Citrus honey gingerbread cake

This honey gingerbread cake is enriched with a generous amount of honey and beautifully scented with warming spices and fresh citrus zest. Easy to make, wonderfully moist and satisfyingly dense, it is everything a festive gingerbread cake should be. The finishing touch is a bright citrus glaze, which not only adds flavour but also helps keep the cake fresh by preventing it from drying out. For the best results, bake it no earlier than two days before Christmas and glaze it immediately after cooling. Store it in an airtight cake tin or container. A perfect addition to any festive dessert table!

Ingredients for the citrus honey gingerbread cake:

• 115 g butter
• 200 g honey
• 125 ml (½ cup) milk
• 70 g dark soft brown sugar (such as muscovado)
• 2 large eggs
• 270 g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 3 teaspoons mixed spice for gingerbread
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• finely grated zest of 2 oranges
• 100 g mixed candied orange and lemon peel

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the butter, honey and milk into a saucepan. Heat gently, stirring, until the ingredients have melted and combined. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. The mixture may remain warm but should not be hot.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until combined. Do not beat until fluffy. Check that there are no lumps of sugar remaining. Gradually add the warm honey mixture, whisking gently until combined. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, gingerbread spice and cinnamon directly into the bowl. Mix gently with a whisk until just combined. Do not use a mixer. Add the citrus zest and candied peel and fold through with a spatula. Line a 25 cm round cake tin with baking parchment. Pour in the batter and level the surface.

Bake at 160°C for approximately 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely before glazing.

Ingredients for the citrus glaze:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3–4 tablespoons orange or lemon juice
• finely grated zest of 1 orange

Place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix with the back of a spoon until a thick glaze forms. If the glaze is too thin, add more icing sugar. If it is too thick, add a little water or extra citrus juice. Spread or drizzle over the cooled gingerbread cake.

Enjoy!