Nonnettes
French for ‘little nuns’, these delicious little muffin-sized gingerbread cakes are made with honey and lots of spices, with a secret layer of marmalade within.
Ingredients
- 80g/2¾oz salted butter
- 200ml/7fl oz honey
- 100ml/3½fl oz milk
- 90g/3¼oz dark brown sugar
- 250g/9oz plain flour
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú rye flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- pinch ground cinnamon
- pinch Chinese five-spice powder
- pinch ground ginger
- pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- pinch mace
- 150²µ/5½´Ç³ú marmalade
To decorate
- fine orange zest
- icing sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C/Gas 6 and grease a 6-hole muffin tin.
Mix the butter, honey, milk, sugar and 100ml/3½fl oz of water together in a pan over a medium heat to dissolve the sugar and melt the butter.
Sift the flours with the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, Chinese five-spice powder, ginger, nutmeg and mace in a bowl.
Stir the melted liquid mixture into the flour and spices while still warm and mix well.
Fill 8 of the muffin holes halfway then add a spoon of marmalade and top up each hole with the remaining mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove, cool and sprinkle over the orange zest and dust with icing sugar to decorate.