Spiced ginger loaf cake with maple glaze

You will need:

For the loaf

Loaf tin (and liner) 

150g soft brown sugar

150g butter (or good margarine) 

3 large free range eggs 

1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

150g self-raising flour 

4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

Half a  teaspoon ground allspice

For the glaze

As much icing sugar as you dare

4 tablespoons maple syrup

Enough water to turn it into a runny mess

Method:

Preheat oven to gas mark 4 (180 degrees)

Cream the butter and sugar

Beat in the eggs and vanilla

Sift in the flour and spices, and mix well

Spoon into tin (greased and lined with baking parchment, if not using a liner)

Bake for 40-45 minutes - it's ready when a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean

Leave in the tin, on a cooling rack

While still warm, poke a skewer a good few times all over the cake

Make up the glaze by mixing everything together

Spoon over the cooling cake and leave to set

Try to leave until it is cool, then demolish!