Moist ginger cake, with no ginger!

My mother used to make this lovely soft cake so I rewrote the recipe without the ginger and it tastes darkly caramel with the brown sugars and syrup and a dash of treacle.

It is fun adapting recipes for the Low Chemical Diet as you can adjust amounts depending on your tolerance of salicylate, and the size of your piece of cake each day.

Diet tolerance hint: You can decide if you use any dark brown sugar or treacle at all. I have used a little of both here to give a rich flavour.

Number of serves: 16 – 20

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking temperature: 200°C

Cooking time: 60 min

A low risk test for the Low Chemical Diet

Stays soft out of the refrigerator for a few days then store cool to avoid becoming stale

Utensils: 20cm cake tin

To line base of cooking pan:

Use butter wrap from 500 gm butter pack or cooking paper. Coat tin with butter and shake a dessertspoon flour over it. Then line it with the butter paper 

Ingredients for cake:

• 170 gm (6 oz)  butter
• 140 gm (5oz) 2/3 cup brown sugar, ( or use 1/3 cup brown and 1/3 dark brown )
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup golden syrup (or ½ cup golden syrup and 1 tablespoon treacle)
• 2 cups plain flour – may be gluten-free. If so add I teaspoon xanthum gum to decrease crumbling
• 40 ml tolerated milk or water. Use less if using gluten-free flour
• 1 1/3 teaspoons bicarb soda
• 40 ml (1 tablespoon) boiling water                                      

Method:

1. Turn oven on
2. Grease cake cooking pan, or line with cooking paper
3. Cream butter and sugars, add eggs and mix until creamy
4. Add in golden syrup (and treacle if desired)
5. Fold in flour and milk alternately until all flour is mixed in
6. Boil 40 ml water in microwave and add the bicarb soda which will bubble
7. Stir into mixture quickly and pour into cake pan and place in oven.
8. Turn timer on for 50 minutes and test with skewer or note if cake has left the sides of the pan (Another indicator that cake may be cooked.) If skewer comes out clean remove from oven
9. Use a knife to ensure it has left the sides all around the cake
10. allow to stand 5 minutes then turn out on cake cooler and allow to cool. Then turn on to serving plate.

Serving suggestions

Serve as hot pudding with stewed or canned pear and cream, or tolerated milk custard, or ice cream

Serve as cake with tea breaks

( Optional: if you wish to test your tolerance of ginger you can begin by adding 1 teaspoon. The original recipe included 3 dessertspoon dry ginger powder mixed with flour. )