It must have been fate. As I was about to leave for my office I decided, in an act of last-ditch procrastination, to review Belinda Jeffries’ recipe for what she calls ‘Really good gingerbread’ in this month’s Delicious. Within seconds I realised that (a) I had most ingredients on hand, including a half-used carton of buttermilk fated to be thrown out in a few days, and that (b) such a confection would solve my dessert problems, as I was having friends over for dinner that night and was going to ask them to bring something.
Within seconds I’d cast off my coat and was bum-up in my kitchen cabinets. My crappy aluminium square cake tin from Safeway hadn’t survived the move into the current house, so the only cake tin in my cupboards is a springform, so I just used that. I also didn’t have any fresh ginger, and I’d used the last of the bicarb to scrub down the stovetop. Still, I persisted as I live life on the edge. What’s more, I also managed to cook a few sorry, soon to be binned vegetables into a delicious lunch. I am astounded by my own efficiency.
Spontaneous Gingerbread
Adapted from the June Delicious.
- 1 1/2 cups plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- Few grinds black pepper
- 125g butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
- 2 eggs
- Grated zest of a lemon
- 1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
- 1 1/2 vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C. Take your 20cm cake tin of choice, whether square, round or springform, and go over it with a cooking oil spray. Cut a piece of baking paper to fit the base and line the base of the tin. Spray once more with coking oil spray.
Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the molasses and beat again until well combined, then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Put aside the mixer, resting the beaters on something so you can use it again, and sternly fold in the lemon zest using a spatula. Sift in the flour, baking powder and spices, and fold into the butter mixture using a spatula until well combined. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and beat with the mixer on low speed until just combined.
Scrape the batter into your prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes in the tin, then invert onto the rack to cool completely. Feel efficient.
