My thoughts for a gingerbread loaf cake, written on a scrappy bit of paper, have been floating around my action book for months. It’s a chilly morning, so I am galvanised to get on with it and finalise the recipe.
I love gingerbread cake—tangy, spicy, sticky, and perfect with a hot drink on chilly weekends. As a child, I remember coming in from the garden, covered in mud and soaking wet, and being offered thick wedges of gingerbread coated in salty butter with a giant mug of tea. Not quite sure the waistline is up to that these days, but it was delicious.
Gingerbread Cake Ingredients
I’ve mixed fresh ginger and powdered ginger. You can also swap in stem ginger for fresh. Ditto, I’ve used molasses with a teaspoon of malt extract, but black treacle is equally as good. Golden syrup is a little too sweet for me, but if you have a sweet tooth, this is probably a better option than honey.
As per many of my cake recipes, it is simple to make but includes a few spices. I’ve noted optional ones, so please don’t be put off by the ingredients list. It will still taste fabulous. Ditto for the brown sugar buttercream; it’s equally good with or without. If you choose to soak the prunes in ginger wine, why not serve the cake straight from the oven as a dessert? You can then pair with a stem ginger-flavoured mascarpone, caramel/vanilla sauce, or ice cream? Perfect for a good old-fashioned ‘pud’.
Keep an Eye on the Cooking Time
One last word of advice: it takes about 55-60 minutes to cook. Make sure to check it halfway and cover it with tin foil if it is browning too quickly. Start in the oven at 170 degrees centigrade on the middle shelf. After 8-10 minutes, reduce it to 160. The bread should be well-risen and firm. I stupidly left one cake for 80 minutes, and it was still moist inside, but the top crust was too hard.
If you loved this, then check out more of our delicious baking recipes.
Gingerbread Loaf Cake
Equipment
- 1 24cm x 12cm loaf tin, lined with baked paper
Ingredients
- 260 g all purpose flour
- 2 generous tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground allspice optional
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 115 g butter
- 250 ml whole or evapourated milk or half milk and half kefir
- 80 ml molasses or black treacle
- 1 tsp malt extract optional
- 80 ml honey or golden syrup
- 100 g soft brown muscovado sugar
- 50 g grated fresh ginger or stem ginger
- zest ½ orange
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 140 g prunes chopped (you can also use dates) steep in 2 tbsp ginger wine or brandy for 30 minutes if this is a grown up cake!
Brown Sugar Buttercream
- 120 g softened butter
- 55 g soft brown sugar
- ½ tsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 (approx) cups powedered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 170°C.
- Sieve together the flour, baking soda and spices. Don't omit this step; make sure the baking soda is really incorporated, and there are no clumps, or you will bite into nasty lumps of soda in the cake. Mix in the prunes.
- Put the jar of honey (golden syrup) and molasses (black treacle) into a saucepan of hot water. It makes them easier to pour. Set the scales to zero with an empty saucepan, then pour in molasses and honey to correct the weight to 160 g (80g + 80 g). By far the easiest method of measuring these sticky substances!
- Put the saucepan on low heat, add butter, malt extract, grated ginger and orange zest. When just melted, add the sugar and milk. Mix well and leave to cool
- Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add the contents of the saucepan. Mix until smooth. Slowly beat in the eggs – they resist a little, but add slowly, to fully incorporate. The mixture is surprisingly billowy and light.
- Pour the cake mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Bake on or just below the middle shelf at 170°C for 10 minutes and then turn down to 160°C for a further hour – check halfway through and cover with tin foil if the top looks as if it might burn. Ready when well risen and firm to touch. Total time 1 hour – 1 hour, 10 minutes.
- Remove from the pan when cool and either decorate with the brown sugar buttercream or serve with generous amounts of salty butter.
Brown Sugar Buttercream
- Sieve the brown sugar to remove any clumps. If necessary, remove the lumps that are stuck together, like small stones, as they will spoil the buttercream's consistency.
- Beat the the brown sugar and butter, scraping down as you go for about 3-4 minutes – until light and fluffy.
- Stir in the milk, vanilla and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Beat for about 2 minutes, adding more powdered sugar, a pinch of salt (if necessary), and/or milk until you reach the desired consistency.
- Chill until you are ready to decorate the gingerbread.
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