Or should I say Aunt Fanny’s treacly sticky ginger cake from the lovely book Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer written by Jane Brocket. which is indeed a golden treasury of classic treats.  As an avid reader of Jane’s blog I bought this book in 2008 and dipped into it to read and believe I did make the cherry cake, which I think was delicious, its a long time ago and there the book has sat among my sewing books!  I discovered it again a few weeks ago and resolved to go through at least a few of the recipes this year to fit in with my new resolution to bake some home made goodness of the sweet variety at least once a week. I mooted the idea to hubby of a weekly cake bake and he was in complete agreement, rather liking the idea of a cut and come again cake with its roots based in old fashioned values accompanied by pots of tea and fresh air and exercise.Gathering together the vital ingredients of black treacle, golden syrup and spices I set to work. Firstly the dry ingredients of flour, spices, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and just a touch of salt were mixed together.

Then the real fun began. The opening of the glorious  and iconic tins of Lyles black treacle and golden syrup.  Let’s just pause for a moment to enjoy their sultry complexions as their first gentle waft of liquid burnished sugars hits the olfactory receptors. I weigh the three different sugars and butter and gently heat until the butter yields and becomes liquid gold to meld with the deep flavours of the burnished sugars.  At this point one knows this cake will be kill or cure, its flavours already so deep that one will either love or hate its rich gingery stickiness. Then to mix it with the dry ingredients, along with the milk and egg.

And hour in the oven later, you have this, which I left to cool in the tin for ten minutes or so before turning out. This has been wrapped in grease proof paper to let it meld all those flavours together for a day or two to turn into that sticky, rich ginger cake which is at its very best when taken with a steaming pot of freshly brewed tea, a good book and a woolly blanket to snuggle down into after an afternoon in the countryside.