Ginger and Treacle Spiced Traybake

Ingredients

• 225g (8 oz) margarine, softened
• 175g (6 oz) light muscovado sugar
• 200g (7 oz) black treacle
• 300g (10 oz) self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 4 free-range eggs
• 4 tbsp milk
• 3 pieces stem ginger from a jar, finely chopped

For the icing

• 75g (2½ oz) icing sugar, sieved
• 3 tbsp stem ginger syrup from the jar
• 3 pieces stem ginger from a jar, chopped coarsely

Instructions

1. 1
   Cut a rectangle of non stick baking parchment to fit the base and sides of a 30x23x4cm (12x9x1½in) traybake tin or roasting tin. Grease the tin and then line with the paper, pushing it neatly into the corners of the tin.
2. 2
   Preheat the oven to 325F.
3. 3
   Measure all the ingredients for the traybake into a large bowl and beat well for about two minutes until well blended. A hand-held electric mixer is best for this but of course you can also mix it by hand with a wooden spoon. (Treacle can be difficult to weigh accurately as it tends to stick to the scale pan. Weighing the treacle on top of the sugar overcomes this problem.)
4. 4
   Turn the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula to remove all the mixture. Level the top gently with the back of the spatula.
5. 5
   Bake in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until the traybake springs back when pressed lightly with a finger in the center and is beginning to shrink away from the sides of the tin. Allow the traybake to cool a little, then remove the cake from the tin by easing the paper away from the sides of the tin. Turn onto a cooling rack, remove the lining paper and leave to cool completely.
6. 6
   To make the icing, mix the icing sugar and syrup together in a small bowl until smooth and a spreading consistency. Pour the icing over the cake, spread gently to the edges with a small palette knife and sprinkle with the chopped stem ginger to decorate.
7. 7
   Allow the icing to set before slicing the traybake to serve.