Museumand recipe contribution: Ginger Cake
Ingredients
- 250g of butter
- 250g of dark brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 350g of self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon of All spice
- 1 tablespoon ginger powder
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla essence
Method
- Mix butter and sugar together till creamy
- Beat all the eggs together
- Pour some of the beaten eggs into the mixture of butter and sugar until it has all been added
- Add the flour to the mixture a little at a time so it looks fluffy and light
- Add the spices and mix in
- Grease and line a cake tin
- Put the mixture into cake tin
- Bake in an oven for 1 hour on 170 degrees C or until cooked (Check the cake is cooked by slowly inserting a knife into the middle of it)
- Take the cake tin out of the oven and put it to one side until the cake is cooled
- Turn the cake out of the tin and put it on a plate to serve.
Recipe provided by museumand as part of their ongoing research into Caribbean cooking and traditions.
Dressmaking is the main act of creativity for Winsome these days but cooking was one of her earliest. She shares this in common with many Caribbean children. In almost all of the Caribbean islands children are taught to cook at an early age to help with the smooth running of the household. She says learning how to cook from her mother has helped her develop independence and a sense of responsibility. Ginger cake reminds her of her mother and those early baking lessons. Born in England, the ginger cake also serves as an important link to her great Caribbean heritage where the ginger, sugar and spices essential to the recipe are grown. Winsome comments that her ginger cake is such a family favourite that as soon as one is it is instantly devoured. However, she advises that if you can hide it away for a couple of days, it tastes even better with time.