Banana Gingerbread

So this week, I have been ill, with a horrible cough that is set off every time I go out into the cold air, so I haven't been taking a walk out much recently. However, I wanted to bake something nice with some warming spices to drive out the cold.

I don't know where this recipe came from. I remember it being in one of my mum's recipe books growing up, and it being the only thing we ever made from that big chunky hard-back book, and the pages were always stuck together by remnants of treacle from the last batch.

Anyhow, it is a great-tasting cake that doesn't use any butter, which makes it a good one for people who can't have dairy products (though I'm afraid it is not vegan-friendly due to the eggs in it).

I have never had difficulty cooking this before, so long as it is cooked in a lower, wider tin, as when cooked in a loaf tin it will undoubtedly crack and sink in the middle after removing from the oven. However, this time was the first time trying to bake it in a gas oven. I have come to the conclusion that I far prefer electric fan ovens for baking, as they heat up much more reliably, to a more even temperature throughout. Ordinarily, this cake only takes 40 minutes to bake in an electric fan oven, but this time, it took almost an hour to cook through to the centre, meanwhile getting over-cooked at the edges. Ah well. Such is the joys of living in a rental - you take what you get.

In terms of the ingredients, there are a couple of oddities that you may have difficulty finding at your local supermarket. One of those is malt extract - the thick, sticky kind. It is slightly sweet but not as much as one might expect, but adds great depth of flavour to the cake. I have yet to experiment to find other things to use it in, but I should, as I think it would go well with many things. I have rarely seen it in supermarkets, but when it is, you are more likely to find it in the section with the "free-from" stuff and "health-foods" if your supermarket has one, next to the lentil pasta, hemp oil and such. My local Asda has introduced one of these sections, at the end of the aisle of tinned vegetables, and I spotted malt extract available there the last time I was passing. However, all the jars I have got so far have usually been from "health-food" stores, as it is more often sold as a dietary supplement. If you live in the UK, my last ditch attempt if I can't get it anywhere else has always been to stop in to Holland and Barrett - I don't often shop there, but when I needed it, they have always had a jar in the shop.
Secondly, there is black treacle. I use the Lyles Black Treacle that comes in the tins and is so thick it'll dribble off the spoon forever (measure the oil first in the same spoon and it makes the treacle just fall off later). It is not the same as blackstrap molasses - it is sweet and much less bitter. If you cannot find treacle, use a lighter/mild molasses. If all you have is blackstrap molasses, try mixing it 50/50 with glucose syrup or corn syrup.
Thirdly, there is mixed spice, which is a british spice mix similar to pumpkin pie spice in the US, but slightly different in its ratios. According to google, it is similar to koekkruiden in the Netherlands, but without the cardamom. You can make your own mixed spice by combining 1tbsp ground cinnamon, 1 tbsp ground nutmeg, 1 tbsp ground allspice, 1 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp ground ginger, and1 tsp ground coriander seeds. Or for a slightly different, fresher flavour, you can grind your own from whole spices in a spice grinder, but make sure they are well and finely ground, and any larger pieces sieved out before mixing into your gingerbread.

Lastly, a word about measurements - with the move from imperial to metric system, our family recipes never kept up. As such, some of my recipes are in grams and ml, whilst others are in ounces, teaspoons and tablespoons. This is one of those recipes that never made it out of imperial. As such, I have tried to convert it, but I can only vouch for the accuracy of the imperial version as that's what I set my scale to. To make matters more complicated, tablespoons are not the same now in the UK as they always were, nor are they the same in the UK now as they are in other countries across the world. The tablespoons my family used in cooking were always grannys big old ones. I measured one day, and the one I have holds 25mL - much more than the 15mL standard today in the UK. Because this is what we have, this is what we have always used. However, I will say that the original recipe book this came from more than likely did use the standard 15mL tablespoon. So really, despite the finnicky nature of baking, it seems the quantities are not that essential. Perhaps, if you use normal volumetric measurements of the liquid ingredients rather than my collossal ones, it may cook better and sink less on cooling.

Ingredients:

• 10 oz (284g) plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
• 4 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground mixed spice
• 4 oz (115g) soft brown sugar
• 4 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp black treacle
• 2 tbsp liquid malt extract
• 2 medium, room temperature eggs
• 4 tbsp orange juice
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed thoroughly
• 4 oz (115g) sultanas or raisins

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/ 170C fan/ gas mark 4, and grease and line a 30x20m baking tray.
2. Sieve the Flour, bicarbonate of soda, and ground spices into a bowl. Place the sugar in the sieve, add some of the flour mix on top, and use to rub the sugar through the sieve. Keep adding more flour as neccesary (the sugar does need to be soft for this to work).
3. Make a well in the centre and add in all the wet ingredients. Mix well, incorporating a little at a time to avoid lumps.
4. Add the mashed banana and sultanas, and mix. Scrape the mixture into the baking tin, and bake for around 40 minutes. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out mostly clean, provided the bananas were mashed well, though some bits of re-hydrated sultana may stick to it. It should, however be free of batter.
5. When cooled, cut the gingerbread into slices or squares. This recipe usually makes around 20 for me.