Salted Caramel and Ginger Cake

When I find a food I like, I tend to temporarily lose all willpower over it. The most recent case, as previously discussed, was mini eggs – an addiction only stopped because they stopped being sold at the end of the Easter season. Previous fads have been varied – bourbons, greek salads for lunch, toasted pittas. I’ll eat it every day for a week, my Mum will stock up on supplies, and then suddenly I’ll be over it and on to the next thing. I’m always impressed by people who can hold back over something they clearly love – my Granny is one of these people. We always have great afternoon teas with several cakes (the most recent felt like a fun wedding cake tasting as we worked our way through 3 different cakes) but whilst I’ll happily accept seconds, she always has more restraint. Therefore, it was a sign of just how good this cake was when she not only asked for the recipe, but had a second piece!To be honest, it was a slight miracle that this cake worked. That most simple piece of advice given to anyone starting cooking – read the recipe carefully before you start – continues to occasionally evade me. Hence why this cake had double the amount of caramel inside that it was meant to. Whoops! Turns out I was supposed to put half my caramel sauce in the cake and save half for the top, whereas I just merrily stirred it all straight into the cake. I was really surprised that the extra 100ml of sauce didn’t disrupt the cakes texture but the result was soft and delicious, with a texture similar to gingerbread. If I made this cake again I would repeat my mistake! The spicy ginger pieces ensure it isn’t too sweet I hadn’t used crystallised ginger before (only ever the candied ginger in jars) and I loved it and had to stop myself snacking on it out straight out of the tub. You can find the recipe here so you can try it both caramel ways – enjoy!