During the winter months, I love baking warmly spiced cakes. In the lead up to Christmas, my house is often filled with the fragrant scents of gingerbread spices. So I’ve created this bundt cake recipe that captures the flavours and scents of gingerbread in a moist and delicious cake. The maple glaze is the perfect match for this spiced cake – you have to try it to see! The cake is straightforward to make and a great bake for chilly weekends. Go for an invigorating stroll outdoors and have this ready to return to with a steaming cup of tea!
Cake Ingredients:
320g plain flour
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1tbsp cocoa powder
250g dark muscovado sugar
100ml golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 free-range eggs
180g butter
1 cup water
Clementine zest x 2
Maple icing glaze:
50g icing sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2-3tbsp maple syrup
Equipment: 10 cup (2.4 litre) Bundt pan (I love Nordicware – their pans are so easy to use and very reliable)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180deg C and grease the bundt pan with melted butter. Apply a light coating of flour and tap out the excess.
Beat together the butter, sugar and golden syrup until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla extract and one egg at a time to the mix, ensuring they are well combined. A tablespoon of flour will prevent the mixture from curdling.
Sift together the flour, spices, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
Add the dry ingredients, along with the zest to the wet mixture. Alternate the additions with the water. When fully combined, pour the mixture into the bundt pan and place in the centre of the oven. Leave to cook for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is completely cooked through. You can insert a skewer into the centre of the cake to check if it’s fully baked.
When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to completely cool before removing from the pan.
Prepare the maple icing glaze. Sift the icing sugar and ground cinnamon into a bowl. Add the vanilla extract, then add the maple syrup gradually until you have the desired pouring consistency and then pour onto the cake.
