Best ever gluten-free ginger cake

I had all my embroidery chums visiting the other day and I know they are very fond of ginger cake.  I made one without following a recipe and decided it was disgusting.  A bit of research on the internet and I came across this review of ginger cake recipes from the Guardian.  I used the recipe Felicity Cloake recommended, just swapping my usual gf flour for the ordinary wheat flour.  My flour is a mixture of urid lentils (40%), tapioca (40%) and cornmeal (20%).

The cake was superb and the recipe demanded and made immediately.  This recipe is rich and complex.  The icing is ginger wine and icing sugar, which gives an easy but potent topping to this moist cake.  Choose a good brand of ginger wine as they do vary enormously.  I used Greens. The recipe suggested stem ginger to top the cake but I skipped this as I had forgotten to buy any.

Ingredients:

100g butter
100g dark muscovado sugar
175g self-raising flour (100g of my flour mix with 1tsp gf baking powder.  Flour is urid (40%) tapioca (40%) and fine cornmeal (20%)
4 tsp ground ginger (if you don't use ginger often buy some new as it does lose its punch)
175g golden syrup
3 tbsp ginger wine
2 free-range eggs, beaten
Walnut-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
150g candied ginger, finely chopped
75g icing sugar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C and grease and line a 23cm loaf tin. 
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Sift together the flour and ground ginger. 
3. Pour in the golden syrup and 1 tbsp wine and mix to combine.
4. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, then gradually mix in the flour. Finally, stir through the fresh and candied ginger and spoon into the prepared tin. Level the top and bake for about 50–60 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool in the tin. It will tend to fall apart if you try to take it out when it is hot.
6. When it's completely cool, make the icing by mixing together the icing sugar and remaining ginger wine and drizzle over the top of the cake. 

This cake would probably be very good for several days but you probably won't get a chance to find out.

Triple Ginger Cake

This cake has a warm spicy flavour from its three types of ginger - fresh, crystallised and dried.  The flavour improves when the cake is kept for a few days, so it is great as a bake ahead treat.

This recipe is based on the Ginger Butter Cake in Williams-Sonoma "Essentials of baking" p 100.

Preheat oven to 170C (fan)
Line 2 small or one large loaf tin with baking parchment

Ingredients
140g crystallised ginger, minced
80ml Grand Marnier
250g gf flour (40%urid, 40% tapioca, 20% cornmeal)
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger
185g unsalted butter, room temperature
150g icing sugar
1 tbsp golden or agave syrup
4 large eggs, at room temperature
Grated zest 1 orange
7.5cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
125 ml milk

Soak the minced crystallised ginger in a bowl with the Grand Marnier for at least ten minutes.

Sift together dry ingredients.

Combine butter, sugar and syrup and beat by hand or mixer until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs one at a time. Add orange zest and grated ginger.  Stir in flour mixture, milk and crystallised ginger in Grand Marnier.

Spread batter into tins.  Bake until the cake is set when you insert a knife - about 40 minutes for small tins, 55 for the larger tin. If the cake is getting too brown while it still isn't cooked lower the heat.

Cool in the pan for five minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.  Cover with a damp towel if you want the outside to stay soft when it cools - otherwise you get a slightly crisp edge.

Dust with icing sugar if wanted.