Cakes

Easy Moist Ginger Cake Recipe

Name: Easy Moist Ginger Cake Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 4 large eggs; 85g brown sugar (I use panela sugar); 40g golden syrup; 170g sunflower oil; 180g plain flour; 4 tsp dried ginger powder; 25g grated fresh ginger (optional); 1 Tbsp baking powder; ¼ tsp salt

A simple, moist ginger cake inspired by the classic Lyle’s ginger cake

baking ginger sponge cake traditional spice golden syrup classic christmas

Print Recipe

I started thinking about Lyle's ginger cake recently, the one with the green wrapper. It’s something we had quite frequently at home in the UK, but you can’t get it here or anything similar. Nothing I’ve seen so far anyway.

I fancied some ginger cake, so the only option is of course to make my own. I’ve made it several times now, as a round cake and as a loaf cake. It’s very easy to make, tastes very good, and all the ingredients are easily found here.

The recipe uses sunflower oil rather than butter, which keeps the cake moist for longer. You can use vegetable oil, and I have tried it with regular olive oil too. I like to use Panela sugar if I can, as it gives a richer taste, but you can use any unrefined brown sugar. The addition of grated fresh ginger gives the cake a bit more kick but is entirely optional.

One thing to be careful about is not overdoing the whisking. If you do, the cake can end up chewy. As I mentioned, you can bake it in a regular cake tin, or, if you prefer, use a loaf tin.

I like to have this ginger cake slightly warm with a cup of tea, and it also goes very well with custard.

We call it our 'Teide' ginger cake as it has risen to look like the peak of Mount Teide here in Tenerife.

Slice of homemade ginger cake on a patterned plate, showing the soft, moist texture and fine crumb.

Homemade ginger loaf cake with slices cut from the front, showing its moist crumb and rich ginger colour.

Prep

30 minutes

Cook

50 minutes

Serves

Ingredients

Ginger cake ingredients

4 large eggs
85g brown sugar (I use panela sugar)
40g golden syrup
170g sunflower oil
180g plain flour
4 tsp dried ginger powder
25g grated fresh ginger (optional)
1 Tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

Method

Make ginger cake
01
Add the eggs, brown sugar, golden syrup, and sunflower oil to a large bowl and whisk until combined.
02
Using a sieve, add the flour, baking powder, salt, and ginger powder, sifting them into the mixture and whisking them to make a smooth batter. Don't overwork the mixture.
03
Add the fresh ginger to the bowl if using.
04
Using butter, grease an 18cm nonstick cake tin with a removable base. Then, pour the combined mixture into the tin. For a loaf cake, use a 900g loaf tin.
05
Bake in the middle of a preheated oven at 160℃ for 50 minutes.
06
Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.