Ginger Tea Cake

Ingredients:

4 YOGI TEA Ginger Hibiscus tea bags
300ml (1/2 pint) of boiling water
500g pack sultanas
125g (4oz) light brown sugar
250g plain flour
2 rounded tsp baking powder
1 medium egg, (at room temperature) lightly whisked
1/4 tsp ground cinammon
1/4 tsp chinese five spice
Butter, to serve

You also need a 2lb loaf tin, greased with butter and lined with greaseproof paper. Also a wooden spoon, this cake mixes better with a wooden spoon.

Method:

1. Put the tea bags into a large mixing bowl pour the boiling water over them. Leave for 10 mins.

2. Take two spoons and squeeze the tea out of each tea bag with the tea bag in one spoon and using the back of the other spoon. 

3.  Add the sultanas. Leave overnight.

4.  * Set the oven to 180 °C, 350 °F , Gas Mark 4

5.  Grease and line the loaf tin.

6.  Measure the sugar and put it into the mixing bowl.

7.  Measure the flour and add the baking powder, cinammon and five spice to the flour. Put all these at once into the mixing bowl.

8. With your wooden spoon, mix the ingredients in the mixing bowl well. There should be no flour or sugar visible to the naked eye.

9. ** Crack an egg into a cup and whisk lightly with a fork, add this to the mixing bowl and stir well.

10. Spoon the mixture into the greased and lined 2lb loaf tin. Use the back of a dessert spoon to even out the mixture in the tin.

11. Place in the middle of the oven on a tin tray. This will ensure that the bottom will get evenly cooked.

12.  *** Bake in the oven for 1 hour. It will have risen slightly (though not much) and will be brown in colour. Test the cake with a bamboo skewer. If it comes out clean the cake is cooked, if not put it back in again for 10 mins and test again. If the cake is brown, put some tin foil over the top of it, this will stop the top of the cake from burning.

13. When the cake is cooked, turn the oven off and put it back in the oven for 10-15mins.

14. After the above time, take the cake out of the oven and place on a wire cooling rack. STILL IN THE TIN, this is important.

15. After 10 mins gently coax the cake out of the tin, if you tip the tin up to one side gently, the cake will slide out with no problems.

16. Place the cake on the wire cooling rack, when it is completly cool, place a clean dry tea towel over it. Leave overnight.

17.  Wrap the cake up in greaseproof paper and string. Then in a clean dry teatowel and string.

18. Place in a dark cupboard and forget about it for 1 week. This will improve the flavour and trust me on this it is worth the wait!

 A week later...

19.  Unwrap your tea cake, spread some butter on it and enjoy! Try not to eat it all at once.

Wrap the tea cake up again in greaseproof paper and string and in the tea towel and string. Place back in a dark cupboard. Will keep for ages (is like xmas cake in this respect) if you can resist it! 

Extra Notes:

* Point 4 - I always make 3 of these cakes at a time. If you are like me and want to make multiple cakes, don't put the oven on until you are about to mix the last cake. This will mean that the oven will be at the correct temperature.

** Point 9 - When making multiple cakes add the egg after you have mixed all the cakes you are wishing to bake.

*** Point 12 - When making 3 cakes it takes roughly 1 & 1/2 hours - 2 hours. You will get to know your oven and when to check them, if making multiples.

Also I make 3 cakes as 3 seperate cakes. They each have a mixing bowl. This ensures that the quanties are correct for the cakes.

After 1 week, the cake is to die for! :) It gets better after 2 weeks (2nd cake). The longer you leave it the yummier it is.