Ginger Cake

Hello!!! I've been very irregular, what with moving house and some weddings I've had to cater for. I've had quite a lot on my plate, but i wouldn't give any of it up for the world. Anyway, I'm back now. To prove it, I'm putting up 3 blog posts today with step by step recipes.

My first recipe today is a Ginger Cake. I adapted the recipe from David Lebovitz, who is one of my idols, by the way. If you didn't already know, let me shout it out: I LOVE GINGER! Especially in sweets, ginger cookies, ginger beer, crystallised ginger, etc. I also love France, where David lives now, but that's another story.

I love this cake, I always have some of it in the freezer. On cold mornings or nights, I love to microwave some and have with a hot cup of Ovaltine. It's also the only cake my Dad will eat, as it's not overly sweet.

If you make this, please leave me feedback.
FRESH GINGER CAKE

Ingredients

4 ounces fresh ginger (about 3/4 cup after grating)
1 cup mild molasses (I used Golden Syrup)
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs, at room temperature

Method

Position the oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 by 3inch round cake pan with a circle of parchment paper.
Blend the ginger with the cup of water. Mix together the molasses, sugar, and oil. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper.
Bring the ginger water to the boil in a saucepan, stir in the baking soda, and then mix the hot water into the molasses mixture.
Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the batter. Add the eggs, and continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 1 hour, until the top of the cake springs back lightly when pressed or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top of the cake browns too quickly before the cake is done, drape a piece of foil over it and continue baking.
Cool the cake for at least 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Remove the cake from the pan and peel off the parchment paper.

* I wanted to share this cake with a neighbour, so I used two 8 by 2 inch pans.

If I can, you can,

Deema