Sunday, April 21, 2013

Ultimate gingerbread


Ingredients:

  • 400 g shortbread
  • 170 g coarse demerara sugar
  • 3 level teaspoons ground ginger
  • 40 g mixed peel, chopped
  • 40 g crystallized ginger, chopped
  • 70 g plain flour
  • 1 pinch baking powder
  • 40 g golden syrup
  • 40 g treacle
  • 70 g unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 3 and find a baking tray about 20x35cm. Put the shortbread, sugar and 2 teaspoons of the ground ginger in a food processor and whiz until you have crumbs. Remove 100g of the mix and keep this to one side. Add the remaining teaspoon of ginger to the processor, along with the mixed peel, crystallized ginger, flour and baking powder, and pulse until well mixed. Melt the syrup, treacle and butter together in a saucepan big enough to hold all the ingredients. When melted, add the mixture from the food processor and stir with a wooden spoon until everything is thoroughly mixed together. Tip into the baking tray and spread out evenly. Press the mixture down into the tray, using your fingers or something flat and clean like a potato masher or a spatula. When the mix is a flat, dense and even layer, pop the tray in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
 Take the tray out of the oven and sprinkle the hot gingerbread with the reserved crumbs, pressing them down really well with a potato masher or spatula. Carefully cut into good-sized pieces with a sharp knife, and leave to cool in the tray before eating. / jamieoliver.com