christmas feels.

nothing says christmas baking like gingerbread. this year i decided to add a new recipe to the collection and oh boy what a corker! the treasures over at BBC Good Food really know their stuff and i've managed to get all of my christmas baking ideas from last year's magazine. timeless and delicious. when i saw they had combined ginger beer and pineapple (two of my favourite things) into a festive bundt cake, i knew i had to try it. the gingery, treacly glaze is the literal icing on the cake. it's sticky, spicy and sweet, everything you want from a christmas cake. sharing the recipe is my gift to you this year so enjoy and let me know if you give it a go. i'll be back soon with some snow pics and a recipe for some addictive donut holes. happy weekending all! 

jamaican ginger beer and pineapple bundt cake.

ingredients

225ml vegetable oil

75ml full-fat milk

3 tbsp molasses/treacle

375g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

300g dark muscovado sugar/dark brown sugar

1 ½ tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground allspice

300ml buttermilk

100ml ginger beer (we used Old Jamaica)

3 large eggs

227g can pineapple rings in juice, drained and chopped into small chunks (reserve the juice for the glaze)

for the glaze

4 tbsp liquid molasses/treacle

200g icing sugar

pineapple juice (from above)

method

Heat oven to 180C (160C fan forced) and brush with oil or spray with baking spray the inside of a 2.4 -litre non-stick bundt tin (I used the Nordic crown bundt.) Make sure you get into any corners to ensure the cake doesn’t stick. Pour the milk and molasses into a pan and heat gently, whisking until the molasses has melted, then set aside to cool a little. Combine the flour, baking powder, bicarb, sugar, spices and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl. Shake the bowl a few times so any lumps of sugar come to the surface and squeeze through your fingers.

In a jug, mix the oil, buttermilk, ginger beer and eggs. Add the cooled molasses mixture and whisk again, then pour into the dry ingredients, along with the chopped pineapple. Stir everything to combine, then scrape into the tin. I found that not all of the mix fitted into the bundt tin so fill ¾ of the way to allow room for the cake to rise. You can always make cupcakes with the remaining batter! Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If not, return to the oven for another 10 mins and check again. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins, then very carefully turn out onto a wire rack.

For the glaze, combine the molasses, icing sugar and pineapple juice in a saucepan and set over a low heat. Whisk until smooth and glossy, then brush generously all over the cooling cake, allowing it to soak in. Will keep well in an airtight container for five days. Serves 10-12. Enjoy!