Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Random Recipe #3: Gingerbread

The Small Girl, who is not quite two, knows exactly how to make me happy. She pulls a cookbook off the shelf and starts "reading" it, pointing out the pictures to Teddy. "Mmmm, look Teddy, dinner time".
I don't remember doing that myself, but I did used to love leafing through my mother's two exercise books of most-used recipes. The 'savoury' recipes were in one book, the one with a mottled red cover, and the 'sweet' ones in the other, which was so well-thumbed I think the cover had fallen off. Mum had lots of other cookbooks, of course, but these two were my favourite.

About 15 years ago Mum sent me a letter saying she'd been organising her collection of cut-out and carefully written down recipes into a fancy new plastic folder. She said she'd enclosed one of my favourites so I could finally make it myself. This was actually a huge joke, because we always, always laughed at this particular page. I still don't know what would possess this woman to send a magazine a photograph of herself eating - and anyone knows Mrs D.J Allen of Auckland, I wish you'd ask her. In any case, this was the obvious choice for Belleau Kitchen's April Random Recipe challenge.


Mrs Allen's Special Spicy Gingerbread
I followed Mrs Allen's recipe to the letter when I made this, except that I ignored her instructions to bake it in two loaf tins (we only have one large one) and I couldn't serve it on the brown pottery plate she recommends because we don't have one of those either. I don't think this affected the outcome in any way - it was absolutely delicious.

2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
175g butter, melted
3/4 cup golden syrup
2 1/2 cups flour
2tsp baking soda
2tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup boiling water

Beat eggs with sugar, add melted butter and syrup. Beat again. Add dry ingredients sifted together and lastly boiling water. Bake in two medium-sized loaf tins at 190C for 50 minutes.
Mrs Allen says ``keep one loaf to cool and serve buttered with Greggs coffee. Serve the other loaf as a dessert. In summer, cut through the centre and fill with pink ice cream. Decorate the top with whipped cream and pink guavas. Serve on a brown pottery plate. In winter, serve hot with a sauce of blackcurrants.''

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14 comments:

  1. Mmmmm, gingerbread - it looks so good. I'm positively glad you didn't have a brown pottery plate, I'm sure that wouldn't have improved the taste!

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  2. I think you should have gone out and bought a brown pottery plate! I love Mrs Allen and I would adore a slice of this with some pink ice cream :)

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  3. The gingerbread looks perfect even without the brown pottery plate :)

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  4. Really properly chuckling to myself. People are staring. I love this story and I love that your mum sent you all this stuff. My mum has the most amazing folder of cut out recipes but I know I'm going to have to prize it from her dead hands!!! Thank so much for taking part. The gingerbread looks bloody lovely xx

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  5. I see that you didn't decorate the top with pink guavas either ;) Classic!

    P.S. I gave u an 'honorary' blog award the other day on my blog.

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  6. Love the idea of small girl with teddy and cooking books

    Old cookery pages are priceless - I have ones I collected as a girl and the adverts on the back of the pages still make me giggle.

    Lovely gingerbread but a shame you didn't have brown pottery plates - my mum had some when we were young and they are just so retro now - I think she still has them

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  7. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Love the photo of Mrs Allen and the serving instructions are priceless.
    Just think, in 30 years time or so, people may be looking at our blogs and having a right good laugh at how we served things.
    Love that Little Miss is so into her cooking and showing Teddy what she will be serving! Such a cute picture. Hope you'll remember that and tell her about it when she's older.

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  8. Oh, I have to try that... I always think it's one of the recipes I need to do and I've not got round to it yet.
    (And from a style point of view, I think the borown pottery plate would detract from the rich brown of the gingerbread! ;-))

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  9. Mrs D.J Allen seems to know what she is talking about when it comes to baking gingerbread then. Looks fab, even if there isn't a brown pottery plate to serve it on lol.

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  10. Spicy gingerbread is the best kind! This loaf looks very yummy! I wanted to let you know that I have tagged you in an Easter menu tag game, I was invited by the cajunlicious blogger. Please visit my blog to find out more and to participate.
    All the best, Natasha from the Rambles and Shambles blog!

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  11. You have stunning recipes in here to add to that is your lovely presentations on each of them. I loved this Gingerbread picture & the recipe is a small different from what I have or make.
    Fitted kitchen

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  12. holy moly this looks beautiful! I have bookmarked it to make, thank you :) You have a beautiful blog!
    Heidi xo

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  13. Haha! What a great post! mrs. Allen and her gaping mouth aside, she sure had a couple of good suggestions for serving up that gingerbread! You did her proud!

    I'm waiting for your promo picture for the recipe ... no gaping mouth, please!

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  14. Pink ice-cream with gingerbread ..... not really speaking to me!!!!!! Much prefer your way of serving it :-}}

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Hello - thanks for stopping by. If this was real life I'd make you a cup of tea and open the biscuit tin, but in lieu of those things, let's have a chat anyway...