Gma turned a 101 in May here’s her comforting classic that pairs beautifully with a dram of good whisky.
This is what I call a Granny classic. It is so moist and sticky that it doesn’t need any butter — although please feel free to smear a little on if you wish! It is best made a day or two in advance and it keeps moreishly moist for more than a week.
Once I have a dram in one hand and a piece of this gingerbread in the other, my biggest problem is not eating the whole loaf. Whiskies that are fruity and spicy, rich and round, creamy or oily — the Glenlivet and Macallan 18-year-olds, Craigellachie 14 and Clynelish 14 — are made for this.Serves 8-10
Ingredients
225g self-raising flour1 tsp bicarbonate of soda2 tbsp ground ginger1 tbsp ground cinnamon2 tsp mixed spice110g chilled butter110g treacle110g golden syrup300ml milk110g muscovado sugar1 egg, beaten
Method
1. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin. Preheat the oven to 180C (200C non-fan). Sift the flour with the bicarbonate of soda and spices into a bowl.
2. Dice the butter and rub it into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. In a small pot, melt the treacle and syrup together. In another small pot, heat the milk with the sugar until it dissolves, but don’t let it boil. Leave both pots to cool to blood heat or lukewarm.
3. Using a balloon whisk, beat the milk into the flour mixture, followed by the treacle/syrup and then the egg. Tip the batter into your prepared tin and pop in the oven for 45 min to an hour. It is ready when firm and springy to touch and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
4. Leave the gingerbread to cool in the tin before turning it out and wrapping in greaseproof paper. Store in a tin for a day or two before eating.