RECIPE: Grandma L's ginger cake

I'm really lucky to have reached the age of 30 and still have two grandmas living, but sadly my Grandma L - my mum's mum - now has advanced Alzheimer's and lives in a care home.

Before Alzheimer's struck my Grandma L was a generous, caring lady who would do anything for her family. She was a prolific baker and I grew up enjoying her cakes and scones. When I was about 11-years-old I decided to write some of her recipes into a book. I can remember it being a frustrating experience trying to get my subject to describe her cooking methods - my grandma was very much a "bit of this" and "dash of that" kind of a girl so she repeatedly looked at me blankly when I asked for weights and measures. 

Nevertheless, a cook book was produced and I've still got the  'first edition' copy today (sadly not signed by the chef who inspired it!), for which I'm hugely thankful because it means her recipes have not been lost with her memory. Below is the recipe for her ginger cake, which was a family favourite, and I'll put some more on this blog throughout the year. 

The original cook book in my 11-year-old handwriting, complete with spelling mistakes!

GRANDMA L'S GINGER CAKE

INGREDIENTS:
2 heaped cups of self raising flour
1 cup of sugar (grandma didn't specify what type so I've used soft brown)
2 tsp of ground ginger
1 flat tsp of bicarb of soda
4oz margarine or butter cut into small pieces
1 cup of boiling water
1 egg
2 tbsps golden syrup
Plus one square baking tin


METHOD: (Transcribed exactly)
"Put flour into basin. Add sugar, ginger and bicarb of soda. Mix together then make a hole in the centre of the mixture. Put marge and syrup into the hole. Add cup of boiling water into the centre and crack the egg into the middle without breaking the yolk. Mix everything together from both hole and mixture with a spoon and pour into greased tin. Bake on gas 4 for 20 minutes.

"Test with a knitting needle - stick it into the cake. If it comes out with half the cake stuck to it then it's not quite done."

DISCLAIMER: (From me, now!) 
A knife works as well as a knitting needle and is probably cleaner! We have a fan-assisted oven so I tried the cake at 180C for 20 minutes and it was still raw inside. Definitely not quite done! I ended up cooking it for about 40 minutes.

....and after

Mixture before mixing....

The finished cake is lovely and moist

Tastes fab with ice cream!