Dark Chocolate and Ginger Cake

A ginger preserve cake with dark chocolate for extra indulgence.

Cake ingredients;

200g Butter (Unsalted preferable)

175g Brown Sugar

2 tbs Golden Syrup

1 tbs Black Treacle

175ml Milk

2 eggs

250g Self-Raising Flour

50g Coca powder

2 tsp Ground Ginger

1 tbs Freshly grated ginger

1tsp baking powder

Syrup ingredients;

Fresh Ginger

Water

Sugar

Icing ingredients;

300g Dark Chocolate

200 ml Double Cream

4 tsp Ground Ginger

Flaked almonds

Cake;

Melt the butter over a low heat, add the sugar, golden syrup, treacle and stir thoroughly. Don't let this mixture get too hot or start boil. Set this aside and allow it to cool slightly before adding the milk, lukewarm is ideal. Beat the eggs -one at a time- into the mixture. It is very important the mixture is not at all hot otherwise you will cook your eggs in the sugar-syrup-buttery mix.

Sift the flower, coca, ginger and baking powder together. Stir in the ginger.

Take your wet mixture, and add it bit by bit to the dry mixture.

Fold it in with a wooden spoon to keep the air in it.

Put all of this into a tin which has been greased and lined with baking paper, stick it in the oven at 180c and let it cook for anywhere between 40-50 minutes. Or until its cooked through. Its better to cook this cake slowly on a low heat, it shouldn't dry out.

Syrup;

While the cake is cooking peel some more fresh ginger and slice it. Add this to a pan along with some water and sugar and boil it down to make the syrup.

Once the cake has cooled, use a toothpick or somesuch instrument to pierce holes in the cake. Pour the syrup over the cake. Wrap in tin foil and leave for 2-3 days. I was only able to leave mine overnight and the ginger taste was still very strong, the longer you leave it the further the tastes will mature.

Icing;

Melt the chocolate in a metal bowl over a pan of boiling water. Add the cream and the ginger and stir well.

Then, ice the cake.

Dry-pan the almonds until they are lightly toasted, sprinkle liberally on the top of the cake.

Then sit down and enjoy, possibly with a glass of brandy.