Sticky treacle, ginger & lime cake

• butter↗200g 200g
• dark muscovado sugar↗200g 200g
• black treacle↗175g 175g
• ginger↗2 tbsp 2 tbsp

  syrup

• full-fat milk↗200ml 200ml
• large eggs↗2 2

  beaten

• plain flour↗325g 325g
• bicarbonate of soda↗1 ½ tsp 1 ½ tsp
• ground ginger↗2 tsp 2 tsp
• stem ginger↗75g 75g

  chopped

• zest 2 limes
• lime↗4 tbsp 4 tbsp

  marmalade or lime curd

• zest 2 limes

  plus juice of 1

• icing sugar↗140g 140g
• amber sugar↗1 tbsp 1 tbsp

  crystals (we used Tate & Lyle), or 5 sugar cubes

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Put the butter, muscovado sugar, treacle and ginger syrup in a saucepan. Heat for a few mins, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool for 5 mins. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm-deep round cake tin with baking parchment.

2. 2

   Whisk the milk into the butter mixture, then add the eggs and beat well to combine. In a large bowl, mix the flour, bicarb and ground ginger. Pour in the buttery liquid and stir well to combine, making sure there are no pockets of flour. Add the stem ginger and lime zest, and stir again.

3. 3

   Pour into the cake tin and bake for 1 hr 15 mins. To check if the cake is cooked, insert a skewer into the centre of the cake – if any uncooked cake mixture sticks to the skewer, return the cake to the oven for a further 10 mins, then check again. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. 4

   Split the cake into 2 or 3 layers with a long, serrated knife. Spread the lime marmalade or curd between the layers then reassemble.

5. 5

   In a small bowl, mix the lime juice and icing sugar until thick and smooth, adding a little extra icing sugar if it’s too runny. Transfer to a sandwich bag, squeeze down into one corner and twist shut, then snip off a tiny bit of the corner. Drizzle in stripes over the cake. Using a pestle and mortar, crush the sugar crystals or cubes, with half the lime zest, to a chunky rubble and scatter over the top of the cake. Finish by sprinkling with the remaining zest. Will keep in a tin for up to 1 week – it tastes great on the day it’s made, but even better after a day or two in the tin.