Cannot go wrong with this recipe. Adjust quantities of spices, syrup and treacle to suit. If you love a soft sticky treacle loaf then do try this recipe.
Great recipe only 2h 30 mins in the oven and you can be slightly flexible with the ingredients. Do give this a try, makes a fantastic cake !!. From Happy Baking.
Grease tin. Optionaly line with greaseproof paper or bacofoil.
Melt butter, syrup, treacle and sugar gently in a pan, allow to cool.
Mix together flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda
Pour contents of pan into the flour, mix slightly
Beat in egg andd milk.
Pour into prepared tin(s) - 9 nch round.square tin or 2x2lb loaf tines.
Bake in a moderate oven, 160c for 60 mins, Check as it may require 10-15 more mins in a loaf tin.
Turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool
Treacle Method
Vary the amounts of syrup and treacle to suit. Say 50g syrup and 200g treacle. You could go to 50g strup and 300g treacle for super soft and sticky. If you use 300g treacle you may find the resultant mixture slghtly too runny. In that case add in a bit more flour, say 25g-50g, and mix. Resultant mixture should fall off a vertical spoon but not run off the spoon, hope that makes sense. There has to be some viscosity.
Gingerbread Method Varying the Spices
Something to play around with to suit your personal preference.
Nutmeg and mixed spice can and be added in. I personally add in 1 tsp nutmeg increase the ginger to 2 tsp.
370g-500g puff pastry (bought to make it esy and quick)
400g sausages/sausage meat
1 beaten egg
Optional Ingredients
100g mature cheddar/stilton
2 tsp chili marinade
black pepper
1 sweet/eating apple
2 tbsp djon mustard
marmite (brush inside of pastry)
Chill Flakes
Plain Sausage Rolls
Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle roughly A4 size (30 x 21cm). Aiming to make at least 3 long sauusage rolls (10 x 21cm). If you are using a 500g pastry block you may manage 4 sausage rolls.
Score/cut the pastry rectangle into (10 x 21cm) strips.Cut the pastry into 10cm strips
Tip the sausage meat into a large bowl and give it a stir as you are not mixing it with anything. See below for alternaties.
As the sausages rolls are lattice sausage rolls place the meat in the centre of each 10cm strip of pastry. Cut lines on either side of the sausage meat, approx 1cm apart for the length of the pastry (ie. the 21cm)
Fold the strips alternately. ie. rigjt .. left ... right ... left over the sausage meat and try to ensure the ends are pressed towether as well as some of the strips to avoid the sausage meat escaping. Note. A lattice effect will have small gaps so precision is not that important. See image above
Place sausage rolls on a greased baking tray.
Brush the sausage roll with the beaten egg.
Preheat he oven to 200c and cook for 20 min or until golden brown.
Spicy Sausage Roll
vary quantities to suit
2 tsp chilli marinade or chilli flakes, say 1 tsp
ground pepper
2 tbsp djon mustard
marmite (brush inside of pastry prior to folding the lattice strips)
Add ingredients to sausage meat and mix well
Now follow steps above (ie. Plain Sausage Rolls)
Pork and Apple
Chop a eating apple into small pieces and add to sausage meat in he bowl and mix well.
Grease and line a deep cake tin with non-stick baking paper or use a non-stick 8-10 inch round cake tin.
Wash the fruits and drain through a sieve. Tip into a bowl and and pour the brandy over the mixture. Leave to steep overnight or for at least 6 hours. Another options is to buy brandy infused mixed fruit but it will be more expensive. You could also soak some of your fruit in whisky and dark sherry.
Preheat the oven to 140°c. Ensure all the ingredients are at room temperature.
Melt the butter and sugar together in a saucepan, stirring until well mixed, then pour into a mixing bowl.
Add the treacle and mix well. Then add the eggs and once again mix well.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and spices and fold in well. Then stir in the steeped fruit and remaining liquid, the glacé ginger and vanilla extract.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin and turn out when cold.
To store wrap in a double layer of greaseproof paper and a layer of foil. Store at room temperature to mature for up to 6 weeks prior to the event. Once covered in marzipan and icing, this cake will keep for a further 6 months at room temperature. Alternatively, store in the freezer wrapped in a double layer of greaseproof paper and double layer of foil pretty much indefinitely.
You can then marizipan and ice as required. Soft Fondant my preference.
Note: You can eat this cake sooner if required. However it will probably not last very long as everyone wll want a piece.
300-500g fruit (Raspberries or Summer Fruits work wonderfully well)
250-300ml double cream
Method
Make a fatless sponge for the bottom layer of the trifle. Alternately you can use an existing sponge, will save you some time.
To make the sponge break eggs into a bowl, lightly whisk, add sugar and whisk well until light and creamy. Lightly fold in the flour and bake for 30 mins at 180c. in a greased tin.
Once baked then use all of the sponge as the base. Cut sponge into segments and layer the base of the trifle bowl.
Add approx 150-180 ml of dark sherry. Use a quantity you are comfortable with. Port is another option but remember it will have a higher alcohol content.
Frozen Raspberries or Summer Fruits work really well. Blackcurrants are wonderful. 300-500g fine, empty bag of fruit over the sponge. If frozen defrost first to ensure you use all the juices.
500ml of custard poured over the fruit and place in the fridge once the custard has cooled to allow the custard to set. Custard powder, for milk, can speed this part up.
Last step is to whip the cream. Whip until you have stiff peaks, do no whip beyond this point otherwise cream will become grainy.
Place back in fridge to chill the cream.
That's it, can be quick and easy and will keep in the fridge for a few days.
Mix Flour and salt, rub in butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. (Use hand mixer will save you some time)
Pour in milk & mix to a soft dough
Kneed well and roll out. If the dough is too sticky then just add a little extra flour and continue kneeding. There should be sufficient for 2 x 10 inch pizza bases. Form a ball with the dough.
Grease 2 trays/pizza bases
Cut the dough ball in 2 and roll out each half to 10 inch circle or thereabouts and place on tray. Alternately roll out on tray itself. Pizza base will only be a few millimeters, that's fine.
Apply 100g tomato puree to each base. Optionally add garlic puree and chill puree, mix and spread well.
Add the toppings in whichever order you wish.
I tend to do the onions, mozzarella cheese in small pieces, mature cheddar cheese, mushrooms and salami.
ALternatley, make a vegetarian pizza with whatever you have to hand.