It was Madame's birthday and we did a special event for people who could walk home. For once we had a party catered. And beautifully done it was by Sharon Hage. But I wanted to make the cake. After all, I can't help myself - meddling in the kitchen.
Madame's favorite flavors in a cake are ginger/spicy - almost ginger bread like. So I scoured recipe sources - including old handwritten recipes from my grandmother and mother. I came up with this (note, I weigh most ingredients and use metric measurements - except for the spices, and leavening):
Ingredients - Cake
210 gm butter (unsalted, high butterfat - I used Kerry Gold
Small pinch of salt
75 gm Black treacle (like molasses, but not as pungent)
200 gm Dark brown sugar
230 gm Golden Syrup - commonly used in British cooking
4 Large eggs
250 ml whole milk (I made this using 2% and 1/2 and 1/2)
410 gm All purpose flour
4 tsp Double acting baking powder
3 tbsp Ground ginger
3 Cloves - ground fine
1/4 tsp Anise seeds - ground fine
1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp Ground black pepper
200 gm crystallized ginger roughly chopped into bite sized pieces
Ingredients - Ginger Butter Cream
220 gm butter (unsalted, high butterfat)
3 or 4 grains Kosher or sea salt
440 gm Powdered sugar
3 tsp Ground ginger
3 tbsp Liber brand ginger cocktail syrup
Method - Cake
Preheat fan assist oven to 320F (350F if not using fan assiste feature).
Grease 2 8" cake tins, and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
In a saucier or other suitable saucepan warm the butter, treacle, sugar, salt, golden syrup over low heat until the butter is melted. Leave to cool.
Meanwhile whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger and other spices. Put the eggs and milk into a large mixing bow and whisk to combine.
Once the pan has cooled, pour the contents into the egg/milk mixture and whisk to combine. When well combined, whisk in the flour. Do this all at once, no need to be overly gareful here.
When the flour is incorporated, stir in the crystallized ginger incorporating it all through the batter.
Divide the batter equally between the cake tins. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes. Rotate the pans (even in my fan assist oven, I do this as a safety measure). Bake for another 15 - 20 minutes - until a toothpick inserted comes out with no crumbs.
Leave to cool in the tins. Turn out onto a cooling rack and level the tops if they are slightly domed.
Method - Butter Cream
Make sure the butter is at cool room temperature (65- 68F). In a stand mixer beat the butter until it is thoroughly soft. Add the salt and powdered sugar a large spoonful at a time. This prevents the sugar from flying everywhere.
Once the sugar is fully incorporated, add the ginger syrup and beat for a little longer.
Assembly
When the cake is thoroughly cold, peel off the parchment paper from the base of each layer. Place the first layer on your stand (or plate, or whatever). Spread a thin layer of the buttercream (about 1/3 of the total buttercream) evenly over the bottom layer. Put the second layer on top, aligning with the bottom layer. Spread another third of the buttercream on the top. And then pipe small rosettes on top using the remaining butter cream. Allow to cool, and serve.
Note: Licking the buttercream bowl and beaters is mandatory once the cake is iced!
