ginger cake

Based on Felicity Cloake's recipe in the Guardian, where she tried making a range of recipes by different authors before coming up with this.  The different types of ginger bring different qualities of heat, flavour and texture to create 

... the perfect ginger cake!

• 100g butter, soft
• 100g dark muscovado sugar
• pinch salt
• 175g self raising flour
• 4 tsp ground dry ginger
• 175g golden syrup or agave syrup or 50/50 syrup and ginger syrup
• 1 tbsp ginger wine or ginger juice 
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1  thumb sized piece fresh giner, finely grated
• 150g candied/crytallised ginger, finely chopped

Her recipe tops the cake with icing, and I don't believe this is necessary, but if you do:

• 75g icing sugar
•  2 tbsp ginger wine of ginger juice

Oven at 180C 
23cm loaf tin, greased and lined

• Cream together butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy
• Pour in the syrup and ginger wine/juice
• Beat in the eggs, a little at a time 
• Sift together the flour and ground ginger, then add bit by bit to the mixture
• You should have a smooth, easily beatable mixture by now ('dropping consistency').  If it is stiff add another tbs of ginger wine/juice.
• Stir through the fresh and candied ginger.
• Spoon into the prepared tin.
• Level the top in the tin.
• Bake for about 60 minutes.  At this point the top should be golden brown and well risen, and a knife/skewer inserted to the bottom should come out clean.  Bake a little more if not.
• Allow to completely cool in the tin.  
• For the icing, mix the icing sugar and ginger wine/juice together and drizzle over the cooled cake.