With the sun disappearing below the horizon at about 5:30pm these days, I’m finding it rather difficult to blog about anything interesting we might be having for dinner… plus weekends are now beginning to fill up with children’s sporting activities, so any opportunity for a savoury dish photo shoot at lunchtime is looking rather slim too.
I guess what I’m trying to say here (really quite thinly veiled with the above excuses)… is that yet another sweet recipe is being shared with you today. My guilty conscience in the unbalanced nature of Sweet Vs Savoury on my blog, should be sending me in a mad panic to the crisper drawer of my fridge… rifling through the beans and broccoli and spuds… in an attempt to find new and creative ways of doing them justice. But honestly, I’d far rather be nibbling on a slice of this Grasmere Gingerbread!
Hailing from the Lake District of England, Grasmere Gingerbread more closely resembles a slightly chewy shortbread than the moist cake most would associate with gingerbread. This particular recipe was one that I stumbled across in one of the River Cottage Handbooks (No.8 to be precise, which is all about cakes) written by Pam Corbin. It’s more gingery than most, with the addition of glacé ginger and has the unexpected (and I’m assuming quite untraditional) zing of lime zest and juice which in fact creates a wonderful balance of flavours.
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 20x25cm shallow baking tin with baking/parchment paper. Sift the flour, ground ginger and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the oatmeal and sugar and stir to combine. Melt the butter over a gentle heat in a small saucepan. Once it has completely melted, pour it into the dry ingredients, along with the glacé (or fresh) ginger and the lime zest and juice. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Press the mixture evenly into the baking tin and sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes, until lightly brown. Immediately mark into squares or fingers after removing from the oven, then allow to cool completely in the tin. Once cold, the gingerbread can be kept (wrapped in greaseproof paper) in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.River Cottage Grasmere Gingerbread
Ingredients
Instructions
Gather & Graze 
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This looks so good! I might have try at making this gluten-free.
Thanks very much! I really hope you enjoy it, if you do give it a try. Cheers, Margot
I already trusted you with another “spicy” recipe with ginger… so, I’m sure this gingerbread is amazing! So hard thinking that here we are celebrating long, sunny and warm Spring days and you are on the opposite situation…
Very kind of you Margherita – thank you! Winter hasn’t even started yet and already I’m longing for those warm spring and summer days… I don’t handle the cold very well!
Haha, I have such difficulty balancing the content on my blog also. It’s just often easier to post sweet stuff as I tend to do most of my savoury cooking in the evenings when the light is just too terrible for food photography (first world problems!). These look GORGEOUS regardless. Love ginger! xxx
Yes, definitely a first world problem Laura… 🙂 and I think I’ll just have to come to the realisation that winter will have to be my ‘Sweet Season’! I tried desperately to take photos of last night’s dinner and ended up with not only rubbish photos, but a cold meal to boot – such a lose lose situation! Back to making cakes I think… 😉
Looks like a delicious cake, Margot. Looks really moist and the ginger and lime must give it great flavor. Just the kind of cake I would like with a cup of tea! Lovely! 🙂
Thanks so very much Indu! It’s actually more of a biscuit/slice/shortbread kind of treat, but yes the little kick of lime and two types of ginger really do give it a fabulous flavour. Perfect with an afternoon cuppa. 🙂 Cheers, Margot
I think your gingerbread looks fantastic and super tempting, Margot! No need for you to find excuses! I don’t have a sweet tooth and I would pick a savory dish over a sweet one every day and twice on Sundays! That’s just the way we roll! 😉
It’s really quite interesting the way we each have our preferences for sweet and savoury – perhaps partly genetic and partly learned over the years, depending on the food we’ve been brought up on. It’s not that I don’t love all kinds of savoury food as well, but if forced to choose… well, I’d have to go sweet! Thanks so much for your generous comment Francesca. M.xx
This looks amazing – I love a gingery gingerbread, more importantly my mum loves a ginger anything especially if it reminds of ye olde England 🙂 so when I next want to spoil her I will turn to this, so no need to feel guilty! If you want a fast healthy recipe try the cabbage (!) on my blog :)!
😀 Thanks so much Poli! I’ll be through to check out your cabbage recipe shortly!
This gingerbread looks absolutely gorgeous. Perfect with a hot cup of tea.
You’re so very kind Mary, thank you! Yes… perfect to nibble on with a hot cup of tea. 🙂
Gorgeous recipe Margot 🙂 All the ingredients are new to me in this recipe, I’m more familiar with gingerbread with honey. I like the new flavors and the presentation of this one. Have a wonderful day 😉
This was a new style of gingerbread for me too Linda… and I enjoyed it a lot! Thanks for your lovely comment. M.xx
I have never baked with oatmeal. I love glacé ginger and surprised by juice of lime in the recipe. Gingerbread sure looks delectable covered with the almond flakes.
Thanks so much Fae! I couldn’t actually find oatmeal in our local supermarket, so blitzed up some instant oats in the food processor instead. The lime is quite a pleasant addition and helps balance out the heat from the ginger – but yes, it is rather surprising! 🙂
Would never have thought of lime and ginger together. How exciting. 🙂 As they’re two of my favourites – out of many – I’m now going to have to try them. Boys, I’ll never fit into my swimming trunks for summer! Certainly not after wolfing through all that golden syrup. Hmm, nice though. No, not me in my trunks. I don’t even go to the beach in summer. And If I did I’d be fully clothed. Bring back bathing machines, like the Victorians had!
When I first read the recipe, the lime was a surprising addition for me too Johnny! The combination really works though… and I imagine would work equally as well in a chutney or marmalade?! Can’t actually remember the last time I went swimming… possibly in the Gulf of Mexico… but that was a few years ago now. 🙂
The gingerbread look delicious and just the name sent me into a reverie because we loved the Lakes District when we visited. I’ve begun to plan my meals around dishes that benefit from being prepared ahead so I can photograph in natural light. Over the darker months though, I have the camera on a bench tripod which means I don’t have to resort to the flash. Sometimes I think I should set up a light booth, but the reality is I don’t have the space. The trials and tribulations of a blogger…
Some great tips there Sandra, thank you! I definitely need to become more organised, that’s for sure, if ever I’m going to post main meals through the winter time. A light booth just might be the answer though – I started looking into these last year, but didn’t get too far in designing/constructing my own. Might need to research it all again… 🙂
I know what you mean about putting a post together in the wintertime. I think that’s how I lost my blogging momentum last winter. The weekends are busy and the sun sets too early. I love this gingerbread recipe Margot. So few ingredients and the lovely almonds on top are wonderful.
Thank you Seana! It’s funny… because we’re putting food on the table pretty much every night of the year, but depending on what’s going on in life, taking photos and writing about the food quite often needs to take a back seat. I also find that the produce in the markets is always so much more inspiring in the warmer months/seasons, that it practically compels you to make something new and different, in order to celebrate it!
Ooooh this just takes me back to those pleasant green rolling hills….I’ll definitely have to try this one out for Adie, Margot!!!
I’ve only ever visited there in the depths of winter dear Claire and I must have only been about 19 years old at the time. Well and truly time for a re-visit and perhaps a taste-test or two of the original Grasmere Gingerbread!
I like the addition of the lime juice and zest (gave good balance), but you could probably leave it out if you want more of a pure ginger flavour.
Lots of love to you guys! M.xx
Lovely looking gingerbread Margot, and give me a sweet recipe over a savoury one any day. You are totally fine doing that in my books. Besides, it’s got “bread” in the name, which is basically a savoury thing, right? You could eat this for dinner 😉
Ha! I can always count on you Trix… feeling better about it all already! Cheers, M.xx
Don’t feel guilty Margot, it has ginger and oatmeal in it so it must be good for you 🙂
😀 Ginger is said to be medicinal after all! Thanks Karen!
I love ginger and this sounds like really gingery gingerbread! I too have trouble with my photos as we eat our main meal at night but very late, so even in the summer it’s mostly dark by the time we serve the food!
Cheers Tanya! I also struggle with the fact that when I’ve made a hot meal, I really want to sit down and eat it while it’s still hot with the rest of the family (instead of faffing about with the camera!)… particularly in the winter time when a luke-warm meal just doesn’t cut it.
These cakes look like a wonderful snack with a cup of tea in the afternoon.
Thank you Gerlinde… they do indeed go perfectly with an afternoon cup of tea!
This looks fantastic, Margot. I love gingerbread, but this sounds different and delicious! Definitely bookmarking for next fall/winter!
It’s definitely a different style of gingerbread than anything I’ve ever tasted Darya! The addition of lime gives it an interesting twist… and helps to balance the heat from the ginger. Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂