This recipe is from   ‘Spices, salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen’  by Elizabeth David. This is a dark, heavy, molasses rich winter cake.

A round cake tin – 3″ deep, 6″in diameter, 2 pint capacity
Buttered and floured.

Heat oven to oven temp.:160/170C /330F./Gas 3.for

Ingredients

4 oz butter
4 oz soft brown sugar
2 eggs
8 oz  flour
10 oz. molasses (or black treacle)
2 oz. sultanas/raisins
2 oz.preserved ginger
1 teasp. ground ginger
1/2 teasp. bicar. of soda
2 tablsp. of milk

Cream butter and sugar,  then amalgamate well with beaten eggs .
Add the sieved flour and mix well.
Pour in molasses
Add sultanas, ginger, ground ginger.
Stir the bicarb into the warm milk so it fizzes, then add to cake mixture.

Pour into the prepared tin.

Cook for 60 min. then 140C.for the next 45 mins
Leave to cool for 5 mins. before turning out.

Molasses is a by-product of the production of sugar, but ironically it is rich in minerals, particularly blackstrap molasses. Sugar cane goes though three stages of boiling as the sugar is extracted. At the third boiling, blackstrap molasses is formed as the juice leaves the cane.