AFTERNOON TEA

A good friend is heading off across the water (to Canada) and a good-bye party was in order, but instead of the usual boozy restaurant meal (where you don't get the chance to talk to half of the people there, and I'm always the one who isn't boozing!)  A. threw a wonderful afternoon tea .... how civilised!! (I felt I ought to be sticking my pinkie out as I drank my coffee!)

We drank tea and coffee from a beautiful china tea service, ate our (fantastic) goodies with elegant pastry forks, chose same goodies from delightful tiered cake stands .... The Ritz how are you!!! this is how we should be living!

I love an opportunity to bake something that wouldn't necessarily go down well with the chocolate loving lads here (!) and as both the party girl and I are ginger fiends (and I'm on a "trying to be less unhealthy" kick) I decided to bring along a Stem Ginger Syrup Cake from Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache - good decision.  It went down really well (unless people were being extra polite!!) and I have to say that it was excellent, no harshness at all from the ginger and a light yet moist texture.  I can recommend this cake for any ginger lovers in your life!

Stem Ginger Syrup Cake

3            medium eggs
120g      sugar
250g      finely grated butternut squash
30g       fresh ginger, finely grated (microplane is invaluable here)
150g     rice (or plain) flour
100g     ground almonds
1 tsp     ground ginger (or 2 tsp if you don't have any fresh)
2 tsp     baking powder
1/4 tsp  salt
4 tbsp   stem ginger syrup
100g     stem ginger, chopped up into tiny pieces.

Prepare a 23cm baking tin
Preheat oven to 180 C

Whisk the eggs and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Add the grated butternut squash and raw ginger.
Stir in the flour, almonds, ground ginger, baking powder and salt until well incorporated.
Fold in the stem ginger and syrup, getting the pieces evenly distributed.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 30 - 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes.
Then cool on a wire rack, bottom side down (to prevent lines on the top of the cake)

Ginger Syrup Topping

70g             sieved icing sugar
1 1/2 tbsp   stem ginger syrup
1 tbsp         water

Harry's recipe calls for more sugar and syrup, but this would be just too sickly sweet for me.

Stir the syrup into the sugar and then add enough water to get the consistency you like.

Pour the syrup over the ginger cake while still warm.

Enjoy!