Chocolate Gingerbread ~ Oh, my!

This is the second time I have made this gingerbread and it does go down rather well.  

I recommend cutting it into fairly small squares as it is rich and dark.  Kids don't always go for it  but adults seem to love it!  

It is very sweet and I am sorry I don't have a carb factor or count for it as Frank won't eat it, so I don't have to do it!!

The recipe is from Nigella Lawson's "Feast", which is a cracker of a book.  

She does seem to use shed-loads of sugar in her recipes, so I don't make them often.

However, for a potluck or, as was the case for the gingerbread above, for a "Not Back To School Party" it's ideal.

People did approach me with slabs of it in their hands and mumble "Did you make this?", spraying crumbs as they did so and rolling their eyes in ecstasy.  

I took this as a good sign!

Chocolate Gingerbread

For the cake : 

175g unsalted butter

125g dark muscovado sugar

2 tbsp caster sugar

200g golden syrup

200g black treacle or molasses

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tbsp warm water

2 eggs

250ml milk

275g plain flour

40g cocoa

175g chocolate chips

For the icing:

250g icing sugar

30g unsalted butter

1 tbsp cocoa

60ml ginger ale

Preheat the oven to gas mark 3 / 170C. 

 Line a roasting tin of approx 30x20x5cm deep (I used two smaller tins) with baking parchment.

In a decent-sized saucepan, melt the butter along with the sugars, golden syrup, molasses/treacle, cloves, cinnamon and ground ginger.  

In a cup dissolve the bicarb in the warm water.

Take the saucepan off the heat and beat in the eggs, milk and bicarb in its water.

Stir in the flour and cocoa and beat with a wooden spoon to mix.

Fold in the chocolate chips, pour into the lined tin and bake for about 45 minutes until firm and risen.  

it will be slightly damp underneath the set top and that's a good thing.

Remove to a wire rack and let cool in the tin.

Once cool, make the icing.

Sieve the icing sugar.  In a heavy-based saucepan heat the butter, cocoa and ginger ale.  

Once the butter is melted, whisk in the icing sugar.

Lift the chocolate gingerbread out of the tin and unwrap the paper.  Pour over the icing just to cover the top and cut into "fat slabs" (Nigella's words, isn't she wonderful!!).

Inhale!!

Ahem ...  I ate this piece purely out of concern for quality control.

Indeed I am always here for you all at times like that ...