Irish Style Gingerbread Men: Every Old Bakery's Favourite

Looking to beat the January blues? Have a jolly little gingerbread man, made with what is to become my go-to recipe!

The gingerbread man of my childhood... a biscuit soft enough to yield easily to a single bite, with a delicious bendy chewiness and a clean, pure flavour of golden syrup and ground ginger, all topped off with naff-as-hell cooking chocolate and sweets to decorate. This style of gingerbread man is ubiquitous in Ireland, appearing in every bakery around the country from small towns to cities. It's like they all have a recipe that was taught to them in culinary college, but in all the nearly 7 years I've been blogging, I've never quite captured it.

Over the course of my blog, I have done a few different recipes for gingerbread:

• Right back at the very start I had my recipe free from dairy, gluten, and egg which I made for my friend who was intolerant to all of the above;
• I had my Dinosaur Kimberley recipe, which was essentially a regular roll out biscuit dough with some spice and golden syrup for flavour;
• I then did an egg-free gingerbread recipe, which was essentially ginger flavoured shortbread;
• After that, there was the gingerbread skeletons recipe which was my first attempt at the kind of chewy bakery style gingerbread that I love, but wasn't quite there yet;
• And most recently my Gingerbread Village Cake, which featured a cakier style that's suitable for building houses but still nice to eat.

As you can see, I've never really had a go to recipe. Mostly because all the recipes I used didn't produce a gingerbread that I really liked; they were either to dry and crunchy, too sturdy and shortbready, too cakey, or too soft and squishy. None of the recipes I've used have that X-factor that I wanted.

(Credit: the Daily Express)

Until now! From my trawling of the internet, I found a recipe that is pretty much bang on that delicious flavour of my childhood (and adulthood, admittedly: I cannot resist the charms of a pretty little gingerbread man when I pass my local bakery). Shared to the RTÉ website is a recipe for Nanny Nellie's gingerbread men, and whoever Nanny Nellie is she most likely got that secret recipe because it makes a gingerbread man almost identical to any you'd find in a bakery.

INGREDIMENTS

Makes 24 gingerbread men

12 ounces (340 grammes) plain white flour: spelt, wheat, or gluten-free

1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 millilitres) ground ginger, depending on how spicy you want it

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) bicarbonate of soda

4 ounces (115 grammes) salted butter, or margarine for an authentic experience

6 ounces (170 grammes) soft light brown sugar

3 ounces (85 grammes) golden syrup

1 medium egg

Up to 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) water, to adjust

Optional: other ground spices to taste, for example cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, etc.

To decorate

1 bar (150 grammes) milk cooking chocolate

Sweets such as Smarties, M&Ms, or Jelly Tots

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and line one or two baking sheets with non-stick paper.
• Sieve the dry ingredients together onto a sheet of non-stick paper, or into a roomy mixing bowl. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and syrup with an electric mixer until well combined. Beat in the egg.
• Add the dry ingredients bit by bit until the mixer can no longer mix, then turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured work surface and bring the dough together by hand.
• Depending on your egg, you might need to add a little water to help the dough come together, which is perfectly normal. The dough should be soft, but not at all sticky.
• This dough can be used immediately and doesn't need chilling: roll out to a thickness of an eighth inch (3 millilmetres) on a well floured surface, making sure to move it around every so often to prevent sticking.
• Cut out shapes and arrange them about an inch (2.5 centimetres) apart on the tray(s). The scraps re-roll very well.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they look set. They will still be a little soft, but the edges will be set nicely. Don't let them brown too much!
• Allow to cool on the trays momentarily before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To decorate, melt the chocolate according to the instructions. Dip the gingerbread man heads and feet in the chocolate, and attach the sweets with chocolate to look like buttons. Draw smiley faces on with melted chocolate using a cocktail stick.

Adapted from: https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/recipes/2018/1107/1009352-nanny-nellies-gingerbread-men-today/

Gingerbread Stars (Egg and Wheat Free)

I went to visit some friends in Dublin the weekend before Christmas to give out some presents, and for each friend I made something quite small, more of a token than anything else. I thought I'd make one of my friends a small handful of decorated gingerbread stars, in the spirit of the season.

These stars use the same recipe as the gingerbread houses, which is a wheat- and egg free recipe for gingerbread, but I used royal icing to decorate them, which makes them not completely egg free. Because I don't really like having egg yolks left over from separating eggs for royal icing, I bought some instant royal icing, which does the job. It's not ideal, because it starts setting pretty much as soon as you make it, meaning that each biscuit you ice the icing gets firmer. But I digress.

I used red and white because I think it's a nice Christmassy combination of colours, and it also means I only had to divide it in two and colour one half, which makes it way less fussy. I piped them with a simple snowflake design, which uses the trick of feathering to add interest to the snowflake arms.

To make the snowflake design, pipe the outline of the star about an eighth of an inch (3 millimetres) from the edge of the biscuit, then fill in to make the base. While the base is still wet, pipe a line of the accent colour from the middle of the star up the centre of each arm; pipe two little lines going across each long line. Using a cocktail stick, drag through the middle of each long line from the tips of the arms to the centre. The result can be seen in the photographs.

Leave to set, exposed to the air, for at least 6 hours, overnight is best. You can use any colour combination you like, and these can be eaten any time of year really!

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Eggs

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products
☒ Dairy

There was no blog this time last year.

Gingerbread Houses (Egg and Wheat Free)

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I decided that this year I would make everyone's presents by hand, and make them edible, and that I did! This year is a completely handmade affair. Along with the usual mince pies and Christmas cake, there is:

 Gluten free fairy cakes, with vegan buttercream
 Chocolate coated fudge, in a variety of flavours
 Gingerbread houses and biscuits with icing
 Filled moulded chocolates
 Pecan nut shortbread biscuits
 Dairy free Irish cream liqueur

It has been very busy in the kitchen this December, and I'm very proud of myself! I have a lot of catch-up blogging to do, and you all have a lot of catch-up reading...

But without further ado, I present to you wheat- and egg free gingerbread houses! 

They certainly won't win any prizes for architectural integrity, but this recipe for gingerbread doesn't change spread in the oven, meaning the biscuits are the same shape going in as out, making for very easy construction.

I made little individual ones for my sister and her boyfriend, and decorated them with white chocolate, royal icing (which DOES contain egg, but you can use melted chocolate or glacé icing instead if you have an egg allergy), jelly beans, pecan nuts, and Smarties.

The biscuit itself is very tasty, but I have a lot to learn when it comes to constructing a house out of it.

I drew up my own templates, which was basically one 3 by 5 inch (7½ by 13 centimetre) rectangle, one 4 by 6 inch (10 by 15 centimetre) rectangle, and one 3 inch (7½ centimetre) square with a 2 inch (5 centimetre) triangular hat on. I cut two of each shape for the houses, but there are literally hundreds of templates available on Pinterest for you to have a perusal through!

FREE FROM
☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Eggs

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products
☒ Dairy
  

INGREDIMENTS

For 2 houses (according to my measurements)

• 2 ounces brown sugar
• 1 ounce golden syrup or treacle
• 4 ounces butter or margarine for a dairy free version
• 8 ounces white spelt flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• Pinch ground cloves
• Water, to bind

To decorate

• Royal icing, or glacé icing or melted chocolate if you have an egg allergy
• Melted chocolate
• Sweets
• Nuts, or not if you have a nut allergy

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 180°c (350°F/Gas Mk. 4); line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper, or grease lightly with butter or margarine.
• In a mixing bowl, beat the butter or margarine until soft and creamy with a wooden spoon. Mix in the syrup (or treacle) and the sugar and beat again until smooth.
• Sieve in the flour and spices, then mix with the spoon again until fully mixed, but crumbly.
• Add the water a teaspoon at a time until a soft dough is formed. Work briefly with your hands until it is smooth.
• Dust the work surface with flour, dust the rolling pin also, then roll to a thickness of a quarter inch (5 millimetres). Using the template and a sharp knife, cut out two of each piece. If you like, you can cut out a door from one gable piece, and windows from the side walls.
• Lie on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until very pale golden around the edges. These biscuits won't brown much, and they will still be soft when removed from the oven.
• Allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, before moving to a wire rack to cool completely before assembly.

There are countless videos on YouTube and countless blogs about how to construct a gingerbread house, and as my knowledge of gingerbread house construction is rudimentary at best, but this video is fairly good at showing how to construct a little one. I fused my houses together with royal icing, because it sets rock hard, but as I mentioned earlier melted chocolate works as well, but it will need support (from jars, tins, mugs, spice bottles etc.) for longer, as chocolate is runnier than royal icing.

THIS TIME LAST YEAR: Orange Chocolate Fudge (Naturally Gluten-Free)

Ginger Ale (No Brewing Required)

TADA!! Homemade ginger ale! And they said I couldn't do it.... they didn't actually, but I wanted some drama in that sentence.

 Ginger ale: one of my life's longest abiding pleasures. Many a time has a glass of ginger ale accompanied me on a winter night, a Christmas celebration, or sat beside me on the bedside table when I was ill or tired. Ever since I was very little, I can remember my dad buying me a bottle of Schwepps ginger ale whenever I asked for one as one of his little indulgences for me, and he still does even though I'm all grown up.

In my teens, Tesco made a Tesco Finest Jamaican Ginger Root Ale, that was the most beautiful version of the drink I've ever tasted: it was really full of flavour, not too sweet, and was so spicy that the edges of my lips with burn and tingle a bit. I only was it one Christmas when I was around 14, and never since; the closest I've come to tasting it again was when my friend from Roscommon bought a four-pack of Australian Bundaburg ginger ales in brown bottles.

I find it hard nowadays to find a ginger ale that's not sticky sweet, but has freshness and depth of flavour. The Schwepps stuff is nice and chuggable, but it's not the most fulfilling of ginger ale experiences one could have.

So, about three years ago I tried making ginger ale by brewing and it was horrible. I remember for the laugh my boyfriend at the time shaking it up until it was rock solid from the pressure of the bubbles and lamping it against a wall: the explosion was quite spectacular!

It was only when I saw a video of 'How to Make Ginger Ale' online that I considered making it as a cordial to be diluted with sparkling water... which is a genius idea. I thank the man on Youtube who inspired me to take his recipe and fiddle with it to my taste.

INGREDIMENTS
Makes 1 pint (560 millilitres) of cordial, which can ideally make about 5 pints (2.8 litres) of finished ginger ale

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) ginger root, peeled and sliced into thin pieces
• 10 ounces (300 grammes) sugar or 7½ ounces (210 grammes) clear honey
• 1 medium lemon, washed
• Pinch of salt
• 1 3/4 pints water
• Optional: 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
• Optional: 1 cinnamon stick

HOW-TO

• Using a paring knife, carefully peel the rind off the lemon in strips, making sure to peel off only the yellow part and not the white part.
• Place the peeled rind, along with the ginger root, sugar (or honey) and salt into a large saucepan. If you want even more spice and aromatic goodness, add the chilli flakes and cinnamon stick; I like my ginger ale so spicy it tingles my lips.
• Pour in the water, stir it all up until it's evenly combined, then heat over medium-high heat until the sugar has dissolved and it comes to boil.
• Once boiling, reduce the heat to simmer and cover with a lid. Simmer for an hour to allow the spices to release their goodness into the syrup.
• Uncover and boil rapidly for 10 to 15 minutes to reduce and thicken. You should end up with about a pint (560 millilitres) of cordial.
• Strain the mixture into a jug through a large sieve. To catch every single bit of chilli flake, sediment and whatever, you can line the sieve with a clean handkerchief. 
• You can keep the ginger pieces and lemon peel if you like to crystallise later, or you can compost them. If the cinnamon stick has any bit of aroma left, you can wash it, dry it, and reuse it.
• Allow the cordial to cool to room temperature. Once cool, squeeze the lemon juice into the jug through a sieve to catch all the seeds and bits. Give it a mix, then chill until cold.
• Serve diluted with fizzy water (and ice cubes, if you like). The best ratio is 1 part cordial to 4 parts water. You could also serve diluted with hot water for a warming treat when you're feeling under the weather.

This ginger ale is very fiery and fresh! If you don't want it as spicy, you can adjust the simmering while covered time.

Ginger Nut Biscuits (Wheat Free)

As far as I'm aware, ginger nuts in the States are known as ginger snaps, and are traditionally eaten around Christmas time. Here however, they are basically a staple of any household's biscuit barrel, and are cursed for tainting nearly every other biscuit therein with a slight gingery hue. They also are rock hard when bought from the shop, and do well to be left to go a little stale deliberately to prevent broken teeth.

I remember making ginger nuts when I was a little girl: I'd help my mother make a batch every now and then, and I was always fascinated by the biscuits going into the oven as balls and coming out flat and round. The hardest task was waiting for them to set before eating, so they wouldn't just fall apart in your hands.

Having designed a pretty fail safe recipe for the chocolate chip cookies, I decided to move onto other kinds of 'drop biscuit'. Drop biscuits are those that aren't rolled out and cut, like shortbread or gingerbread. Drop biscuits are ideal for those with limited kitchenware, as all you need is a mixing bowl, a mixer and/or wooden spoon, and a baking tray; and of course an oven. That's essential.

As you will see, this is very, very similar to the chocolate chip cookie recipe except for a few little differences.

INGREDIMENTS:
Makes 25 to 30, depending on size

• 8 ounces (255 grammes) spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) butter, at room temperature
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) brown sugar
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) golden syrup, or treacle for the adventurous
• 1 medium egg

HOW-TO:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4, or moderate). Line one or two baking trays with non-stick baking paper, depending on how big your oven is. Make sure the shelves are in the middle of the oven.
• Sieve together the baking soda, spices, salt and flour together onto a piece of greaseproof paper and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy with a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer. Once creamy, add the two sugars and continue to beat until fully combined.
• Add in the egg and beat until just mixed in. Here is where usage of the electric hand mixer ends.
• Using a wooden spoon, mix in the sieved flour mixture, and gently work in with the wooden spoon until all the flour has disappeared into the mixture. This dough doesn't need to chill, so you can use it straight away.
• Scoop rounded teaspoonfuls of the mixture and roll into balls between your hands. Put on the trays 2 to 3 inches (5 to 6.5 centimetres) apart, and place the tray(s) on the middle shelf(ves) of your oven. 
• Bake the biscuits for 14 to 16 minutes, or until a rich golden brown. They will puff up during cooking, but then start to crisp and crack on the outside. This is what you want.
• To ensure consistent and even baking, turn the trays around through 180° half way through baking, and swap the shelves if you have two trays.
• When the baking is up, remove from the oven immediately. Take the trays out and leave them on the work surface, biscuits still on, for another minute until they sink back into flat rounds.
• Remove the non-stick paper, biscuits still attached, and place on the cold work surface for a further minute. Then remove the biscuits and cool completely on a wire rack.

These are best enjoyed dipped into a hot cuppa schkald.

Classic Boston Brownies (and a simple formula for great chocolate glaze)

Boston Brownies, or simply brownies to those who live in the States, are just pure, chocolate indulgence: buttery, dense, squidgy slabs of chocolate cake with a paper thin crust, usually dotted with nuts or dried fruit to make the baker feel a little less guilty by including something ‘healthy’. These rich cakes are best enjoyed with some kind of warm beverage (coffee, for that truly Stateside feel) to wash down all the morsels that have attached themselves to your teeth.

Brownies were never really something I made over all my years of baking. The fifteen years that I’ve been baking overlapped a little with the fifteen years that I was allergic to chocolate; in fact, I never really developed my skills as a chocolatière because of said allergy. But around this time last year, I began experimenting with wheat-free brownies.

A few factors make a classic brownie: degree of squidginess, filling-to-cake ratio and richness of chocolate. If a brownie is too cakey, it’s just chocolate cake, if there’s too much filling there’s not enough squidge (all technical terms, of course) and the chocolate can’t be too dark. I know, I know people usually recommend dark chocolate for brownies, but in my experience using dark chocolate makes them too rich and intense, and in my mind a brownie is supposed to be sticky sweet. I recommend using half dark (60 – 70%) and half milk (25 – 40%), or if you can find semi-dark chocolate (45 – 55% cocoa), use that.

Obviously, you need to know a little bit about the filling. Here are a few tips on how to fill your brownies. You could leave them plain, though, if you want.

• Nuts: traditionally, brownies include walnuts or pecan nuts (being American) but almonds and hazelnuts work very well, too.
• Dried fruits: any fruit that would traditionally pair with chocolate in dried (or fresh if you don’t intend for your brownies to last long) form, like cherries, strawberry, or pear, oddly enough.
• Crystallised fruits: my favourite brownies in the whole world have crystallised ginger in, but you could also add crystallised citrus peel. Mango works well, too.
• If you want a complete sugar fest, you could include some chopped up bars: I made these once with chopped up Mars and Milky Way bars, and the way that they melt in the middle is absolutely magical.

Now, to business.

INGREDIMENTS
For 36 brownies

• 5 ounces (140 grammes) white spelt flour
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) cornflour
• 2 medium eggs, at room temperature
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) butter, melted
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) sunflower oil
• 3½ ounces (100 grammes) chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) brown sugar
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) filling of your choice: chopped nuts, dried fruits, chocolate chips, sweets, etc.
• Pinch of salt
• NO RAISING AGENT, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND GRACIOUS

HOW-TO

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mark 4). Grease and thoroughly flour a 10 inch (20 centimetre) tin, or line with non-stick baking paper.
• Melt the chocolate, butter, and oil together either in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave on the 'Defrost' setting in one minute bursts. Set aside.
• Put the eggs and sugar in a heatproof mixing bowl (preferably glass) and set over a pan of simmering water. Beat the mixture with an electric hand mixer or balloon whisk until pale, thick and doubled in size. You could do with without the water bath, but it’s take too long to beat out the lumps in the brown sugar; the heat speeds this process up a little.
• Beat in the melted chocolate and butter, a little at a time, until you have a nice moussey mixture.
• Using a rubber spatula or metal spoon, fold in the filling and then sieve in the flour and salt; fold through completely. Folding the filling in first ensures that a) the filling is evenly distributed throughout the mixture, and that b) the flour doesn’t get overworked.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, and firmly tap it a few times off the kitchen top to release any trapped bubbles.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until spongy to touch and a cocktail stick stuck in the middle comes out with two or three sticky crumbs are clinging to it.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin. This is why making sure the tin is well floured, or lined with non-stick paper, is very important. Turn out and cut into squares.

If you want, you could ice them with some chocolate glaze. Chocolate glaze is really easy to make, really easy: just melt 4 parts chocolate and 1 part butter together in a bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave in 30 second blasts. For this quantity of brownies, I’d say use 4 ounces (115 grammes) milk chocolate and 1 ounce (30 grammes) of butter. If you can’t eat butter, don’t use margarine: its water content is too high, and it seizes the chocolate. Use block vegetable fat like Cookeen, or Crisco if you live in the States. Sprinkle liberally with chopped nuts, or hundreds and thousands.

Gingerbread of the Gingeriest Proportions (Wheat Free)

I will admit: the fluffy blue teddy isn't what one would associate with a die-hard metal fan, but the
gingerbread was made for a church event entitled 'Teddy Bear Parachute Jumping Contest'. Don't ask: Church of Ireland people have these vagueries.

And no: it isn't chocolate, this is traditional treacle gingerbread. Usually baked in loaf form as a tea bread, this sticky sweet treat is very heavy going and best enjoyed in small doses, due to its rich, dense texture and its almost palette-abusing amount of spices. Of course, the spiciness can be adjusted to taste, but this is a recipe I have altered over time to yield an intense taste experience. I like to eat this spread with real butter with a nice cuppa shcald, but you can enjoy this like a cake if you prefer; I actually made this in traybake form for the church event, not in loaf form.

I also like to have a sticky glaze on my gingerbread, which calls upon an unusual ingredient: Coca-Cola. Before you say anything, don't knock it! Coca-Cola is flavoured with a unique blend of spices and herbal extracts, and its zingy flavour works well with the spiciness of the gingerbread.

The list of ingredients may seem daunting, but it's like literally any tea bread: mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, mix the wet ingredients in a bowl, then mix the wet into the dry. Only, the wet ingredients are mixed in a saucepan in this one and the eggs are added last.

This recipe is adapted from Tate and Lyle Refineries' book Sweet Success, published in 1977.

INGREDIMENTS:
This makes one 8x4 inch (21x10 centimeter) loaf, or one 10 inch (25 centimeter) square cake

Dry ingredients:

• 7 ounces (200 grammes) spelt flour
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) cornflour
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:

• 6 ounces (170 grammes) golden syrup
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) treacle
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) soft brown sugar
• 4 ounces (140 grammes) butter
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) root ginger, grated finely
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) crystalised ginger, cut finely
• 6 fluid ounces (170 milliliters) warm water
• 2 medium eggs

For the glaze:

• 1 tablespoon golden syrup, or stem ginger syrup if you can find it
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 2 fluid ounces hot water
• 2 fluid ounces Coca-Cola

HOW-TO

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F, Gas Mk.3, or very moderate).
• Prepare your tin of choice by greasing and flouring, or lining with baking paper. I use silicone-greased paper, but waxed paper works just as well; greaseproof paper needs to be greased.
• Put all the wet ingredients, except the eggs, into a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until the sugar and butter have melted and it has formed an even mixture. Allow to cool enough for it not to scramble the eggs later.
• Sieve all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
• Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients from the saucepan. Mix together gently with a spatula, wooden spoon or balloon whisk.
• Add in the eggs and beat vigorously until well combined and smooth. 
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. It's done when it's springy to the touch and a cocktail stick or skewer stuck into the thickest part comes out clean or with one or two crumbs stuck to it. About 5 minutes before it's due out of the oven, start preparing the glaze if you want to use it.
• To make the glaze, put all the glaze ingredients into a small saucepan and heat slowly, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat.
• Skewer the cake while it's still hot and pour on the glaze even over the surface. Return to the oven for another 2 minutes to set the glaze slightly.
• If you have glazed the cake, allow to cool completely in the tin before taking out and serving; if you haven't glazed it, you can take out of the tin when it is cool enough to handle and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. 

The texture of this bread is second to none, and it is sinfully moist. As nice as it is eaten while still warm from the oven, it's best to leave it overnight before cutting. This way, all the spices have time to breathe and release their flavours into the cake.