Lunchbox Treats – Gingerbread Cake
From June 2010, this is the perfect cake for this time of year. It warms from within and is perfect with a late afternoon cup of tea.
This is a dark fudgy gingerbread cake rather than the chewy biscuit dough used for making gingerbread men. Growing up, it was always made in my family as a loaf, then cut into thick slices and buttered before being served with a cup of tea; this recipe makes a larger square cake.
There is no getting around the request for treacle, which is a darkly black, thick and slightly bitter sugar product, located right next to golden syrup in your supermarket. Some recipes I have found ask for molasses which is even less refined than treacle, but hard to buy in Australia. Those of you in the US may want to use molasses instead.
Makes a 25cm square cake
INGREDIENTS
125g butter; softened; 1/2 cup dark brown sugar; 1 cup treacle or molasses; 3 eggs; 450g plain flour; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 2 tbsp ground ginger; 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp ground nutmeg; 3/4 cup buttermilk OR milk with 1 tsp lemon juice added; 4 tbsp fresh orange juice
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a square cake tin and line with baking paper.
Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add treacle, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift the flour with the bicarbonate of soda and spices and set aside.
Combine buttermilk and orange juice. Beat flour and buttermilk alternately into creamed mixture, finishing with the flour. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack before turning out. Store in an airtight container.
COST
$4.30 for a square cake
Oh, my Mum used to make this. Loaf shaped as well…..I remember eating it for “tea”.
I will be trying this one…….
wish i could make this. i love ginger and always have a supply of ginger cookies and wish i had this ginger bread cake with my tea. on my site i discuss all those wonderful properties of ginger but i really love ginger and this loaf looks amazing.
Hi – need some help with this. Followed instructions to the T but first cake started to burn on edges, very crusty and rose in the middle splitting. Made another, turned the oven down to 160 and similar happened. The cakes themselves are ok but a bit on the dry side and so also wondered if 450g of plain flour was correct. Thanks.
Hi Bella,
The quantities are correct and 450g flour is not a misprint.
I have researched other recipes, which call for similar quantities, and it doesn’t appear to be too different from other recipes. I have (briefly) looked at.
A dry crust and cracking is sometimes caused by overbeating of the mixture and then placing the tin in an oven that is over heated. Try lining the pan with double sheets of baking paper and bring the sides of the paper 5cm above the edge of the tin. Reduce to 170 degrees only – 160 would be too cold and would also explain the crusty top – and also consider removing a little earlier than the 50 minutes – start checking it from 40 minutes onwards.
Hope this helps.
Hi again, I had paper up above the tins on all sides. Neither was cooked after 50 mins but both had the crusty dry raised split tops already and I dont think I overbeat, basically just enough to mix all ingredients using a handheld mixer. So am at a loss.
made this last night, have to wait til tonight to try it as i’m taking it for dessert. i had the same problem of the top rising and cracking, and slight burning, but that was due to me having used the oven beforehand to cook dinner so it was well and truely warmed up
I made this in an approx 22cm square tin, as that was the closest size I had to the 25cm, and I needed to cook it for 1 hr to get the skewer coming out clean, but I had no problem with burning of edges or cracking of the top.
The first pieces we ate, the day it was baked, did seem a little bit dry, but I’ve noticed that on the 2nd and 3rd day the cake seems much moister/fudgier.
I also just wanted to confirm that you are using the Australian tablespoon measurement, of 20ml?
I just found the answer to my question about the tablespoon measurement on your ‘about the recipes’ page! Thankyou!
Oh my goodness I am so excited!! I used to love a gingerbread in the Uk that was made by McVities and called Jamaican Ginger Bread and I’ve never been able to find a recipe like it, can’t wait to make this one and butter up a slice for afternoon tea!
That was my favourite cake ever. So glad you mentioned it Cara.