Trawl through any old C.W.A. recipe book from the 1960s onwards and you’ll most likely find a version of this slice. It’s a classic, and for good reason. There is something about ginger that elevates any dish in which it is included. I first ate a version of this slice made by one of my oldest friends, and she got the recipe from her mother, who got it from her mother. I love recipes that are handed down from one cook in a family to a cook in the next generation. With the current popularity of all things vintage, I thought I’d share this very vintage recipe with you, and encourage you to bake it and eat it with a cup of tea in a real teacup, in your garden, giving thanks for all the cooks in your life and the recipes they have handed down to you. My heartfelt thanks go to Toni, her mother and grandmother.
Makes 24 pieces
Biscuit base:
250g butter
3/4 cup Caster sugar
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1 teapoon ground ginger
Topping:
80g butter
1/4 cup golden syrup
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 1/4 cups icing sugar
Preheat oven to 180 C. Lightly grease a 20 cm x 30 cm slice tin. In a medium sized bowl beat the butter, sugar and ginger until light and fluffy. Add the flours and mix well to combine. Turn into the tin and spread evenly, pressing the mixture lightly with your fingers until it is even. Bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, until lightly golden. Take out of the oven and straight away spread with the topping. When cold, cut into slices and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Topping:
Put the butter, ginger and golden syrup into a small sauce pan and warm gently until the ingredients are melted and well combined. Add the icing sugar in 2 batches, stirring well to remove any little lumps. You should time the making of the icing so that it is ready just before the slice comes out of the oven. (It takes about 5 minutes to make)
Simple food 
I definitely agree that recipes that have been passed down over generations are extra special. Love the look of this beautiful ginger slice… there is definitely a reason why it’s lasted the test of time! I definitely want to give this a go. Thanks for sharing the recipe and notes x
Hope you get time to try it and that it becomes a favourite. Thanks for your kind words. margaret
The American analogs of the C.W.A. (thank you, Google!) cookbooks don’t have anything that looks as good as these.
There are some less than appealing recipes in C.W.A. cookbooks but the baking is wonderful. Would love to see a US counterpart. I’m a bit of a collector of old cookbooks. Even have a Betty Crocker cookbook, which is very unusual in my part of the world. margaret
There’s nothing quite like heirloom recipes, tried and true. Looks delicious. Cheers!
Sounds really yummy – I’m going to give this one a try!
Do try it, and let me know how it goes! margaret
I always remember it being one of your favourites. Still goes down a treat.