A ginger cake is good, a double ginger cake is better, but a triple ginger cake is fantastic. It can be served warm or cold and fits just as well with tea on a summer afternoon as with an autumn evening by the fire.  And it doesn’t need icing.

Triple Ginger Cake

Ingredients:

• 200g/7oz self-raising flour
• 200g/7oz sugar 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 55g/2oz margarine, plus extra for greasing
• 3 medium sized pieces of candied stem ginger, chopped into small pieces.
• 1 free-range egg, beaten
• 3  tbsp ginger syrup
• 240ml/9fl oz warm milk.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350FGas 4. Grease and line a 28cm x 18cm/11in x 7in baking tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, ginger powder and bicarbonate of soda together in a bowl. Using your fingers, rub the margarine in until the mixture looks and feels like breadcrumbs.
3. Add the beaten egg, syrup and warm milk and mix well with a wooden spoon until combined.
4. Stir in the stem ginger and 2 tbsp of ginger syrup.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 35–40 minutes, or until golden-brown and the top is springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin.
6. Poke some holes all over the top of the cake with a cocktail stick or skewer. Drizzle the remaining ginger syrup over the cake. Once cool, cut into squares.