Pecan Double Ginger Cake

I made this for my Dad on his birthday as he is a big fan of the ginger cake. I saw Nigel Slater making it on his cooking program and then I got the Kitchen Diaries book for Christmas. I love his food it always looks so rich and comforting and the way this book is laid out - like entries into a diary - along with beautiful photographs makes it one of my favourite cookery books.

So I've adapted it a little with the addition of pecans on the top with a sprinkling of brown sugar and a little splash of bourbon but Slater takes the lion share of the credit.

Ingredients
250g self-raising flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
200g golden syrup
2 tbsp ginger syrup from ginger jar
125g butter
3 lumps stem ginger in syrup, chopped
2 heaped tbsp sultanas
125g dark muscovado sugar
2 large eggs
240ml milk
2 tbsp bourbon (I used Jack)
about 75g pecans
brown sugar for sprinkling

First you need to line a cake tin with greaseproof paper and butter - I used a 20cm round with removable base to make it easier to get out after baking. Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.

In a saucepan melt the butter, golden syrup and ginger syrups over a low heat. Once the butter is melted add the chopped ginger, sultanas and sugar and heat (allow to bubble), stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved into the mixture. Add the bourbon and stir - at this point it will smell amazing.

Separately beat together the eggs and milk then remove the syrup mixture from the heat and pour into the flour, mixing until combined. Mix in the milk and eggs. The mixture should be fairly sloppy.

Transfer the mixture into the lined cake tin and arrange the pecans on the surface. Sprinkle with brown sugar then bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool for 5 minutes and then tuck in if you want it hot (with custard or ice cream) or carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. You can keep it for a week if wrapped in foil and it actually tastes better the longer you leave it as it becomes really sticky and rich. One happy dad.