Gingerbread cake

Gingerbread cake 1) Lightly butter a 23 by 33by 5-cm loaf tin and line the base with a piece of parchment or wax paper.

Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 3.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, treacle, and crystallised ginger. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth.

In another large bowl, sift together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Whisk the treacle mixture into the flour mixture until evenly combined.

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Whisk the hot water into the batter until just combined. Transfer the batter into the prepared tin.

Bake the cake in the center of the oven, for about 45 minutes,until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the tin on a rack. Cut into squares and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.