Best Ever Easy Ginger Cake
"I searched for 20 years to find the definitive ginger cake recipe - this is it! So easy to make and full of flavour it keeps well and can be frozen - iced or uniced. This cake is ideal for morning or afternoon tea. I also like to take it on picnics. If you prefer a lighter gingerbread, substitute golden syrup for the treacle. If you have a food processor this recipe is even quicker - simply process the dry ingredients until mixed then, with the motor running, pour the wet ingredients through the hopper. Process until well combined and pour into the lined tin."
photo by anniesnomsblog
- Ready In:
- 55mins
- Ingredients:
- 13
- Serves:
-
20
ingredients
-
Cake Ingredients
- 2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour (300g/11oz)
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 125 g butter, chopped
- 2⁄3 cup water
- 2 eggs, beaten lightly
- 1 cup golden syrup (225g/8 oz)
- 1 cup black treacle (225g/8 oz)
-
Icing/Frosting
- 2 cups icing sugar (confectioner’s)
- 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1⁄4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped roughly (optional)
directions
- Lightly grease a 25cm square (10 inch) cake tin and line it with baking (silicone) paper.
- (Try to use the correct size tin or the cake may crack.) Set the oven to moderate 180° C (350° F).
- Sift all of the dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl.
- Combine butter pieces, golden syrup and treacle in a small saucepan, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until butter is melted.
- (This step can also be done in the microwave.) Add water to syrup mixture.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the syrup mixture and the eggs.
- Mix until well combined.
- Don’t be concerned that the mixture is quite liquid at this stage.
- Pour cake mixture into prepared tin.
- Tap tin lightly on bench to dispel air bubbles.
- Place on centre shelf of 180° C (350° F) oven for 35-40 minutes.
- Check towards the end of the baking time to ensure the edges are not burning.
- The cake should be dark but must not be blackened at the edges.
- (If you do burn the edges, cut them off and ice over the edges and no-one will notice!).
- When the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Then, carefully invert it onto a rack or bread board to cool.
- Icing the Cake: Sift the icing sugar into a small mixing bowl.
- In a separate small mixing bowl, beat the butter (or margarine) until smooth.
- Gradually add the sifted icing sugar, beating between additions until the sugar is completely mixed with the butter.
- Add the lemon juice and beat well until the mixture reaches an easily spreadable consistency.
- Spread icing over the top of the cake and (optional) decorate with pieces of crystallised ginger.
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Reviews
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I love this recipe. It is so simple to make, and it makes you look like a baking goddess to all that taste it. I get requests from friends most weeks to make this cake for them. I sometimes ice it, but it's just as good on it's own. I also usually half the recipe and put it in a loaf tin, as it has been known to sink when cooked in one large tin. It does really taste so much better after a night in the fridge, so if you have time, cook it the day before. Whether you are a pro cook, or a novice, this recipe is a no fail, so go for it! -
absolutely delicious! have always bought ginger cakes from the grocers but this one is just as good as store bought..easy to make and keeps well in the fridge too!! If there are any leftovers slice thinly and bake in oven until crispy to make your own spicy biscotti..great to dunk with a cup of coffee!! -
Delicious! I used light corn syrup instead of golden syrup and it worked great. Exactly what I was looking for. -
This is a really great cake. I used 1/4 cup treacle to 1 3/4 cups golden syrup. When I first made it I wasnt that impressed but by the next day the consistency had changed and it was delicious. Tastes just like Jamaican Ginger Cake! -
This was just perfect! Super easy to make and really flavorsome! This definitely packs a ginger punch and the icing is delicious too. I've bought cakes like this, but never made them before, but I definitely will be again because this is fantastic!
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Tweaks
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Delicious! I used light corn syrup instead of golden syrup and it worked great. Exactly what I was looking for.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>Above: Slideshow of our garden at Avalon Slideshow of our recent holiday at Woodgate Beach, South-East Queensland, Australia. Hi! I'm Kookaburra, from Australia. First, a promise. I will only post recipes on this site which I've made myself and to which I would personally give a 5 star rating - what you give them is up to you ;-) I look forward to receiving your feedback. If you look at my reviews, they're all 5 stars. That doesn't mean I give 5 stars to every recipe I try. I'm just not interested in giving poor ratings to anyone else's recipe because I accept that different people have different tastes. So, I've decided that I'll only review those recipes which I really love and which I'd make again and recommend to friends. If a recipe meets that criteria - even if it needs a bit of 'tweaking' to match my tastes, I'll give it 5 stars. If not, I'll just delete it from my recipe book and no hard feelings. I'm not advocating this as the 'right' approach. I just decided I needed a consistent strategy for rating and this is mine. I'm passionate about cooking - and eating! What I look for in food is something that 'zings' in the mouth. I like lots of taste - I'm not a big fan of subtlety. I don't often cook recipes exactly as written. I like to experiment and adapt things to my own taste. A retired marketing executive and academic, I live with my elderly (but thoroughly modern) mother in a tiny mountain village at the edge of the rainforest. I'm female, happily single, in my mid-40s and boast the Rubenesque figure of a passionate cook! Avalon, our 'story-book' cottage, overlooks a small lake. As I sit at my computer or work in the kitchen, I'm serenaded by a cacophany of native birds - including a very fat family of kookaburras! We have quite a large property and are lucky to have vegetable gardens and a variety of fruit and nut trees. I look forward to sharing recipes on Recipezaar with family, friends and friends I've yet to meet. last minute flight</p>
