Updated 6th February 2022
Here is another rather super recipe to share with you. This gluten free ginger spiced cake has a yummy, soft, golden buttery crumb, that is perfectly spiced with warming ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. And, when decorated with a generous drizzle of glace icing, and chopped crystallised stem ginger, it’s ramped up into a a fabulous teatime treat!
The original recipe I used for this delightful gluten free ginger spiced cake came from one of Juvela’s recipe booklets. I stumbled accross it whilst on the hunt for something quick and easy to make for my dad, who’s partial to a slice of cake with his cuppa at suppertime.
I didn’t decorate the cake the first time I made it, so my dad was able to portion it up and pop it into his freezer. But when I made it again, I jazzed it up (as the original recipe suggests) with glace icing and crystallised stem ginger. Such a simple finishing touch, but one which transforms the cake into something a little more special.
This ginger spiced cake is a dream to make and a real comfort bake too. It also smells amazing whilst it’s baking and is just the ticket to chase away the gloom on a rainy day.
Ingredients
For the cake
175g (6oz) light muscovado sugar (you can use light soft brown sugar instead, but I feel the muscovado gives more depth of flavour to the cake)
175g (6oz) unsalted butter, (cut into small cubes, it will melt quicker)
175g (6oz) gluten free self-raising flour or mix (add ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum if your flour doesn’t already contain this or guar gum)
1 heaped teaspoon ground *ginger
½ teaspoon ground *cinnamon
¼ teaspoon *nutmeg
2 large beaten eggs
8 cubes *crystallised stem ginger, finely chopped – optional (I used Opies and I’m now hooked on these fiery sugary cubes. If you struggle getting hold of this product, stemmed ginger in syrup would be a great substitute. But you probably won’t need to use quite as much.)
To decorate
110g (4oz) icing sugar if you want to pipe/drizzle and 150g (5oz) if you want to spread and cover the top of the cake with the icing.
Boiled water
6 cubes *crystallised stem ginger, finely chopped
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4/160C Fan.
Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper. Or use a pre-made liner. No grease is required with liners and they make lining baking tins an absolute doddle!
Melt the butter and sugar in a pan over a low heat. Keep giving it a quick stir until the butter has just melted. Take of the heat and beat well to blend the butter and sugar together.
Pop the gluten free flour and spices into a large bowl and give it a quick stir with a fork. If you are using the chopped ginger, now is the time to add it. Next add the beaten eggs and melted butter and sugar. Mix together with a large metal spoon or hand whisk until smooth and glossy. Transfer the mixture into the prepared tin and then into the oven.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until risen and golden brown, and when a skewer or knife is inserted into the centre it comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
Once cold, remove the cake from the tin, peel of the paper and crack on with decorating it, should you wish.
To make the icing: Place the icing sugar into a deep bowl (one that is large enough to give it a good mix without the sugar billowing over the sides). Add just enough boiled water to make a nice thick glossy icing, that is not transparent or too runny. Stir until smooth.
To decorate; you can either spoon the glace icing over the top of the cake and smooth out with a flat edged knife. Scatter over the chopped ginger or leave plain.
Or fill a piping bag fitted with a fine nozzle (or snip the end of a disposable one) with icing, and pipe fine lines over the top of the cake. If you don’t have a piping bag, drizzle the icing over with a spoon instead. And then, before the icing has had chance to set, scatter over the finely chopped ginger pieces.
Recipe notes and suggestions:
Left undecorated, this cake is great to freeze. Slice first or leave whole, just wrap it up well and pop on a label. It will be fine in the freezer for up to two months.
As dark chocolate works really well with ginger, a nice thick ganache coating or rich hot chocolate sauce would compliment this cake fabulously. I also think it would be nice when left plain, to serve it warm with trickle of maple syrup and a generous scoop of good *vanilla ice cream.
Should you choose to leave the cake plain and skip the icing. You may instead fancy scattering some muscovado or demerara sugar over the cake batter before you bake it. This will result in a lovely sweet crunchy topping.
For a richer cake you can go half and half with dark and light muscovado sugar rather than using all light. I’ve tried this and it was lovely!
Left plain, this spiced cake is gorgeous when thickly sliced and spread with a little salted butter.
Thanks so much for checking out this gluten free ginger spiced cake recipe. If ginger is your thing you may fancy giving my grandma’s ginger biscuits a go…they’re VERY nice!
For now,
Liz x
*Double check this ingredient to ensure it has no gluten containing ingredients, ‘may contain’ or ‘not suitable warnings’. If in doubt leave it out.
