Fruity Gingerbread

This gingerbread is made extra moist by the addition of bananas and golden raisins. It can be made in a shallow baking tin or square, loose bottomed cake tin - whichever you have to hand. Before you start line your tin with baking parchment.

Ingredients

10oz plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp mixed spice
4 oz soft light brown sugar
4 tbsp sunflour oil
2 tbsp black treacle
2 tbsp malt extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tbsp fruit juice (orange or pineapple will do)
3 ripe bananas
4 oz golden raisins

For this recipe you will need an oven pre-heated to 180 C or 350 F.

The flour, bicarb and spices can be sifted into a good sized mixing bowl. Scoop some of the sifted mixture back into the sieve and add the sugar. By mixing a little of the flour with the sugar it will break it up and make it easier to push through the sieve.

Hollow out a hole in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the oil, treacle, malt, eggs and juice. A good tip is to add the oil first, as the oil that is left on spoon will make the treacle and malt slide off, when it would other wise stick so badly you get into a big mess!

At this stage it looks far from appetising, but rest assured it does improve! Mix thoroughly until it looks combined.

Set aside and get out a plate. Using a fork, mash the bananas on the plate until it looks even and mushy.

Add the raisins and mashed bananas to the mixing bowl and stir until it is sully mixed in.

Pour the mix into the prepared cake tin, making sure it neatly pushed into the corners and does not escape around the edges of the baking parchment.

Bake for 40 or so minutes. The time will greatly depend on your oven, so its best to check on it every five or ten minutes from the half hour mark just to make sure its cooking evenly. My oven takes about 45 minutes.

When the top is looking cooked press it lightly and see if it springs back. If it does it should be done. You can try the knife test, but it is difficult to tell for sure this way as the bananas stay moist after cooking, so the knife may not come out clean. Allow to rest a while before turning out onto a cooling wire.

Gingerbreads tend to develop a more mature flavour after a day or so, but it is equally yummy if eaten while still warm!