Great British Baking: Ginger Cake

  So Bonfire Night is upon us. Being as I am not from the UK (though, am allowed to vote in local elections being part of the commonwealth as a nice gentleman who rang my doorbell informed me this evening) this is all new to me. I didn't realize that there are certain foods that are associated with the festivities of the evening. A ginger cake known as "Parkin" is one such food and when I stumbled upon a recipe for a Bonfire Night ginger cake, though not specifically Parkin, I decided to once again brave the third world baking conditions of my flat's kitchen and attempt to make some for the boyfriend. I had mentioned the other day that I like to bake things for people to thank them and he was upset that he had not yet received any baking, I jokingly responded that I had nothing to thank him for which apparently carried more weight than I had intended as the comment was brought up several times over the next few days. To be fair, I have plenty to thank him for as he's a lovely human being though he would never want anybody to know that.

  As baking in the ghetto does not come without complications I discovered quickly that this place doesn't have a micro plane, nor a cheese grater, or really any sort of grater which was going to prove a challenge for my "grated ginger" that was required. I resorted to a fine chop which took ages and left me with far bigger pieces than I would've liked but needs must. I also realised that I had bought whole cloves instead of ground cloves and was forced to "grind" some by hand. This whole baking expedition was quickly becoming rather labour intensive and this after a day of performance. Minor speed bumps aside the rest of the recipe seemed to go off without a hitch, there was a bit too much batter for the pan, so I ended up making a small leftover cake for myself, which is of course all gone by now.

It's not much to look at. Also my photography needs work.

  The resulting cake was deliciously moist, and full of (chunky) ginger flavour. It's basically what one would imagine gingerbread would taste like as a cake and even though I've never been much of a fan of gingerbread, I actually quite enjoyed it. It will definitely go into the rotation for future bonfire nights. The response from the boyfriend when I bestowed this great gift upon him? "Well it's not my Gran's, but I'll let you know how it measures up." This is why I don't bake for him.

The recipe: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/cake-recipes/11201610/Ginger-cake-recipe.html

Holly