Sticky Ginger Loaf Cake
Thick wedges of dark, fudgy ginger loaf with a glossy treacle-black crust, sticky glaze pooling onto the plate and a slow curl of cream melting down the side.
Ingredients
Serves 10- 2large eggs
- 250 gplain flour
- 2 tspground ginger
- 30 gfresh root ginger, grated
- ½ tspground cinnamon
- 150 mlbuttermilk
- 150 glight brown sugar
- 180 gunsalted butter: 175 g softened for the cake and 5 g for greasing
- 1 tspbicarbonate of soda
- 75 ggolden syrup
- 100 mldouble cream
- 100 gdark muscovado sugar
- 25 gunsalted butter (for glaze)
- 1 tspvanilla extract (optional) (optional)
- 1pinch fine salt
- 500 gvanilla ice cream, optional (optional)
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Use the 5 g butter to grease a 900 g loaf tin, then line with baking paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides for lifting the cake.
- Beat the 175 g softened butter and light brown sugar in a large bowl for 3–4 minutes until pale and fluffy. This is where the cake gets its lift, so don't rush it; you're whipping air into the fat. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each, then stir in the golden syrup and grated fresh ginger. The batter should look glossy and smell warmly fragrant.
- Sift the flour, ground ginger, bicarbonate, cinnamon and the pinch of salt into a separate bowl. The salt is important here; it sharpens the ginger and stops the cake tasting one-note sweet. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mix in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, until you have a smooth, thick, ribbon-like batter.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and level the top. Bake for 50–60 minutes until risen and springy in the centre and a skewer comes out without wet batter. A few moist crumbs are fine. If the top colours before the centre sets, cover loosely with foil and keep baking, checking every 5 minutes.
- While the cake bakes, make the glaze. Tip the muscovado sugar, double cream and 25g butter into a small pan and warm over a medium-low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the sauce turns glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; about 3–4 minutes. Watch it: muscovado catches quickly at the edges and turns bitter. Stir in the vanilla if using.
- Prick the hot cake all over with a skewer and slowly spoon over two-thirds of the warm glaze. Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, then lift carefully onto a wire rack. Cool for a further 45 minutes so the crumb holds together when sliced.
- Cut into ten slices and lay each slice securely on its broad cut face on a plate. Rewarm the remaining glaze gently and spoon over. Add the optional vanilla ice cream if using.
Per serving
- kcal
- 433
- protein
- 5g
- fibre
- 0.8g
- carbs
- 51.3g
- fat
- 23.4g
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