Afternoon tea- time of year.

Gingerbread is one of those much loved family treats that we regard as special and so here I have added this sticky stem ginger bread recipe as I feel it is the king of its kind.

Now simply spread it with good butter or have it as a pudding along with my Sticky Toffee Sauce and Thick Double Cream. The contrast between hot Gingerbread and Toffee sauce with a cool lick of thick double cream is truly

mesmerising.... yum, yum!

This is a typical style ginger bread recipe. Almost too much effort to the untrained eye but let me reassure you I will walk you through it Step by step, easy peasy.

Ingredients

 280g -10 oz plain flour

2tsp ground ginger

1tsp mixed spice

½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

115g-4oz butter

50g-2 oz treacle

150g-5 oz golden syrup

115g-4 oz stem ginger grated roughly ( keep back a dessert spoonful till I give you the nod!)

Method
1. Pre-heat your oven to 170 C/325 F/ Gas 3

 2. Grease and Line an 18cm/7 inch Square Cake tin or equivalent sized loaf tin

3. Gently heat the butter, treacle, golden syrup and sugar in a small sauce pan stirring occasionally until the fat has melted.

4. Sift Flour, ground ginger, mixed spice, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into an electric mixer bowl

5.Turn on mixer to a slow speed and pour treacle mixture and grated stem ginger onto the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Stop the mixer and Scrape around the bowl to be sure that all of the ingredients are being mixed and again mix again gently for a few more seconds

6. Pour Ginger bread mixture into the prepared tin and sprinkle with the remaining grated stem ginger and place in to the pre heated oven.

Bake for around 1 - 1 ¼ hours or until risen and just firm to the touch

7. Leave to stand for a good 10-15 minutes then turn out onto a wire wrack

8. Brush liberally with stem ginger syrup and allow to cool

9. For best results you should make this a day or 2 in advance as this allows

the sticky texture to develop

Toffee is an institution in its own right and for many good comforting reasons too. This recipe for toffee sauce is made with the three basic ingredients sugar, cream and butter and most undoubtedly not on the daily menu for slimmer’s!

Rich Toffee Sauce

Double cream - 1/2 pint
Demerara Sugar - 1/2lbs
Salted Butter - 4 oz

Put all ingredients in a 2-3 pint sized pot.
Gently bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins stirring frequently. Serve immediately.