Christmas Ginger Cake (With Dates & Orange Marmalade)

Here's a really delicious and festive ginger cake. Making this (and especially eating it) really put me in the Christmas mood! This recipe is based on one I saw Adam Ragusea make here:    • Gingerbread | fluffy, spicy, molasses-y Ch...   Which in turn is based on one from Joy of Cooking - which might be this one:https://www.keyingredient.com/recipes... Please show some love to Babatunde over on his channel (    / @africa_everyday   ) - this was supposed to be a collab with him, but he was too unwell to make it this week. Here’s the recipe: Ingredients: Dry Mix: 200g Plain (all purpose) flour 2 TABLEspoons ground ginger 1TABLEspoon ground cinnamon 1 TABLEspoon ground nutmeg 1.5 TEAspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) ½ TEAspoon salt Wet Mix: 110g Unsalted butter (if you use salted, you might adjust the salt above) 100g Dried dates, chopped 50g Orange marmalade 300g Molasses or black treacle 140ml Milk 1 egg Directions: Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl Combine the wet mix ingredients (not the egg or milk yet) in a bowl or pan and warm them until the butter melts. Don’t boil. Add the milk to the wet ingredients and allow this mixture to cool until it is about body temperature Add the egg to the wet ingredients and whisk together thoroughly Add the wet mix to the dry ingredients and stir until fully combined Transfer to a lined baking tin and bake at 180C (350F) for 30 to 45* minutes (these are fan oven temperatures, you might need to adjust cooking temperature or time for other oven types, but test with a skewer or stick until it pulls out clean and it should be OK). *A wider, shallower tin will bake quicker than a deeper, narrower one. When cooled, remove from the tin, cover and ideally leave for 24 hours before serving, for the cake to become more moist and chewy. Substitutes: If you want a lighter cake, substitute golden syrup, corn syrup or honey for some of the molasses Instead of the milk, you could use water, fruit juice or even a dark ale