Sticky Ginger Cake
Sticky ginger cake is deliciously spiced with both ground ginger and stem ginger. It’s an easy bake to knock together using the syrup from the jar of stem ginger to create the sticky topping on this ginger loaf cake.
Servings: 10
Calories: 300kcal
Equipment
- 1 1lb (500g) loaf tin approx
Ingredients
- 125 g Butter soft
- 150 g Light muscovado sugar
- 2 tablespoons Golden syrup
- 1 tablespoon Black treacle
- 2 Eggs large, free-range
- 60 ml Soured cream or Greek yoghurt
- 180 g Plain flour all-purpose
- 1½ teaspoons Baking powder
- 4 teaspoons Ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
- 75 g Stem ginger
- 3 tablespoons Stem ginger syrup from the jar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170C/ 325F/ GM3 and grease and line the 1lb loaf tin.
- Use electric beaters to cream the butter, sugar, syrup and treacle together for around 3 minutes until lighter in colour and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the soured cream. Don't worry if the mixture splits (curdles) - once the flour is mixed in it will come back together.
- Mix the flour, baking powder and ground ginger together and sieve into the bowl, then fold through using a large metal spoon.
- Finely dice the stem ginger, reserve 15g for the top and fold the rest through the cake batter.
- Spoon into a greased and lined loaf tin and bake the stem ginger cake for 40 minutes (cover the top loosely with parchment after 30 minutes if it looks as if it might burn.
- Test the cake is cooked through by poking a clean skewer into the cake – if it comes out clean then the cake is cooked. If there is still wet batter on the stick then let the cake cook for a further 5 minutes and retest.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven poke holes all over it using a cocktail stick then spoon 3 tablespoons of syrup from the stem ginger jar over the top and scatter the reserved chunks of stem ginger over it.
- Let cool completely in the tin then unmold and wrap the ginger loaf cake loosely in foil and store for 24 hours (to allow the flavour to develop) before slicing into it.
Notes
- Always use grams and digital kitchen scales when baking. It’s the most accurate way to measure out ingredients and bakes will generally turn out better if precise measurements are used.
- Don’t make ingredient substitutions or omissions without thinking carefully about them. Each ingredient has been included for a specific reason. Leaving something out or using an entirely different product could result in a disappointing bake.
- Regardless of whether or not your baking tin is nonstick always grease and line it. Your cake will be easier to remove from it as a result.
- Always use the correct tin size. In this instance, use a 1lb (500g) loaf tin.
- Ensure your oven has been preheated to the correct temperature. If it is too hot when the tin is put into the oven the cake will cook too quickly and burn. If the oven is not hot enough the cake will take longer to cook and there is a huge risk that it will sink in the middle as it cools.
- Make sure your baking powder is in date and has been opened for no more than 3 months. Once a tin of baking powder has been opened its potency as a raising agent progressively deteriorates, so it’s important to stay on top of this (mark the bottom of the tin with the date it was opened if necessary).
- Chop the stem ginger finely so that it is spread in small pieces throughout the entire cake.
- Get the syrup drizzled over the cake quickly once it comes out of the oven. It seems to soak into the cake better for doing so.
If you have the patience to wait for a day once this sticky ginger cake has baked and cooled you will be rewarded with an even better-tasting cake. The flavours really do mellow over 24 hours.
Once cold simply wrap in foil and store in an airtight container at room temperature. It will stay fresh like this for at least 3 days.
This cake also freezes well. Either freeze the cake whole or slice it before freezing. It’s best to wrap it in foil and then pop the cake into a freezer-proof bag to avoid freezer burn (especially if freezing slices).
Don’t forget to date and label the cake as it goes into the freezer. It will stash well for up to 2 months. Let defrost fully at room temperature before consuming.
Nutrition
Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 167mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 397IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 2mg