Back in the days when I worked at a café in a way too uptight area of Auckland, we used to sell this delicious ginger slice, which really packed a punch. It also reminds me of the kind of slices that my Grandmother always had in her pantry.
The unison between the spicy base and the buttery, sweet top is a perfect combination. (There, I’ve fulfilled the pretentious writing quota). I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like this slice, and if I did meet them, I probably wouldn’t be their friend anyway.
Honestly I had some problems when it came to making this recipe to get it right, mainly I kept eating the topping before it made it to the base, but even worse, I kept eating the topping before it had cooled. Let’s just remember that hot golden syrup burns like hell.
So if you need a go to slice for the weekend, that is great with a cup of tea, then look no further than this ginger crunch.
Spicy Ginger Crunch
Ingredients
Base
130g Butter, softened
90g Caster Sugar
190g Plain Flour
10g Powdered Ginger
5g Baking Powder
Topping
70g Butter
70g Golden Syrup
90g Icing Sugar
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 185ºC. Grease and line with baking paper, a 12cm x 12cm baking tin
- Blend the base ingredients into a crumble and press evenly into baking tin.
- Bake at 185ºC for 20-25 minutes
- Topping
- Melt butter and golden syrup in a pot over medium heat
- Add sifted icing sugar and mix until combined
- Remove from heat and set aside to cool and thicken for 5 minutes
- Pour topping over warm base
- Refrigerate overnight, cut into even squares
