle

zest and juice 1 lemon
50g granulated sugar
50g preserving sugar
or crushed sugar cubes

For the lemon curd filling

about ½ jar good lemon curd
2 balls stem ginger
diced

For the creamy icing

4 tbsp syrup
from the stem ginger jar
100g soft cheese
200ml double cream
3 tbsp icing sugar
sieved

Method

step 1
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line a deep 20cm round cake tin with baking parchment. Put the flour, bicarb and all the spices in a food processor, add the butter and whizz until it has disappeared, then tip into a mixing bowl (or rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs).
step 2
Put the sugar, treacle, golden syrup and milk in a saucepan and heat, stirring gently, until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to just below boiling point.
step 3
Pour the treacle mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon as you go. Beat in the egg until the mixture resembles a thick pancake batter. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50 mins-1 hr, until a skewer poked in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
step 4
Split the cake through the middle. For the drizzle, stir the lemon zest and juice into the sugars, then immediately spoon all over the top half of the cake.
step 5
For the filling, mix the lemon curd with the diced ginger. For the icing, beat together the ginger syrup, soft cheese, cream and icing sugar until thick enough to hold its shape. Spread the lemon curd filling all over the cut side of the bottom cake, dollop the creamy icing on top, then sandwich with the other half of the cake. The unfilled ginger cake will mature well for up to 3-4 days if wrapped well in baking parchment then foil.