Stranger Foods

Iced & spiced gingerbread

Serves 8 | Prep 10 mins | Cook 25 mins

Despite the very gingery theme of this book, these mini loaves with their gilded icing are just too nice not to include in a holiday baking chapter. Perfect as a hostess gift or for a special winter afternoon tea at home.

Source: The Sweet Roasting Tin

Ingredients

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Imperial

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170 ml olive oil
170 ml date syrup
5 cm fresh ginger, finely grated
3 medium free-range eggs
70 g ground almonds
100 g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
A grating of fresh nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Topping

200 g icing sugar
30 ml lemon juice
A handful of chopped crystallised ginger
Edible gold spray (optional)

Instructions

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Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4. Whisk the olive oil, date syrup and grated ginger together; when smoothly incorporated, beat in the eggs one at a time.
Gently fold in the ground almonds, self-raising flour, baking powder, ground ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon, taking care not to overmix.
Spoon the batter into 8 lined mini-loaf tins (you could also use a muffin tin), then transfer to the oven and bake for , until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Let the loaves cool on a wire rack. Once cold, mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice and ice the cakes, scattering over the crystallised ginger.
Once the icing has set, you can spritz gently with edible gold spray. These will keep well in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

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