This easy Ginger Cake is moist, fragrant and insanely delicious! The best ginger cake recipe whether making a sheet or loaf cake, no mixer required. Perfect for Bonfire night or Christmas though ginger fans will want to bake it year-round.
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You will also love my Gingerbread Cookies
You know how the scent of bread baking is supposed to be the homiest smell ever? Well, the scent of this Ginger Cake is like Christmas personified. My daughter said “this is like gingerbread cookies in cake form” and she is right!
What I really love about this cake is that it is SO EASY to make. You can whip it up in five minutes flat – except it doesn’t actually require any whipping at all. Take a look at the recipe video and step by step instructions, grab a bowl and let’s bake!
WHAT GOES INTO MY GINGER CAKE RECIPE
To get a properly moist, sticky and dark ginger cake (Jamaican Ginger Cake style) you must use treacle, a.k.a molasses. Some recipes use only treacle and dark brown sugar but I find this overpowering.
I have chosen to split the difference and use half treacle (molasses) and half golden syrup (try also… my Golden Syrup Cake). Feel free to play with the ratios depending on your preference.
This recipe can be made in one bowl – no mixer required. Make sure the milk is tepid by warming in the microwave for a few seconds.
- Treacle: that stuff is a DEVIL to measure and get out of the tin cleanly. Consider putting the (closed) tin in a bowl of warm water so that it is easier to handle. Use molasses if you are in North America.
- Golden Syrup: thank goodness for squeezy bottles!
- Dark Brown sugar (light brown sugar can also be used)
- Ginger! I have used ground ginger here but if you want to up the ginger flavour you can add chopped stem ginger or crystallised ginger in the cake or as decoration.
- Lots of spices: cinnamon, mixed spice and cloves
- Butter, flour, bicarbonate of soda, an egg and milk round off the ingredients list
- Festive sprinkles (optional) or you could use mini gingerbread cookies as decor
Useful equipment
- Digital scales and measuring spoons
- A loaf tin, in a traybake tin or a snowflake tin
- Silicone Decorating bottle kit (for adding the glaze)
HOW TO MAKE GINGER CAKE
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!
You can bake this cake in a loaf tin, in a brownie tin as a sheet cake or even as a snowflake cake. The cake will be denser baked as a loaf cake and it will also need longer in the oven – around an hour. Cover the cake loosely with foil if it is colouring too much towards the end. I always rely on a digital scale for accurate measurements when baking.
STEP 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a rectangular tin (mine was 23x29cm) with baking paper letting the edges hang over the sides.
STEP 2. Put the treacle, golden syrup and butter in a large bowl. Microwave for one minute, until the butter starts to melt. Stir together until the butter is completely melted. If you haven’t got a microwave you can heat this on the stove in a large pot over low heat.
STEP 3. Mix the milk and egg together then stir them into the bowl to combine.
STEP 4. Add the soft dark brown sugar and mix it in.
STEP 5. Sift the spices, flour and bicarbonate of soda over the bowl and stir together until you have a smooth batter.
STEP 6. Transfer the batter to a lined tin and level. Bake for 45 minutes at 180C (350F), until cake is risen and springy to the touch. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then lift it out using the baking paper and cool on a wire rack.
STEP 7. Put the icing sugar in a bowl. Start adding water very gradually, mixing until you have a thick paste. Thin the glaze with some stem ginger syrup (or perhaps a little lemon juice for some contrast).
STEP 8. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled ginger cake, letting it drip down the sides. Scatter with chopped stem or crystallised ginger and sprinkles, if you like.
HOW TO DECORATE YOUR CAKE
This simple cake can simply be dusted with icing sugar. It is even lovelier drizzled with a simple glaze made with icing sugar, water and ginger syrup (from a stem syrup jar). Decorate with crystallised ginger and tiny gingerbread sprinkles (incredibly cute).
You can also serve this cake with a little whipped cream or even warmed up with vanilla ice cream as dessert. SO DELICIOUS!
Storing and Freezing
This cake keeps extremely well for up to five days in an airtight container. In fact, it actually becomes stickier and even more delicious over time, if you can resist from polishing it off all in one go!
I never ever had leftover cake to freeze but you CAN freeze the cake, in individual slices. Do not add any glaze or decorations.
Cool the cake completely, slice then wrap in two layers of baking paper then foil. Freeze for up to a month and defrost overnight in the fridge before eating.
You can also warm the cake for a few seconds in a microwave before serving – it tastes incredible slightly warm.
HAVE YOU MADE MY EASY GINGER CAKE RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!
Easy Ginger Cake
Ingredients
- 125 g | 4.4oz Golden Syrup
- 100 g | 3 ½ oz Treacle (molasses)
- 125 g | 4.4oz unsalted butter
- 250 ml | 1 cup whole milk , room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 100 g | 3 ½ oz soft dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp salt
- 300 g | 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
To decorate
- 150 g | 5.3 oz icing sugar
- 2 tbsp Stem ginger syrup
- Water , as needed
- Stem ginger or crystallised ginger to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a rectangular tin (mine was 23x29cm) with baking paper letting the edges hang over the sides.
- Put the treacle, golden syrup and butter in a large bowl. Microwave for one minute, until the butter starts to melt. Stir together until the butter is completely melted. If you haven’t got a microwave you can heat this on the stove in a large pot over low heat.
- Mix the milk and egg together then stir them into the bowl to combine.
- Add the soft dark brown sugar and mix it in.
- Sift the spices, flour and bicarbonate of soda over the bowl and stir together until you have a smooth batter.
- Transfer the batter to the lined tin and level. Bake for 45 minutes at 180C (350F), until cake is risen and springy to the touch. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then lift it out using the baking paper and cool on a wire rack.
- Put the icing sugar in a bowl. Start adding water very gradually, mixing until you have a thick paste. Thin the glaze with some stem ginger syrup (or perhaps a little lemon juice for some contrast).
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled ginger cake, letting it drip down the sides. Scatter with chopped stem or crystallised ginger and sprinkles, if you like.
Gustav says
Since we’re in isolation baking keeps us sane and well-fed for home office tasks. We had some left over crystalized stem ginger and used it for this occasion. Cake turned out very nice. Thanks for the recipe idea.