Saturday 31 January 2009

Sticky apple gingerbread pudding

Early update for you this week, my little cakeophiles, as I’m off on my travels for work.


Apple and gingerbread is not a combination I have ever tasted before but as soon as I read this recipe I knew it would work – I could taste the sweet, sticky gingerbread with its kick of heat and the acidity of the apple cutting through it.


The other reason I picked this recipe is because I am a sucker for a cake that’s made in a saucepan – it just feels so wrong! The whole gingerbread is made in one saucepan; how cool is that? I was tempted to try baking it in the saucepan too but realised that the handle meant it wouldn’t fit in any of my air tight containers for storing overnight.


One thing I will say about this, so you don’t panic when you make it, is that the batter is UGLY. I mean ug-ly. It looked most unsavoury – it was lumpy and runny and well, I won’t even describe it the way I want to lest I turn your stomachs.


The CCB (Caked Crusader’s Brother) claimed it was “a perfect winter pud” in a way that made it sound like he was desperate to be quoted. We all mocked him but I’m quoting him anyway because he was right. It’s warming and tasty and comforting.


Ingredients:
125g unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
350g golden syrup
2 eggs
250g plain flour
3 heaped teaspoons ground ginger
1 level teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
250ml hot water
3 small eating apples, peeled, cored and diced

To serve: custard, ice cream or cream

How to make:

- Preheat oven to 160°C/fan oven 140°C/315°F/ Gas mark 2-3. (Note: if I made this again I would do it on 180°C as, in my oven, this took too long and started to dry the apple out)
- Grease a 2ocm square loose bottom tin and line the base.
- Put the butter, sugar and golden syrup into a saucepan – make sure the saucepan is large enough to hold all the other ingredients. Heat gently until the butter and sugar have melted and you have a smooth, thick mixture. (My tip for weighing out golden syrup, treacle or anything sticky like that is to put the bowl or saucepan on the scales and pour it straight into that, rather than weigh in the scales’ pan and then have to scrape it out into the other bowl).
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- While the mixture is cooling weigh out all the dry ingredients i.e. flour, ginger, spice, bicarbonate of soda, and prepare your apples.
- Using a wire whisk, beat the two eggs into the butter mixture.
- Sieve half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and stir in.
- Add half of the hot water and stir in.
- Stir in the rest of the dry ingredients, followed by the rest of the water.
- At this point the mixture will be fizzing due to the bicarbonate of soda and it is quite hard to get the wet and dry ingredients to mix. Be gentle and stop stirring as soon as they are combined; over-mixing will make the gingerbread tough.
- Pour the ugly, lumpy batter into the prepared tin and scatter the chopped apples over the top.
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes but check after 1 hour. It is ready when a skewer inserted into the gingerbread comes out cleanly. Mine took 1 hour and 45 minutes and, because of this, the apple started to dry a little on the top – next time I would bake at a higher temperature.
- Leave in the tin and cool completely on a wire rack. This pudding is better if made a day in advance as it becomes fuller flavoured and stickier overnight.
- Cover with foil and reheat in a gentle oven – approximately 160°C/fan oven 140°C/315°F/ Gas mark 2-3 for 20 minutes and serve with custard, cream or ice cream.
- Bask in glory at the wonderful thing you have made.
- Eat.

22 comments:

Sugar Duchess said...

Yum! Although the finished product looks fabulously delicious, I'm kind of wishing you'd also posted a picture of the runny, lumpy batter--you've got me really curious!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

That is inspired CC! I am having this one, although I will have to convert to loaf tins. Do you have any recommendations on changing pans? I also have loose bottomed 9 inch cake tins.

The Caked Crusader said...

Hi Sugar Duchess
I was too ashamed to photograph it. Plus I thought my camera lens might break, looking at something so hideous.

Hi Holler
I reckon 2 medium loaf pans would work - just lower the cooking time.
I think the original recipe said to use a 9 inch pan but I went smaller to get more height.

The Caked Crusader

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Thanks CC! I could just do the skewer test couldn't I?

glamah16 said...

Well the batter may be ugly, but the cake looks amazing. Apples and ginnger pair nicely I am finding.

The Caked Crusader said...

Hi Holler

Skewer test never fails!

CC

Maggie said...

Mmmm you caught my attention with this one - I love the ginger and apple combo - just perfect.

Unknown said...

Emmmm...that looks soooo good. I bet I would lick the batter out of the bowl even if it looked ugly! hahaha.

Big Boys Oven said...

Just one word . . . . awesome! :)

Rosie said...

Oh wow this looks Sooooo good C.C. love the combo of apple and gingerbread mmmmm

Rosie x

Katie said...

I could do with a big wedge of this right now - its snowing like mad outside. Sometimes its the ugly puds which taste the best, although it looks mighty tempting now its been cooked :P

Anne said...

Looks delicious, have not had great luck with apple cake so far, so will have to try this one :)

Jopanofmanypets said...

Looks lovely (i love to watch spongebob too!)I LOVE Gary the snail. he's such a patient lad. :)

Jopanofmanypets said...

thank you. i did have a look in Tesco but perhaps didn't look hard enough, i shall double my efforts.

Jopanofmanypets said...

Good news! We found the buttermilk. Alas it now means mum and I are fighting over it. I would cook the butter milk cake of your recipe or the beetroot apple and buttermilk muffin recipe on the great big veg challenge, whilst mum would rather make American pancakes. Humm i don't think i'd can loose either way really.

Michaela said...

I have just made this cake. And yes, the batter is ugly - but I was more concerned about it being runny. My parents (both of whom love ginger) are coming tomorrow and I love the idea of making puddings in advance.

The only problem is, it looks so very good and smells even better, I'm not sure if I can wait a whole 24 more hours before cutting into it.

I would make another, but have run out of golden syrup!

The Caked Crusader said...

Good point Michaela - the batter is very runny, as most gingerbread batters tend to be. And lumpy. And UGLY! Did I mention the batter's ugly?

Glad it came out well

Dee said...

I swooned when you said stickier. I am such a glutton, but this looks sooo good. Sigh.

Maria said...

Hi CC

This recipe looked just scrummy and we were really looking forward to enjoying it after our evening meal; it should have been ready around 9:00. It's now 10:00 p.m. and is still baking. What have I done wrong?? Plus there's a whole load of mixture dripped out on to the spill tray ...Help!
Maria

Maria said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Caked Crusader said...

Hi maria

Sorry to hear that. Are you sure you followed the recipe properly including using the right size tin? I know that sounds patronising but the only thing I can think is that maybe you used cooking rather than eating apples and they released liquid as they cooked and broke down? Eating apples don't break down on cooking which is why they're used for this recipe.
Hope it turned out alright in the end

plasterers bristol said...

These look so good, will have to give these a go some time, thanks for sharing....

Simon