Gingerbread Slice

Our friend Andie, who blogs over at Red Strawberries, made a gingerbread slice for our high tea.  It was pretty yumm-o and I have the recipe for ya!

 
150g butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup treacle
½ cup golden syrup
1 ½ cups high grade flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
50g soft butter
2 cups icing sugar
2 lemons

Melt the butter, brown sugar, treacle and golden syrup in a large saucepan.  Remove from heat.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger and cinnamon into the saucepan.  Lightly beat the eggs and add to the mixture.
Return to a low heat.  Mix until everything is combined and the mixture is bubbly on the surface.
Line a baking tin with baking paper and pour mixture in.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes at 180˚C or until cooked.  Cool before icing.

 
Icing:
Finely chop the lemon rind of one lemon.
Mix the butter, icing sugar and lemon rind until smooth.  If a bit more liquid is needed use some of the juice of the lemon.  Only add ½ a teaspoon lemon juice at a time and mix before adding anymore to ensure the icing doesn’t get to runny.
Spread onto cooled slice.  Top with the rind of the other lemon and cut the slice into finger food sized portions.

Thanks Andie for sharing your recipe with us!

Guest Post: Russian Fudge by Andie from Red Strawberries!

This is a guest post from Andie at Red Strawberries.  She is a friend of Simon’s from their school days, which is how she met Melissa.  She is also now friends with Courtenay as they both have baby boys to run around after, which are about a month apart in age.  There’s more info on Andie below, lets get on with the post :)

This is one of those simple but oh so yummy recipes.  My husband absolutely loves Russian Fudge and it makes a great party food, or in my house, a 'put it in the pantry and snack on it until it's gone' food.

You will need:
3 ½ cups white sugar
125 g butter
3 tablespoons golden syrup
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon salt
200g sweetened condensed milk (half a standard tin)
2 teaspoons vanilla essence

 
1. Place all ingredients, except the vanilla, into a saucepan.
2. Warm over a low heat until all the sugar is disolved.
3. Bring to a gentle boil (you shouldn't need to increase the heat) and cook for about 15-20 minutes until it reaches about 120°C, aka. the soft ball stage. If you're like me and don't have a sugar or candy thermometer, you can test the soft ball stage by getting a glass of cold water and adding a few small drops of the mixture to it. If it forms a soft ball as it drops through the water then you're at the right stage.


4. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla.
5. Beat until the fudge is thick and has lost its gloss.
6. Pour into a baking tin and let cool (you can put it in the fridge if you like). Once cool you can cut into bite size pieces and go for it!

Though I haven't tried it yet, you could probably add some Rum / Whiskey / Kaluha (or other liquor of your choice) to give it an 'adult' touch.

 
Andie is a full time mum of one little boy & wife of a slightly larger one.  In her spare time she takes photos, bakes and catches up on sleep.  She blogs over at Red Strawberries about her family and life in general.