From debt to freedom...

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Janb5...look forward to the recipe, chocolate and ginger sounds a winning combination!

Cherryfudge

What a wonderful description - as ever! You make me want to ditch work this afternoon and make an illegal long-distance trek! Not possible, but enticing.
Good to hear you at last have a court date, it's gone on so long which can't be good for anyone.
And blackthorn! For once I feel our much later season isn't too far from yours. I haven't seen any out yet but it's quite a feature around the fields up here.

savingholmes

Yay to court hearing.
Lovely photo. Yay to seed sowing and beautiful walks by the sea. I look forward to when that can be me.

Sun_Addict

Great news about the court date, progress finally. Yet another beautiful photo. It's lovely to see everything coming back to life, you can't lockdown nature 😊

janb5

Chocolate ginger kugelhupf cake

275 g / 9 oz plain flour
250 g// 8 oz light brown sugar
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
125 g/ 4.4ounces unsalted butter
Vegetable oil + extra to grease
50 g/ 1.7 oz cocoa powder sifted + extra to dust
150 ml/ 5 oz natural yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten
3 balls stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped

To finish -

150 g/5 oz icing sugar sifted
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 - 2 balls stem ginger - chopped to decorate.

Oven 180 ` C  160` C Gas 4
Grease 2 litre bundt/ kugelhupf tin with oil then dust with cocoa tipping out the excess.
Whisk the flour, sugar, bicarb and salt together in a large mixing bowl breaking up any lumps of sugar
melt the butter in a saucepan and remove from heat adding the oil, cocoa and 250 ml water.
Bring just up to the boil whisking constantly( it will thicken slightly) then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
Add the yogurt and the eggs and whisk well until combined.  Fold in the chopped ginger.
Pour into prepared tin and bake for 40 - 50 minutes( mine took a bit longer)
Cool in tin for 5 minutes then invert from  rack onto a wire rack. Leave to cool completely.

Mix the icing sugar and ground ginger with a little cold water until a tick drizzling consistency.  Spoon over the the cake so it runs down the sides, add the stem ginger and allow to set.
I`ve just made this and will try it this afternoon.  I think it would be better with white icing but hey ho- try it and see what suits you best. 
 In the interests of copyright, I`ve altered a few details and, of course, being an old bat, I have to have imperial measurements too!

janb5

I have just sampled the cake and it`s quite good!  As I say I wouldn`t put the ginger in the icing again but otherwise it was fine.
Calorie free of course!

Cherryfudge

The cake sounds scrummy, @janb5. I don't think it would last long with me around, but I can't be sure till I've tried it.  
Could you use syrup from the stem ginger in the icing? Perhaps thinned a wee bit?

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Janb5, Cherryfudge, SA & SH.

SA - I love that - you can’t lockdown nature, how true and what a comfort.

Thank you for the recipe Janb5. I have a bundt tin in my baking cupboard, so will try this tomorrow. I like the imperial measurements 😀.

Today has been lovely, another cliff top walk with all the DDs and DS3. The sea today was more of a turquoise colour, than yesterday. We must have walked about 4 miles in total which doesn’t sound much but on the cliff path it’s quite a climb or tricky descent. The path has dried out over the last 3 or 4 weeks so no slippery sections.  As we looked across to the headland in front, there were large patches of bright yellow where the gorse is in full flower. It was so peaceful. All we could hear was the sound of our footsteps, the crash and pounding of the waves against the rocks below with the occasional boom as the waves went into the caves and  the gulls crying as they swooped down from their ledges / nests on the cliff face.  At one point we saw a seal swimming, which is always a special moment.  We came back via a public footpath across a field or two. We saw some young calves and cows together so stood watching  them for a while.  My thigh muscles are aching some what tonight but so worth it to have had time to walk and be within sight and sound of the sea.

Thankfully I had prepped tea before we went so settled down to egg and bacon pie with roast potatoes and veg. 

janb5

Cherryfudge said:

The cake sounds scrummy, @janb5. I don't think it would last long with me around, but I can't be sure till I've tried it.  
Could you use syrup from the stem ginger in the icing? Perhaps thinned a wee bit?

Hi Cherryfudge..yes I did use the syrup but think a white icing would be better. 
It's very nice but very rich.

janb5

The recipe also said you can protect the top with damp greaseproof paper..hole cut in middle.  
Not convinced it is necessary..