Gateau de sirop

 

Ingredients 

1 (10 cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

15 g unsalted butter, at room temperature for greasing pan

570 g plain flour, plus more for dusting pan

2 tsps bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

340 ml cane syrup, plus extra for serving, optional

225 ml peanut oil or vegetable oil

225 g light brown sugar

1 tsp hot sauce

2 large eggs

Method

Gateau de sirop

1) Place the ginger in a small saucepan. Pour 225 ml of water over the ginger and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and let the ginger steep for 5 minutes, and then strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve placed over a bowl. Press on the ginger to extract all of the liquid, discard the ginger pulp and set the ginger water aside.
2) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Butter and flour a 22 cm cake pan.
3) Whisk 570 g flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
4) Pour 225 ml cane syrup, oil, brown sugar, ginger water and hot sauce into the bowl of a stand mixer (or into a large bowl if using a hand mixer) and whisk to combine. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Then add the dry ingredients all at once. Using the paddle attachment, beat the mixture on low speed until the batter is smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl using a rubber spatula and then pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
5) Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the center resists slight pressure, about 1 hour. Place the cake on a cooling rack to cool for 15 minutes. Use a cake tester or a fork to poke holes into the top of the cake, going almost all the way through the cake. Pour the remaining 115 ml cane syrup over the top of the cake and let it sit for at least 1 hour before slicing. You can also unmold the cake for presentation, but be sure to pour more cane syrup over it before serving.