Gluten &/or Dairy free Grasmere -esque Gingerbread

FIRST YOU NEED TO MAKE THE SHORTBREAD FROM THE FIRST POST ON THIS BLOG (OR BUY SOME GLUTEN FREE SHORTBREAD BUT IT'S USUALLY RUBBISH AND EXPENSIVE)

I first experienced the joy of Grasmere Gingerbread at my friend Emilie's house, it had been brought back from The Lake District by our mutual mate Ant. It is surely the king of all gingerbreads, dense, chewy and fiery, fuel for hungry worker's teabreaks, like The Kendal Mint Cake of the biscuit world. It is a delightful, spicey sweet buttery treat on its own but dunks really well and is super double boss when crumbled onto vanilla ice cream.



400g Gluten Free Shortbread
30g chopped mixed peel
50g crystallised ginger
4tsp ground ginger
1/2tsp baking powder
40g rice flour
40g fine polenta
35g treacle
45g golden syrup
70g butter/dairy-free spread

Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/gas 3 

Smash up the shortbread and mix with the sugar and 3tsp of ground ginger. better still, whiz it in a blender til it resembles breadcrumbs (I haven't got a blender at the moment so have been using a caqrrier bag and ladle with 'smashing' results. Put 150g of this mixture aside and to the rest, add 2 more teaspoons of ginger, the mixed peel and crystallised ginger, flours and baking powder. Mix it all really throughly, breaking up any lumps and rubbing the ingredients between your palms like making crumble (or just pulse it if you have blender power).

 Get a really big saucepan (it's gonna hold all the ingredients in a bit) and melt the butter (or spread), syrups and treacle on a low heat, stirring constantly now add the mixture and stir it all til really well mixed. Then pour it all onto a greased baking tray (approx 35x20cm)
in an even layer and press it down all over so it is flat and dense and even. 

Bake it for about 20-25 mins.
Take it out of the oven and quickly but evenly sprinkle the reserved shortbread crumbs all over the top and press them down really well with a potato masher, fish slice or spatula. using a shap knife cut into 4cmx6cm slices and leave them in the tray to cool 

VERY IMPORTANT: get a bowl of vanilla ice cream or soya dessert and try some gingerbread with it whilst still warm. Do it now!

BUT

LET THEM COOL AT LEAST A BIT BEFORE TRYING THEM BECAUSE THEY WILL BURN YOUR TONGUE.