Gingerbread Tea Loaf – This lovely recipe for Gingerbread Tea Loaf is over 70 years old, and has been featured in numerous Be-Ro cookbooks.
Perfect for Bonfire Night or Winter Tea Tray Supper
This lovely recipe for Gingerbread Tea Loaf is over 70 years old, and has been featured in numerous Be-Ro cookbooks.
I made it from the 26th edition, which was my late mother’s book. She always had this little book out, and baked from it all of the time.
In the original recipe for Gingerbread, which I’ve shared below, the Be-Ro book suggests you bake this in a “greased dripping tin”
I assume that a dripping tin is what we might call a roasting tin, which you bake traditional Yorkshire Puddings or roast meats.
My grandmother had a dripping pot next to the old range she had in her cottage – it was earthenware, and was always full of meat drippings.
Bread and dripping was a regular breakfast or late supper dish, which we all loved. We used to spead it straight from the jar, on to thick slices of homemade bread.
But back to my recipe for Gingerbread Tea Loaf. Instead of baking this in a roasting tray, I made mine in a loaf tin, in the style of a tea loaf.
It baked beautifully in the loaf tin, which gives you slices rather than squares or chunks of gingerbread.
Serve this old-fashioned ginger bake with butter, and maybe some Wensleyedale or Cheshire cheese, as it traditional in the North of England.
I’ve shared this recipe JUST in time for Bonfire Night, tomorrow, the 5th of November. It is the custom to serve ginger cakes and ginger parkin at this time of year.
I recently shared another recipe for Old-Fashioned Treacle Scones, which is another seasonal recipe for this time of the year.
I hope you enjoy this old Be-Ro recipe if you make it. I remember sitting in front of a roaring log fire at my grandparent’s cottage, eating this.
Frost sparkled on the window panes, and the sky was alight with fireworks. Hot soup and jacket potatoes were served for supper, with butter of course!
As I get older, it’s always the old family recipes that I remember with joy and fondness. And, just like my mum (and her mum before her) I turn to the little paper Be-Ro books for inspiration.
More Ginger Recipes
- Honey Ginger Tea Loaf
- Stem Ginger & Golden Syrup Tea Loaf
- Frosted Ginger Cake with Crystallised Ginger
- Sticky Ginger Marmalade Tea Loaf Recipe
- Traditional Yorkshire Parkin
- Time Treats and Dark Sticky Double Gingerbread
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Recipe for Gingerbread Tea Loaf
Gingerbread Tea Loaf
This lovely recipe for Gingerbread Tea Loaf is over 70 years old, and has been featured in numerous Be-Ro cookbooks.
I made it from the 26th edition, which was my late mother's book. She always had this little book out, and baked from it all of the time.
In the original recipe for Gingerbread, which I've shared below, the Be-Ro book suggests you bake this in a "greased dripping tin"
I assume that a dripping tin is what we might call a roasting tin, which you bake traditional Yorkshire Puddings or roast meats.
It baked beautifully in the loaf tin, which gives you slices rather than squares or chunks of gingerbread.
Serve this old-fashioned ginger bake with butter, and maybe some Wensleyedale or Cheshire cheese, as it tradtional in the North of England.
As I get older, it's always the old family recipes that I remember with joy and fondness. And, just like my mum (and her mum before her) I turn to the little paper Be-Ro books for inspiration.
Ingredients
- 12 ozs Self Raising Flour
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 6ozs sugar
- 4 ozs margarine
- 2 tablespoons treacle
- 1 egg beaten with
- l teacupful milk (about 150ml)
Instructions
- Mix the flour and spices.
- Beat the sugar and margarine to a cream.
- Stir in the treacle.
- Add the dry ingredients, and the beaten egg and milk (alternately, a little at a time) and MIX THOROUGHLY.
- Pour into a greased dripping tray and bake in a MODERATE OVEN (325F to 350F, Gas Mark 3 - 4) about three-quarters of an hour.
- Cut into fingers or squares.
Notes
Optional extras:
Use butter in place of margarine.
Add chopped lemon peel, preserved ginger or a few raisins.
Bake at 160C to 170C.
Bake in a greased 1lb loaf tin.
Add more ground ginger for a extra ginger kick.
A teacup is about 150ml (5oz)
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 240Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 17mgSodium 354mgCarbohydrates 36gFiber 1gSugar 15gProtein 4g
Angela says
Hello Karen
May I ask if you used a 2lb loaf tin? Thanks.
Angela.
Karen Burns-Booth says
I used a 1lb loaf tin
Angela says
OOOps my mistake I’ve just noticed you have put 2lb tin at the end!!
Angela
Karen Burns-Booth says
No – it was a mistake – I used a 1lb loaf tin for a deep loaf but a 2lb loaf tin will work
Pauline says
I love these old recipes. My grandma gave me a book when I left school, it was printed in 1959 My gran was a great cook and I never saw her using a recipe, this had been in the back of her cupboard collecting dust for around10yrs (she was almost 60yrs old when it was published, so someone must have bought it for her)
The second half of the book is household hints (how to change a fuse, social etiquette, needlework etc) but I love the baking section and have used recipes from it often over the years.
I really enjoy reading your recipes, some are quite familiar, and lovely for Sunday teatime.
Thank you Karen.
Noelle says
I’m wondering what you think a teacup measure of milk may be? I’m in Canada and although I use a scale for all my baking, I’m not certain what a teacup would hold, perhaps 4 ounces? I’d love to bake this this tea cake. Thanks in advance.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hi there
A teacup is about 150mls (5 fluid ounces)
Hope that helps!
Karen
sherry says
a buttered slice looks fabulous. Love your crockery too.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Sherry – it’s Maling ware sold by Ringtons tea merchants.
Anna says
This is such a great loaf of bread!! It didn’t last more than 30 minutes in our family. Definitely will be a staple in the winter for my family.
I did have to use sunflower oil instead of butter in a pinch and it worked well.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks for letting me know Anna!