Ah yes Gingerbread, it is one of my bestsellers on my webshop and I know exactly why 🙂 It is a dark, gingery, spicy and very moist and sticky bake which is perfect for any occasion and is not just for Bonfire Night – oh no – you can eat it at any time of the year as some of my customers will agree.
Origins of my recipe
The origins of my Gingerbread recipe come from a Mary Berry recipe book. I love her recipes and have many of her books but I tend to bake her treats, try them out then go away and ponder for several days and see if I can change the recipe to suit my own needs. I look at ;-
- the nutrition and how I can improve it
- what ingredients I can change to achieve a healthier bake
- the nutrition of the new bake
- what effect changing the ingredients may have on the resultant bake
- trial the new recipe to do a taste check on it
- if I receive plenty of positive feedback I will add it to my products for sale in the webshop
- if I think it needs more work on it then it is back to the drawing board
My bookcase is full of recipe books so I don’t just use Mary Berry recipe books because being a homebaker I have plenty of choices of books to research and recipes to change and I think this is the Food Scientist in me which is fighting to get out and change recipes for the better or maybe not in some cases as sometimes the original is the absolutely the best don’t you think?
Limit on Creative Time
As you can see from this plan it is time consuming and with my home life there is a limited amount of time for me to do these trials as there is always something else gets in the way. Also, I really don’t want to overload my family and friends with bakes for them to try as I know how important it is to not overindulge with sweet treats (even homebaked ones). Not only that but my orders which I receive from the webshop always take priority and for the last few weeks I have been very busy in the kitchen so my creative side has taken a back seat.
New Improved Gingerbread Recipe
Until the other day that is, and I got to make my new improved version of the Gingerbread which I had been working on for quite a while for a regular customer who liked my original Gingerbread. I decided to bake the healthier version to see if they could tell the difference and I didn’t tell them about the changes as I wanted them to “taste it blind” so to speak. I wonder what they think of my new improved Gingerbread. I really need to ask them 🙂
White Choc Gingerbread Cupcakes 
White Chocolate and Gingerbread Traybake
When I say healthier, I mean, the quantities of the main unhealthier ingredients such as the black treacle, golden syrup and sugar have been reduced but as these are all vital to the overall taste and texture of the bake and there aren’t any alternatives which I have tried which produce the same deliciously tasting Gingerbread.
Versatility is the Key to a Good Bake
As you can see, my Gingerbread recipe is very versatile as I didn’t just use it to bake the White Chocolate Gingerbread traybake. There was enough mixture left to make some Mini Gingerbread Cupcakes which I decorated the same as the traybake with the white chocolate ganache and a sprinkling of grated white chocolate. I put the Cupcakes up for sale – collection only – as I really want more people to try my baking. After selling eight of the Cupcakes I kept the remainder for my husband and myself as my husband loves Gingerbread.
The best thing about Gingerbread is it tastes better the longer you keep it for and keeps so well in an airtight tin but the downside is that the topping on the Gingerbread starts to discolour. It is like the Gingerbread is soaking through the topping and taking over the bake hahaha 🙂 but don’t let that put you off because after a couple of days my Gingerbread is just YUM!!
Where you Can Buy my Gingerbread From
If you don’t believe me then watch out on Facebook for when I have spares available of this delicious product or better still feel free to order from my webshop at https://www.love-to-bake.uk/product/gingerbread/. Here you can choose a variety of ganache toppings or even just order a plain tray of the Gingerbread for postal delivery or collection. This Gingerbread will become one of your favourites I am sure. 🙂