Piernik (Polish gingerbread)

Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter — 140 g
• Clear Honey — 300 g
• Brown Sugar — 100 g
• Self-raising Flour — 375 g
• Ground Ginger — 3 tsp
• Ground Cinnamon — 1 tsp
• Ground Clove — 0.5 tsp
• Ground Nutmeg — 0.25 tsp
• Pepper — 0.25 tsp
• Egg — 3 pcs
• Plum Jam — 200 g
• Double Cream — 225 ml
• Dark Chocolate — 140 g
• Clear Honey — 3 tbsp

Steps

1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line the base and sides of a deep 20cm cake tin with baking parchment. Put the honey, sugar and butter in a medium saucepan and cook over a medium heat until fully melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Put the flour and spices in a large bowl and mix everything together.
2. Once the liquid ingredients have cooled, whisk in the eggs. Pour over the dry ingredients, whisking them together to form a smooth batter – be careful not to overmix as this can lead to a dry cake. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50-55 mins or until risen and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
3. Once cooled, use a large serrated knife to slice the cake into 3 layers. Spread the jam across the 2 bottom cake layers, then reassemble the cake and set aside while you make the glaze. Put the cream, chocolate and honey in a medium pan and cook over a low-medium heat until the chocolate is melted and you have a smooth, pourable mixture. Put the cake on a wire rack set over a parchment-lined baking tray and pour over the glaze, making sure to cover the entire cake. Use a fish slice to carefully transfer the cake to a serving plate and allow the glaze to set. To decorate, dust with a little edible gold powder, if you like. Uniced, this cake will keep for up to 5 days. Once iced, enjoy within 3 days – just keep in the fridge, but remove before serving and eat at room temperature.