Gingerbread bundt cake

A festive gingerbread Bundt cake generously coated with icing. Moist, richly spiced and made with plenty of honey, it’s a beautiful centrepiece for any Christmas table.

Ingredients for the gingerbread bundt cake:

• 140 g butter
• 150 g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 150 g runny honey
• 150 ml kefir or buttermilk
• 260 g plain flour
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 5 teaspoons mixed spice
• a pinch of salt

All the ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place the butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the honey and mix until fully combined. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, gingerbread spice and salt directly into the butter mixture. Add the kefir or buttermilk and gently fold everything together with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix.

Grease and flour a 2.2-litre Bundt tin, tapping out any excess flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and level the surface.

Bake at 170°C for about 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto a serving plate and leave to cool completely.

Ingredients for the icing:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3–4 tablespoons boiling water

Place the icing sugar and boiling water into a small bowl and stir until smooth, using the back of a spoon. Adjust the consistency with a little more icing sugar or water if needed—the icing should be fairly runny. Pour the icing generously over the cooled Bundt cake.

Enjoy!