Gingerbread Cake
A sticky, dark loaf-style cake of ginger, cinnamon, golden syrup and treacle, sliced and eaten with butter.
Before You Start
Do not let the syrup mixture boil.
Cool it before adding the egg.
If your oven runs hot, check at 36 minutes.
Wrap it for a day to make it stickier.
Making Gingerbread Cake
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Heat the oven to 170°C / 340°F and line a 20 cm square tin.
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Melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle over low heat, stirring until smooth. Do not boil. Cool for 5 minutes.
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Whisk in the milk and egg. Sift in the flour, ginger, cinnamon and bicarbonate and whisk to a runny batter.
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Pour into the tin and bake for 45 minutes until risen and springy. Cool in the tin.
What's Going On Here
It looks like a plain brown cake, and it eats like a toffee. The difference comes from the syrup and treacle, which are heavy, dark and slightly bitter in a way sugar is not.
Melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle together over a low heat, only until the sugar dissolves. Do not let the mixture boil. Boiling thickens it, and the cake turns dense and dry.
Let the melted mixture cool for a few minutes before whisking in the milk and egg, then fold in the flour, ginger, cinnamon and bicarbonate. The batter is very runny.
Bake in a lined 20 cm square tin at 170°C for 45 minutes. If your oven runs hot, check at 36 minutes. The top should be dark and spring back. Cool in the tin, wrap, and wait a day, because the cake becomes stickier and more flavoursome as it rests. Cut it into squares and keep it in a tin, where it gets darker and stickier each day.
Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping
Keeps wrapped for 5 days and gets stickier each day.
What to Serve Alongside
- Butter
- Hot tea
- Custard
- Sliced pear
Still Wondering?
How long does Gingerbread Cake take to make?
About 1 hour in total — 15 minutes of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking. The recipe serves 12.
What are the key tips for making Gingerbread Cake?
Do not let the syrup mixture boil. Cool it before adding the egg. If your oven runs hot, check at 36 minutes. Wrap it for a day to make it stickier.
What should I serve with Gingerbread Cake?
Butter; Hot tea; Custard; Sliced pear.
How should Gingerbread Cake be stored?
Keeps wrapped for 5 days and gets stickier each day.
Is Gingerbread Cake suitable for a special diet?
This recipe is vegetarian. Those labels are checked against the ingredient list, so a dish is only marked when nothing in it contradicts the claim.
How many calories are in Gingerbread Cake?
About 236 kcal per serving, with 4 g protein, 37 g carbohydrate and 8 g fat. The figures are calculated from the ingredient list and are an estimate.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.
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Written and tested by Turab
One person, one kitchen — no test kitchen, no team. How every recipe on this site is checked before it goes up.
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