Ginger Lime Loaf

Like many food bloggers, I have a cookbook addiction. There, I've said it. I am not sure if they have CBAA (Cook Book Addicts Anonymous) meetings, but I don't think I'd want to go - I'd have to be dragged there kicking and screaming. I love cook books - there is nothing like cosying up under the doona with a pretty recipe book full of enticing photos and seductive recipe titles.

Recently, Nanette of The Gourmet Worrier posted about a cook book that she had learned about through the Air New Zealand in flight magazine called Gran's Kitchen - Recipes from the Notebooks of Dulcie May Booker by Natalie Oldfield. You can read Nanette's enchanting post, which explains the story behind the book, here.

After resisting for about 5 seconds, I decided that I had to add this book to my collection. After all, it contains lots of baking recipes (among others) of the kinds of things that mother used to make, and I have found that New Zealand and Australian women seemed to make the same sorts of things, so it would appeal to my taste buds.

This book did not disappoint - it is a truly beautiful book, with lots of photographs of Dulcie May Booker and her family, and a photo of each dish. The lovely people from whom I bought my copy, Cook The Books, suggested that I try the honey gems - and I will. However, for my first outing, I made Dulcie's Ginger Lime Loaf, which apparently was one of her "new" favourites. This is a lovely dense loaf cake flavoured with lime and fresh ginger, and with the most devine lime icing on top.

To make your own Ginger Lime Loaf, you will need:

250g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup golden syrup
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 cup plain flour
1 cup self raising flour
2 lightly beaten eggs
3/4 cup plain yoghurt

Icing

2 cups icing sugar
1/4 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 tablespoon lime zest

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease a loaf pan. (The book doesn't specify size, so I just used what I had.)

Put the butter and golden syrup into a medium sized saucepan, and melt over medium heat on the stovetop. Add the sugar, ginger and lime to the saucepan, and stir over low heat until dissolved. Remove from the heat.

Sift the flours together in a large bowl.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs and yoghurt until combined.

Add the egg mixture and butter mixture alternately to the flours in two to three batches, stirring until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin, and bake in the preheated oven for around 50 minutes or until cooked through. (My cake ended up being a little cracked and domey on top, but tasted fine.)

When the cake has cooled, ice it by combining all the icing ingredients together and spreading over the top of the cake. (I used more than the suggested 2 tablespoons of lime juice in the icing - I just used up the juice from the whole lime, but the consistency of the icing is up to you.)

Enjoy sliced for morning tea with a hot cuppa.