Fruited double ginger cake

This is what I made this morning, and it has essentially enough for two cakes but I cooked mine in one large shallow baking tin.

GINGERBREAD

1 lb (450g) plain flour
6 rounded tsps ground ginger
2 " " " mixed spice
2 1/2 level tsps bicarbonate of soda
8 oz (225g) margarine or butter
8 oz (225) golden syrup
" " black treacle
4 oz (125g) dark brown soft sugar
4 Grade 3 eggs
1/2 pt (275ml) cold milk
2 tblspns cold water

Well grease a baking tin of about 11" x 9" x 2" deep then line base and sides with non-stick parchment or greaseproof paper (latter painted with melted fat). Set oven to 300 deg. F(150 deg. C) Gas 2.

Sift first four dry ingredients into a bowl. Put fats, syrup, treacle and sugar into a pan and melt gently over a low heat. Do not boil. Beat together eggs, milk and water.

Make a dip in the centre of the dry ingredients. Pour in egg mixture, followed by the melted mixture. Stir briskly without beating, making sure you work in all the flour, etc.

Transfer to the prepared tin and spread evenly with a knife. Put into oven and bake 1 - 1 1/4 hours until well risen and deep brown, and a thin metal skewer, pushed gently into the centre, comes out clean and dry.

Leave in tin for 15 mins, then lift gingerbread carefully out onto a wire cooling rack. Put into an air-tight tin when cold, and store in a cool place. (Warmth tends to turn gingerbread mouldy). Remove paper just before cutting.

I added about 4 oz of sultanas to this mix as well as half a dozen pieces of stem ginger finely chopped to the mix. It gets better with keeping, getting sticky on the top!