Easy gingerbread cake

Didn’t have time to make traditional gingerbread this year? Don’t worry – nothing is lost! This is a “quick” gingerbread, perfect for last-minute baking. There’s no need to let the batter rest, either before or after baking. Simply bake, allow it to cool, and enjoy a beautifully fragrant, soft gingerbread cake. It’s a delicious, aromatic recipe which works well with a variety of fillings – I usually go for the traditional option with plum butter (powidła). Highly recommended!

Makes 2 small loaves.

Ingredients for an easy gingerbread cake:

• 250 ml honey
• 170 g sugar
• 250 ml milk
• 100 g butter
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 450 g plain flour
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 30 g mixed spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda
• optional: ½ cup mixed dried fruit or nuts (e.g. chopped nuts, raisins soaked in rum)

Ingredients for filling:

• plum butter (powidła), marzipan, or similar

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the honey, sugar, milk, butter, spice mix and cinnamon in a saucepan. Heat gently, stirring, until everything has melted and combined into a smooth mixture. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Add the egg yolks to the cooled mixture. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda, then mix with a whisk just until combined. The batter will be thick. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold them into the batter in three additions. Add any dried fruit or nuts and mix gently.

Divide the batter between two 23.5 × 13 cm loaf tins, greased and dusted with flour.

Bake at 170°C for about 50–60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cooled, slice each cake in half and fill with plum jam or marzipan. Pour over chocolate glaze.

Ingredients for chocolate glaze:

• 100 ml double cream
• 100 g dark chocolate, chopped

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until almost boiling. Remove from the heat, add the chopped chocolate and set aside for 2 minutes. Stir until melted and smooth. Allow to thicken slightly, then pour over the cakes.

Enjoy!