Ainsley Harriott Jamaican Gingerbread
Ainsley Harriott’s Jamaican Gingerbread is a rich, dark, moist spiced cake made with golden syrup, black treacle, stem ginger, and a bright lemon icing.
Equipment
- 20cm square cake tin
- Baking Parchment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Skewer
Ingredients
For the Jamaican Gingerbread
- 300 ml boiling water
- 200 g golden syrup
- 175 g black treacle
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 120 g unsalted butter softened
- 120 g dark muscovado sugar
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 350 g self-raising flour
- salt pinch
- 50 g stem ginger finely chopped
For the Lemon Icing
- 1 lemon juice only, plus extra if needed
- 250 g icing sugar sifted, plus extra if needed
- edible gold glitter stars for decoration, optional
Instructions
- Grease a 20cm square cake tin with butter and line the base and sides with baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
- In a bowl, mix together the boiling water, golden syrup, and black treacle. Add the bicarbonate of soda, stir well, and set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale. Gradually add the egg, beating as you go.
- Sift the spices, flour, and salt into another bowl.
- Fold one-third of the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, followed by one-third of the cooled syrup. Continue adding the dry ingredients and syrup alternately until smooth, then stir through the stem ginger.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 60-70 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Cool completely in the tin, then wrap tightly in foil or cling film and keep for 24 hours before serving.
- To make the lemon icing, whisk together the lemon juice and icing sugar until smooth and of a drizzle consistency. Add more sugar if the mixture is too runny, and a little more juice or water if it is too thick.
- Pour or drizzle the icing over the gingerbread and scatter over the edible sparkles if using. Allow to set before cutting into squares.
Video
Notes
This gingerbread is best wrapped and kept for 24 hours before serving, which helps the texture settle and the flavour deepen.
The edible gold glitter stars are optional and can be left off for a simpler finish.