Gingerbread Loaf Cake

I really do love a nice, sticky gingerbread loaf cake. There’s just something so comforting and old fashioned about it. And personally, I can’t think of any other bake that goes better with a cup of tea!

Treacle and golden syrup is the secret to making the best gingerbread – as well as a generous amount of ground ginger and some chopped crystallised ginger for an extra kick of flavour.

I go through so much treacle in the Winter months I’m actually considering buying it in bulk. As well as making gingerbread and sticky ginger parkin, I use it to make spiced ginger cookies, treacle scones and I swirl it through my morning porridge.  I love the stuff.

How to make a gingerbread loaf cake 

(Detailed instructions and ingredient amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post)

Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon and a pinch of salt in a large mixing bowl.

Rub in soft butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

Stir in the grated zest of one lemon, dark brown sugar and chopped crystallised ginger pieces. 

In a small pan, warm the milk, treacle and golden syrup.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little before beating in the egg. 

Pour this over the dry ingredients, stirring well to mix.

Pour this mixture into a lined 900g Loaf tin and bake at 180C/160Fan/350F for around one hour, or until the gingerbread has risen well and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake emerges clean.

The longer you leave the cake, the darker and stickier it gets! It’s well worth making in advance if you have the patience.

You can leave the gingerbread plain if you wish by all means – but adding either a fresh, zingy lemon icing or a tangy orange cream cheese icing really takes this cake to a new level.  You’ll find recipes for these in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

I love both options, so I tend to go for whatever takes my fancy at the time.

If I choose the lemon icing, I like to decorate the top with chopped crystallised ginger pieces. Lemon and ginger complement each other perfectly!

how long does a gingerbread loaf cake keep?

This cake will last well in an airtight tin for several days.  Wrapping the cake in baking parchment and a layer of foil will ensure it doesn’t dry out. 

However, if you do find the last few slices are a little on the dry side, drench it in custard! 

Did you make this gingerbread loaf cake?  Let me know what you thought of the recipe by leaving a comment below and rate the recipe out of five by clicking on the stars in the recipe card.  Thanks! 

If you have a picture of your creation, feel free to share it with me on Instagram and I’ll post it on my stories! 

want to see more classic cake recipes? Check these out…

Orange Marmalade Cake

Victoria Sponge Cake

Banana Fudge Loaf

Coconut and Raspberry Jam Loaf Cake 

Fruity Bran Loaf

Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake 

Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread

Mary Berry’s Mincemeat Loaf Cakes

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

Gingerbread Loaf Cake

Yield: 10 slices

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

This moist and sticky gingerbread loaf cake with crystallised stem ginger pices is dark, fragrant and only gets better after a few days - that's if there's any left! It's delicious with a cup of tea or served as a pudding with lots of custard or whipped cream.

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Ingredients

• 250 g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• Zest of one lemon
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 120 g butter
• 110 g treacle
• 110 g golden syrup
• 110 g dark muscavado sugar
• 250 ml milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 25 g Crystallised or stem ginger, finely chopped

ORANGE CREAM CHEESE ICING

• 125 g full fat cream cheese
• 50 g very soft unsalted butter
• 275 g icing sugar, sifted
• Finely grated zest of one small orange
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon icing:

• 100 g icing sugar
• Juice of half or one lemon
• Chopped crystallised ginger to decorate, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.
2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
3. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the lemon zest, sugar and chopped crystallised ginger.
4. In a small pan over a low heat, melt the treacle, syrup and milk. Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature before stirring in the egg.
5. Pour into the flour mixture, whisking thoroughly until no lumps remain and you have a smooth batter. Pour this batter into the lined tin and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
6. Let the gingerbread cool completely in the tin before removing.

Notes

For the Lemon Icing:

Sift the icing sugar into a medium sized bowl. Add enough lemon juice to make a thick but pourable icing. Pour over the cold cake and top with the remaining crystallised ginger, if using.

For the orange cream cheese icing:

Beat the cream cheese, butter, orange zest and vanilla extract together until creamy.  Beat in the icing sugar until smooth.  Spread over the top of the cake. 

If you ice the gingerbread with the cream cheese icing, you'll need to leave the cake in the fridge.  The icing will be good for up to 2 days.  

Nutrition Information

Yield 10 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 522 Total Fat 19g Saturated Fat 12g Trans Fat 0g Unsaturated Fat 6g Cholesterol 70mg Sodium 161mg Carbohydrates 84g Net Carbohydrates 0g Fiber 2g Sugar 57g Sugar Alcohols 0g Protein 5g