Ginger loaf (with butter icing)

I made this for the first time the other week and it worked first time.  I didn't do the butter icing because it seemed messy and overly complicated for an office bake.  For home consumption where there's time, crockery, cutlery etc and not just cake tins and napkins, then the butter icing might be a nice add.

I have to say it was on a table next to the cherry and pecan muffins and nobody chose the ginger loaf except me.  Their loss.  I thought it was yummy.

Ingredients

• 450g plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• pinch of salt
• 6 fat knobs of stem ginger in syrup, roughly chopped
• 220g soft brown sugar
• 170g unsalted butter
• 350g golden syrup
• 280ml milk
• 1 egg
• (150g unsalted butter at room temperature and 200g icing sugar for butter icing)

Method

• Grease and line two 900g (large) loaf tins.  This means buttering the tins, lining with baking parchment and buttering the baking parchment.  I hate this part of baking but it is worth the effort.
• Preheat fan oven to 160°C.
• Stir flour, ground ginger, baking powder, bicarb and salt.  Add chopped ginger and stir again.
• Tip butter, sugar and golden syrup into a saucepan and warm through.  It helps to chop the butter and you are warming everything through, not cooking it.  You just need to get it to the point where the syrup is running.
• Remove from heat and stir in milk and then lightly beat in the egg.
• Tip this wet mixture into the dry ingredients and beat until well mixed.
• Pour mixture into the two tins and bake for 60-70 minutes until a skewer can be inserted and removed and remain clean.  If, during cooking, you are concerned that the top is getting too brown, then loosely cover with foil.
• If you fancy making butter icing as an accompaniment then beat the butter at room temperature until light and fluffy and then beat in the icing sugar.