I just adore spicy ginger – I’m addicted to the way it hits the throat. At the same time, the sweetness is just irresistible. Ginger is one of the key spices we think of at Christmas.

Fall in love with ginger with my gorgeous, old fashioned Christmas gingerbread that’s so easy to make, even busy cooks can rustle this up without any stress.

Preparation time: 25 mins

Cooking time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hour 25 mins

Servings: 9

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of molasses
• 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of water (hot)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Take out a 9 inch square baking pan and lightly grease and flour.

2. Measure out your sugar and butter using Chef Remi Measuring Cups. When making cakes, exact measurements are essential as even the slightest variations can make a massive difference to how it turns out.

Our cups can be used for both dry and liquid ingredients, unlike cups that resemble oversized spoons, and they’re very lightweight and portable, unlike heavy Pyrex or glass cups, so anyone can use them without accidents.

3. Place your sugar and butter into a large mixing bowl and beat well into a creamy texture using a flexible spatula.

We recommend using the Chef Remi 3 Piece Spatula Set as the thin, flexible food grade silicone can scrape and mix batter and dough thoroughly without leaving lumps.

4. In a separate small bowl, break the eggs, and beat well using a small balloon whisk.

We recommend using the Chef Remi Kitchen Whisk Set as they are extremely lightweight and they are made from food-grade silicone, so they will never scratch your expensive nonstick cookware and bakeware.

5. Add the beaten eggs to the sugar and butter mixture, as well as the molasses. Mix well.

6. Measure out your baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves using Chef Remi Measuring Spoons, which have perfectly circular spoon heads to allow you to get into small jars, containers and pots – much easier than using elongated dinner spoons.

Also, the rim and handle are level on each spoon, so liquids don’t drip out and you get the most precise measurement. You can also level off dry ingredients with a knife blade.

7. Place the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and clovesinto a separate mixing bowl, and sift over the flour.

8. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar and butter mixture, mixing and folding well with a flexible spoonula. Stir in the water.

The Chef Remi 3 Piece Spatula Set includes a spoonula (half spoon half spatula) for folding dough, a square spatula for scraping mixing bowls, and a mini spatula for frosting cakes, or spreading jams or butter – the ultimate baking set!

9. Pour the mixture into your prepared square pan and place into the oven for 1 hour. It’s cooked when you place a cooking thermometer in the middle and it reached 210°F.,

We recommend you use the Chef Remi Cooking Thermometer as it has been designed to give you instant accurate temperature readings.

It has a long probe, so you can get right into the middle of your cake where it is the furthest away from the heat source.

And it has a ‘freeze' temperature button, which allows you to 'freeze' the temperature while the probe is in the cake. This is because, as soon as you remove the probe, the temperature it registers will drop as it reacts with the cool air.

Without this freeze function, you may assume your cake is cooler than it actually is, and you end up cooking for far too long and ruining it!

10. Allow the cake to cook in the pan before you serve. If you wish, add a little homemade frosting on top – watch my step by step video here!

Merry Christmas!