What I love about this recipe, originally from The Common Sense Cookery Book, introduced to me by my friend Beck:

It tastes amazing.

It has a lovely grown-up, old-world charm about it and feels a bit dainty when served with a cup of tea of coffee.

It’s ginger. Need I say more?

It’s made from ingredients already in the pantry (no shopping)

It has a short baking time

It’s ginger.

The two cakes are thin and cool quickly, ready to assemble.

It’s cheap as chips to make: no more than $3

It’s ginger.

Did I say, it’s ginger?

Thanks a bunch, Beck. Love, love, love it.

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• 1 cup plain flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon bicarb soda

Mock Cream Filling & Topping

•  4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sifted icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius, 160 degrees if fan-forced. Grease and flour two 18cm diameter round shallow cake pans.
2. Beat butter and sugar to a cream. In another bowl, beat egg milk and golden syrup together. Add to creamed butter and sugar.
3. Fold in sifted flour, ginger, cinnamon and bicarb soda. Distribute evenly between the two pans and bake for around 15 minutes.
4. Check if cooked through using a skewer which should come out clean from the middle of the cakes. Turn onto wire rack and cool.
5. While cakes are cooling, make mock cream by eating butter and sugar to a cream, then gently adding icing sugar and vanilla essence.
6. When cakes are cooled, use half mock cream to sandwich them together, and use the other half to ice the top of the cake.