Grandma’s Gingerbread – A recipe from Orkney

A perfect recipe for Christmas, Grandma’s Gingerbread is a delicious moist and mildly spiced cake, which can be eaten with ice cream as a pudding or spread with butter and brought out with coffee when visitors come round.

Grandma’s Gingerbread is well named, as it has an old-fashioned and comforting flavour.

The recipe comes from the book ‘Recipes from the Orkney Islands’ which was edited by Eileen Wolfe. The book features a collection of tried and tested recipes from the Orkney branches of the Scottish Women’s Rural institute, and from hotels and restaurants throughout the islands.

This particular recipe came from the kitchen of Mrs Groat from Orphir. It is well named, as it has an old-fashioned and comforting flavour. Make sure you keep everyone happy by cutting it into nice thick slices!

Ingredients:

• 285g (10oz / 1¾ cups) plain flour
• 85g (3oz / ¼ cup) butter or margarine
• 1 cup of milk
• 115g (4oz / ½ cup) caster sugar
• 115g (4oz / ¼ cup) treacle
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Sift the flour, sugar, mixed spice, ginger, baking soda and salt together.
2. In another bowl, melt the butter with the treacle
3. Add the butter and treacle to the dry ingredients and also add the beaten eggs and then the milk.
4. Mix to a light batter and pour into a loaf tin.
5. Bake for about 40 minutes in an oven at 180°C.
6. Enjoy!

By Magnus Dixon
Orkney and Shetland enthusiast, family man, loves walks, likes animals, terrible at sports, dire taste in music, adores audiobooks and films, eats a little too much for his own good.

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