Grasmere Ginger Shortbreads.

So Grasmere, for those that don't know...because that little map thingy that tells me where people are reading this blog from tells me that there's people from quiiiite far away stopping by sometimes...is a very lovely village in the very lovely Lake District of England...a, you know, district of lakes (and mountains).

As well as Wordsworth, the Lakes can lay claim, if somewhat controversially, to Sticky Toffee Pudding and, very un-controversially, Kendal Mint Cake. It's one of those places where each little nook has it's own strong sense of identity......and confectionery.

This Grasmere based chap though, hasn't quite reached the dizzy heights of fame as it's sticky pudding neighbour and it's kind of hard to work to out what it's actually supposed to be. I think, really, it's supposed to just be bought from the very old Grasmere Gingerbread Shop and not questioned any further, but unfortunately that's quite far away from North Fife...so I had to have a bash at creating it for my greedy self. Fingers crossed no one is overly offended.

And if they are, they can blame it on Delia because it is her guidance I followed, despite the fact that her recipe refers to it as a shortbread, which I imagine may be a bit cheeky....not sure if the Cumbrians or the Scots would really enjoy that. So anyway...Delia's version is like a cross between shortbread and flapjack and is very crumbly and buttery. There are other recipes around which I imagine would make for a more chewy and substantial biscuit. Please correct me if I'm talking nonsense...but either way these are very yummy...and go mightily well next to a mug of coffee. With Love and Cake.

Grasmere Ginger Shortbreads.

Adapted from a Delia recipe found in Delia's Cakes

A few notes:

• So I am lazy and got my food processor out for this one. If you don't have one, Delia says you should coarsely grate the butter into the dry ingredients and then get your hands in there to run it all together so you get a sandy mixture before putting in your tin.

Makes 8-10 wedges

You will need

1 x 20cm loose based round cake tin, greased and base lined

110g plain flour

110g fine oatmeal

110g soft brown sugar

1 heaped tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp baking powder

150g butter, chilled

• Preheat your oven to 180°c.
• Pop the dry ingredients into your food possessor (see note if you don't have one) and pulse to combine.
• Cut the butter into small cubes and whizz into the dry ingredients until you have a consistent sandy texture.
• Tumble the mixture into your cake tin and press it down lightly with your fingers or a spatula.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes until deep gold all over.
• Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before gently removing the sides of the cake tin.
• Leave to cool completely on the base of the cake tin before turning out and cutting into wedges.