A page from the living cookbook
Mumbles, Wales
1 hr 30 min cook · Dessert or baking
The story
“Robin Vaughan from Mumbles shared her mum's gingerbread recipe with OPR — the moistest and tastiest gingerbread she remembers. There are no photographs of the original because it was usually eaten long before camera phones were even imagined.”
This recipe now belongs to every family who cooks it.
The original clipping
The method
A visual guide
Key moments to look for as you cook. Use these visual cues alongside the written method.
Step 3
The all-in-one method brings the wet ingredients and sifted dry ingredients together in one bowl. Beat for 2–3 minutes until smooth.
Step 4
Pour the smooth batter into the lined 7-inch square tin and level it before it goes into the slow oven.
Step 6
The clipping describes a well-risen, flat-topped cake with a moist, open texture. Let it cool, then wrap it if you can wait a few days.
Cook's notes & swaps
These are optional pointers for making the recipe your own while keeping the spirit of the original.
The clipping says that 4 oz (113g) black treacle may be used instead of the golden syrup, if you prefer a deeper, more bittersweet gingerbread.
For the alternative method printed on the clipping, melt the margarine, sugar and syrup or treacle in the milk over a low heat, stirring without letting it get too hot. Cool until lukewarm, then add it to the sifted dry ingredients with the beaten egg and mix until smooth before baking as above.
The original gives a slow oven at 300°F. The Celsius and Gas Mark settings shown in the method are practical conversions, so use the printed baking time and test before taking the cake out.
Families who've made this
Cooked Robin Vaughan's Gingerbread? Share a photo or a few words for the families who make it next — and you could be picked for a future OPR live cook-along. Every post is checked by OPR before it appears here.
Helpful answers
The original clipping specifies a 7-inch square cake tin. Line it with baking paper before you begin so the baked gingerbread can be turned out cleanly after its short rest.
Yes. Robin's clipping specifically says that 4 oz (113g) black treacle can replace the same amount of golden syrup if you would like a deeper, more bittersweet flavour.
Bake for 1¼ to 1½ hours, then test before removing it from the oven. The original recipe describes the finished gingerbread as rich brown, moist, well risen and flat-topped.
The original note recommends wrapping and storing the gingerbread for a few days before eating. That resting time is part of the character of this recipe, rather than an afterthought.
Keep cooking
