Piece of life
Tea time is approaching, and my kitchen is filled with the delicious smell of spices… the gingerbread is almost cooked! And gingerbread is a family tradition every year in December.
For me, gingerbread is associated with St. Nicholas. My mother is from the east of France, where St. Nicholas is largely celebrated. And so from December 6th, we were having gingerbread in all forms and shapes. We had a lot of small individual bags with gingerbread cookies, and there was even a picture of St. Nicholas in each bag. When my parents came last year to spend the holidays with us, they brought me some gingerbread bags, the same as in my childhood. I might as well tell you that they didn’t last long…
I cook my gingerbread every year and start as soon as the temperatures drop; why wait until Dec. 6th ?! As a cookie (click here for the recipe) or in a cake, I simply can’t resist. But I’ll admit that I have a little preference for gingerbread cake.
About the gingerbread cake
Easy and fast to prepare, rich in flavour, and so tasty. The recipe requires no elaborate techniques, and I’m willing to bet you already have all the ingredients at home. So there’s no reason not to make your gingerbread.
1/ I like to use a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat flour, but you could use all-purpose flour only.
2/I prefer brown sugar; its taste is more pronounced, but again it’s a matter of taste; you can replace it with granulated sugar.
3/ I use light honey, but you could use one with a stronger taste.
4/ I add a little touch of jam because it makes the cake even tastier, but it’s optional. If you choose to add it, I recommend apricot jam, orange marmalade or chestnut cream.
Now that it’s ready make yourself comfortable and enjoy your gingerbread with a nice cup of hot tea; everything should be fine.
Gingerbread cake
Équipements
Ingredients
- 300 g flour (half all purpose, half whole wheat for me)
- 2 eggs
- 125 g butter
- 120 g honey
- 150 g brown sugar
- 100 ml milk
- 1 tbsp gingerbread spices
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp jam (apricot, orange or chestnut if possible)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
- In a bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Put the sugar and eggs in a bowl and whisk.
- In a pan melt the butter with the honey and milk. Add the tablespoon of jam to the mixture, then pour over the sugar/egg mixture. Continue to whisk.
- Add the dry ingredient mixture. Mix.
- Greased and floured the mould. Add the dough. Bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is cooked.
