This sticky Jamaican ginger cake is out of this world with cosy spices and a moist melt-in-your-mouth crumb. It's a British classic that's been enjoyed for many years
2lb loaf tin
2lb loaf liner
Saucepan
Spatula
Measuring spoons
measuring cups
Chopping knife
Chopping board
Cooling rack
250 g Plain Flour
1.5 tablespoon Ground ginger
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Mixed Spice
⅓ teaspoon Nutmeg
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
125 g Unsalted butter
85 g Golden Syrup
125 g Black treacle
130 g Dark soft brown sugar
2 large Eggs beaten
140 ml (143g) Milk
85 g Stem ginger (5 balls) (US = 3oz) diced - or Crystallised ginger
- First, preheat your oven to 160 c fan oven, 180c conventional, gas mark 4 or 350F. Then grease and line a 2 lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
- Put the syrup, treacle, butter, and sugar into the saucepan and melt over low heat while stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Important: Do not boil as it will change the taste and texture once cooled.
125 g Unsalted butter, 85 g Golden Syrup, 125 g Black treacle, 130 g Dark soft brown sugar - Remove from the heat and stir in the milk and leave until room temperature.
If using cold milk, this should take about 5 minutes.
140 ml Milk - Now gently stir the beaten egg into the cooled butter and sugar mixture until fully combined.
Important - don't be tempted to add it while it's still hot, otherwise, it will prematurely cook the eggs
2 large Eggs - If preferred, in a separate mixing bowl or separate bowl, you can stir all of the dry ingredients together.
Then patiently sift a little bit of flour mixture into the syrup at a time and stir to prevent lumps.
If you want to reduce the prep's total time, you can use a mixer with a mixing bowl at medium speed.
250 g Plain Flour, 1.5 tablespoon Ground ginger, ½ teaspoon Mixed Spice, ⅓ teaspoon Nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon Salt, 1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon - Once you have a smooth mixture, gently stir in the diced ginger if using.
Tip: I recommend grating or dicing your stem ginger ultra finely so the taste is distributed more evenly.
85 g Stem ginger (5 balls) - Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and place in the middle of your preheated oven to bake for 50 minutes.
Then test by inserting a skewer into the middle of the cake to see if it comes out clean. If not, repeat baking in 5-10 minute increments.
Now let the cake cool in the baking tin for 10 minutes, then turn it on to a wire rack.
Stem ginger - to save money, swap for crystallised ginger, 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger, peeled and grated. Or a much cheaper way is to use mixed peel for citrus flavours with a similar texture.
Avoid using a small saucepan while melting the butter, sugar, and treacle as you can also use it as a large bowl to mix your sticky Jamaican ginger cake in
While melting butter and sugar mix, scrape the bottom of the pan to test if you can feel grit at the bottom. If you can, then the sugar has not dissolved yet!
Do not boil the syrup mixture while melting with the butter and sugar, as you would be essentially making toffee. This can result in a hard, dry cake. Try opting for low to medium heat at a push.
To prevent your cake from turning too brown in the oven, place it on a lower oven shelf where the top meets the middle (although you may need to increase the cooking time) and cover the top of the cake with tinfoil once you're happy with its rich dark golden brown colour
To avoid lumps in the cake batter, sift the flour, bicarb, and spices and patiently stir in a little bit at a time by hand or into a bowl of a stand mixer
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