This Sticky Ginger Treacle Cake with Stem Ginger is also made with white Spelt Flour and all the flavours of ground and stem ginger, Dark Treacle, and golden syrup. It's a lovely alternative to Traditional Yorkshire Parkin if you don't want to use or can't get hold of Medium Oatmeal.
This Sticky Stem Ginger Cake is certainly favourite in our house. It's delicious on its own but try serving it with custard. It's similar in taste to Parkin without Oatmeal.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- It keeps really well and is suitable for freezing.
- Full of treacle flavour.
- Nice and easy to make.
Ingredients to Make This Recipe
Note: This is just an overview of the ingredients I used in this recipe and a reason why I used them. You will find a full list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
I will add a few alternative ingredients, but you will not get the same flavour combination eg White sugar has no taste other than sweetness, whereas dark brown sugar, along with its sweetness, also has a deep toffee flavour.
- Butter - unsalted. You will need a little extra for greasing the cake tin. You could use Margarine, but nothing can replace the flavour of butter.
- Soft Dark brown sugar - as mentioned above, there is no alternative to dark brown sugar. But if you can't get hold of Dark Brown Sugar, Soft Light Brown sugar is a good alternative. Using white sugar will diminish the rich dark toffee flavours of this Ginger Cake
- Black treacle - Molasses is a good alternative to Black Treacle
- Golden syrup - Using a mix of golden Syrup and black treacle, makes this cake moist and sticky. It also helps to balance the rich deep flavours of all the other ingredients.
- Whole milk - Semi skimmed milk is fine.
- Eggs - I always use Medium sized eggs. Large eggs are fine as long as they are not too big.
- White spelt flour - Spelt is more nutritious than white wheat flour, but if you can't get hold of it, plain flour is fine.
- Bicarbonate of soda - This gives the cake lift as Spelt flour does not contain a raising agent. Omit if using Self Raising Flour.
- Ground Ginger - I used a couple of Teaspoons, add more if you like the taste of Ginger
- Salt - Wherever possible I use sea salt rather than table salt. It has more nutrients and does not contain any anti-caking agent.
- Stem Ginger - Ensure this is finely chopped to avoid it all sinking to the bottom of the cake. Save some of the stem ginger syrup from the jar to soak it into the cake once baked.
Step by Step Instructions for Making a Sticky Ginger Cake.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease and line the base of an 8” square cake tin, preferably not a loose bottom tin as the cake batter is very runny and could seep out.
Step 1: In a large pan, melt together the butter, sugar, golden syrup and dark treacle, stirring until the butter and sugar have dissolved. TIP: Save energy by taking off the heat before everything is fully dissolved, allowing the residual heat to melt the remaining bits of butter and sugar.
Step 2: Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the milk. Set aside to cool a little more.
Step 3: Sift together the spelt flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger, and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Give everything a good mix. Make a well in the centre then pour in the melted butter sugar mixture, lightly beaten eggs and finely chopped stem ginger, and stir until you have a well combined smooth batter.
Step 4: Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin, and bake in the centre of the oven for 50 - 55 minutes or until baked, testing the centre of the cake with a skewer until it comes out clean. Tip: Try not to open the oven until the cake is at least ¾ baked, to help prevent the cake from sinking in the middle.
Step 5: Leave to cool in the tin to cool a little. While still warm brush the top of the cake with syrup from the jar of stem ginger.
Step 6: Scatter with more chopped stem ginger. Leave to cool completely before slicing.
Once the cake has cooled completely, you could serve straight away if you wish. This cake will keep really well and mature in flavour when wrapped in baking parchment and an airtight container overnight or for several days. It also freezes really well.
Expert Tips
Tip 1: This recipe uses an 8" square cake tin. This quantity of cake batter will not work in a 2lb/900g loaf tin. I've tried and it sinks in the middle and begins to spill over the sides of the tin. If you prefer to use a loaf tin, only fill it ¾ full with cake batter. Bake the rest as Muffins or buns.
Tip 2: Do not open the oven door until the cake is ¾ baked, if you do there is a risk cake will sink in the middle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Before freezing, wrap the Ginger Cake in plenty of baking parchment inside a freezer bag or suitable container. You could also slice into portions and freeze individual slices thawing out only what you need. It will keep in the freezer for a couple of months. Bring back to room temperature before serving.
Using Treacle and golden Syrup helps to make a Ginger Cake Sticky.
More recipes Using Spelt Flour That You May Like to Try
I have lots of other recipes using Spelt Flour and Wholegrain flour such as Rye that you may like to try.
After making this recipe please let me and other readers know how you got on by leaving a comment below. Especially if you used alternative ingredients.
Recipe
Sticky Ginger Treacle Cake Recipe with Stem Ginger.
Equipment
- 1 x 8 inch square Cake tin
- Baking Parchment
Ingredients
- 200 grams unsalted butter plus extra for greasing
- 200 grams soft dark brown sugar
- 100 grams black treacle
- 100 grams golden syrup
- 225 ml whole milk or semi skimmed
- 275 grams white spelt flour or plain flour
- 1½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch of sea salt
- 2 medium eggs lightly beaten
- 2 pieces of stem ginger finely chopped
For the Topping
- 1 piece of stem ginger roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons Stem Ginger syrup for glazing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease and line the base of an 8” square cake tin, preferably not a loose bottom tin as the cake batter is very loose.
- In a large pan, melt together the butter, sugar, golden syrup and dark treacle, stirring until the butter and sugar have dissolved. TIP: Save energy by taking off the heat and allow the residual heat to dissolve the remaining bits of butter and sugar.200 grams unsalted butter, 200 grams soft dark brown sugar, 100 grams golden syrup, 100 grams black treacle
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the milk. Set aside to cool a little more.225 ml whole milk
- Sift together the spelt flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger, and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Give everything a good mix.275 grams white spelt flour, 1½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 2 teaspoon ground ginger, Pinch of sea salt
- Make a well in the centre then pour in the melted butter sugar mixture, lightly beaten eggs and chopped stem ginger, and stir until you have a well combined smooth batter.2 medium eggs, 2 pieces of stem ginger
- Pour the batter into the tin, bake in the centre of the oven for 50 - 55 minutes or until baked, testing the centre of the cake with a skewer until it comes out clean. Try not to open the oven until the cake is at least ¾ baked, to help prevent the cake sinking in the middle.
- Leave to cool in the tin to cool a little. While still warm brush the top of the cake with syrup from the jar of stem ginger, and scatter with more chopped stem ginger. Leave to cool completely before slicing.1 piece of stem ginger, 2 tablespoons Stem Ginger syrup
- You could serve straight away if you wish. This cake will keep really well and mature in flavour when wrapped in baking parchment and an airtight container overnight or for several days. It also freezes really well.
Your Private Notes
Notes
Nutrition
Note: Recipes are tested using Metric only. The provided nutrition information is an estimate for the entire recipe, the calorie accuracy nutritional facts, unit and portion conversion are calculated by a third party app. and are not guaranteed.
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