Chocolate and Ginger Cream Cake

It was my birthday on Monday so the perfect excuse to come up with something special with flavours I love, chocolate and ginger. I wanted a light cake that would go really well with a cream filling and topping.

Ingredients:

• Inch of fresh ginger peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tbs caster sugar
• 250g self-raising flour
• 3 tsp ground ginger
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 170g unsalted butter or Stork
• 170g soft light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 4 tbs golden syrup
• 160g dark chocolate
• 250g buttermilk

for the filling/topping

• 250g whipping cream
• 1 inch of fresh ginger peeled and sliced

Method

• Start with the filling. bring the cream and ginger to almost boiling in a pan. Put in a bowl, cover and place in fridge for at least two hours, or overnight. Before using, strain the cream and whip into peaks.
• preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4
• grease and line two 7 inch cake tins
• put the fresh ginger and caster sugar together in a bowl and set aside.
• melt 60g of the chocolate either in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water. Leave to cool
• chop the remainder of the chocolate into small pieces
• In another bowl cream the butter and brown sugar together until fluffy.
• beat in the eggs one at a time
• beat in the golden syrup
• beat in the melted chocolate and the sugared ginger
• add the ground ginger and cinnamon to the flour
• add one third of the flour and spice mixture to the cake batter and fold in
• add one third of the butter milk to the cake batter and fold in
• continue to add the further two thirds of flour and buttermilk alternately until it is all folded into the cake batter.
• fold in the chopped up chocolate
• divide the mixture between the two tins
• bake for about 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.7
• allow to cool, first in tins, then on a rack
• Once cakes are completely cool cover on cake generously with the whipped ginger cream
• place the other cake on top and cover the top with the remainder of the cream

The combination of ginger and chocolate with the ginger cream really is delicious. I enjoyed my birthday cake :-)