Honey and Spice Cake by Dan Lepard & Richard Whittington

This recipe came straight out from 'Exceptional Cakes'.  There was some rye flour, as well as wheat flour, three spices and honey, so much to like.  This is the first time I have grated fresh ginger and just added the juice...

The recipe says use a heavy duty electric mixer, so I used the Kitchen Aid a gift from Vickie, but could not see why, except that you have to keep it running for 2.5 minutes twice.  The amount of mixture was so small that I turned it all into another bowl and used my hand held Kenwood mixer which I have had for over twenty years!  This worked much better.

The cake is very light, delicate in texture, and packs a lot of flavours...I think I slightly overcooked it.  It continues to cook as you leave it to cool completely in the tin before unmoulding, and it shrinks away from the sides of the tin further on cooling...but then it is a very delicate balance and I do not like any hint at raw bits in the middle.  On balance it was probably almost perfect.  Although the texture looks more airy toward the tops this was just against the tin, and the cut slice showed no variations.  Mr S was perfectly happy to have a slice instead of pudding over the weekend!