Make our multifunctional ginger and honey loaf cake. Enjoy with yogurt and stewed fruit for a festive brunch, or try as a teatime treat slathered with butter

• Preparation and cooking time
  • Prep:10 mins
  • Cook:50 mins
  • plus cooling
• Easy
• Cuts into 12 slices

• Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 100g butter, plus extra for the tin
• 100g honey
• 125g dark brown demerara sugar
• 4 tbsp milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 200g self-raising flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• large pinch of grated nutmeg
• large pinch of ground cloves
• large pinch of ground allspice
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

• STEP 1

  Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and butter and line a 900g loaf tin. Put the honey, butter and sugar in a saucepan and warm over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. Remove from the heat and pour in the milk and vanilla, then set aside to cool.

• STEP 2

  Tip the flour into a bowl with the baking powder, spices and a pinch of salt. Add the egg, then gently fold in along with the melted butter mixture. Once combined, tip into the prepared tin, place on a baking tray, and bake for 40 mins until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool for 10 mins in the tin, then place on a cooling rack and leave to cool completely. Will keep in an airtight container for up to four days.