Sponge Ginger Bread

I'm currently on holiday from work, which has been a lovely thing. However I don't get to see the lovely people I work with each day! (Disclaimer: it's but a simple coincidence that some of my colleagues read this blog...ahem...). I also have lost my steady stream of food tasters/guinea pigs for a short period.

This declaration of free time may lead one to believe that I have been able to cook lots and lots of my Nanna's recipes. Unfortunately not. I have been visiting all the sights of South East Queensland instead, and I have a million photos of koalas and kangaroos to yet sort through and share! Until I get myself organised, here is a photo of me shaking a kangaroo's hand/paw to get you through. LOOK HOW GIANT IT IS! And the koala! And I saw whales! Dolphins! and Other Assorted Wildlife while hanging out on a beach at Byron Bay. That was utterly blissful. 

I did manage to cook Sponge Ginger  Bread, quite possibly the sweetest cake yet made. It has sugar AND Golden Syrup in it. When eating this, I recommend you serve only the tiniest of tiny pieces, or have strong tea on hand to offset the sweetness. It's tasty though, with an excellent ginger kick, without being overpowering. 

With each recipe I become more and more impressed with the range of flavours one can wrest from a relatively small selection of ingredients. With minor tweaking of proportions and methods, we could possibly have enough material with which to write a blog! Eh? Eh? 

Sponge Ginger Bread

2 cups plain flour

230g butter

¾ cup sugar

½ cup golden syrup

1 cup milk

1 cup sultanas

1 tbsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. mixed spice

1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda

Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease and paper a flat baking dish (such as a lasagne tray).

Warm the golden syrup slightly. Cream the butter and sugar, adding the warmed golden syrup. Sift the flour and ginger into the mix.

Add the bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice to milk, then with the sultanas, stir into the cake mixture.

Pour into prepared tray and cook for 50 minutes, checking from about 40-45 minutes with a skewer to see if it’s cooked. At the 50 minute mark, turn the oven off and let the Sponge Ginger Bread sit for 5 minutes before removing to rest and cool.

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For those of you who are not in Australia, please find here a selection of Measurement & Temperature Conversion Charts which should help with the accuracy of your own cooking.