Gingerbread
I don’t want to mention the ‘C‘ word since we’re still only in September, but there’s no denying the nights are drawing in. The temperature & weather in Edinburgh has still been somewhat unpredictable, but I know I’m already craving some cosier comforts that come with Autumn. And what’s better than a door-stop-sized slice of Gingerbread?
Smother it in a layer of butter and serve it up with a cup of tea, and you’ve got the perfect cold night treat! The warming spices, the sticky top and stodgy-cakey centre. If it doesn’t make you feel Autumnal, nothing will.
I played about with a few recipes before concluding this one was the absolute best. The perfect balance between Golden Syrup and Treacle, as well as opting for brown sugar for a deeper flavour. Ginger is obviously a must and is nicely complemented by the Ground Mixed Spice, but the addition of some Cinnamon and Nutmeg makes this Gingerbread more delicious than any I’ve had before.
Put the kettle on, crank up the heating and get ready for Autumn!
If you love ginger, why not try my Gingernuts and Gingerbread Men recipes too?
Ingredients for homemade Gingerbread:
Butter or Margarine
Either will do, and it’s personal preference to which you choose. I opt for margarine as a way to omit the dairy. Usually, I would say to have your butter or margarine at room temperature for a cake, but we will be melting it for this Gingerbread recipe, so this isn’t necessary
Treacle
For that deep colour and warming flavour to your Gingerbread, treacle is a must! For those outside the UK struggling to get treacle, molasses can be used as a substitute, although you may need to experiment with the quantities to get the perfect flavour.
Golden Syrup
Similar to treacle, golden syrup will give your Gingerbread Loaf a warming flavour but also an undeniable punch of extra sweetness.
Milk
This Gingerbread recipe is a long, slow bake, so a moist batter is a must. Milk helps with this, and you can use dairy milk or whatever plant milk substitute you prefer (I use soya).
Self-raising Flour
As with most cakes, self-raising flour is required. But if you only have plain to hand, fear not! You can use plain flour with the addition of some extra-extra baking powder.
Baking Powder
Although our flour already has some raising power, as this cake batter has a lot of liquid, we give it a little extra help with some baking powder too.
Soft Brown Sugar
As if this cake wasn’t sweet enough with the treacle and syrup, we’re also going to add some sugar too! Soft brown sugar is ideal for getting into the batter and adding a caramel-like flavour too.
Ground Ginger
And plenty of it! I recommend 4 teaspoons, but if you like a really ginger-y gingerbread, add a little more.
Mixed Spice, Nutmeg and Cinnamon
All delicious extras which add more flavour and depth to your gingerbread.
Free-range Eggs
The traditional glue of choice in any cake batter. I don’t tend to stress to much about the size of eggs in a loaf cake, as long as they’re free-range.
EQUIPMENT
- Small Saucepan
INGREDIENTS
- 110 g Butter or Margarine
- 100 g Golden Syrup
- 100 g Treacle
- 150 ml Milk
- 225 g Self-raising Flour
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 55 g Light Soft Brown Sugar
- 4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Gound Mixed Spice
- 2 Free-range Eggs
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 160°c (140°c for fan assisted ovens or Gas Mark 2), line a 2lb loaf tin with some greaseproof paper and set aside.
- In a saucepan, warm the butter/margarine, golden syrup and treacle over a low heat until melted and just combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, sugar, ginger and spices. Add the melted mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Add the eggs to the batter and mix until combined.
- Transfer the batter to your pre-lined loaf tin and bake in your pre-heated oven for 1 hour – 1 hour 30 mins. You'll know the cake is ready when a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Loosely cover the top of the loaf with a sheet of tin foil and allow to cool in the oven.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won’t always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
- Gingerbread Loaf is best when left to mature for a few days before serving.
- For full explanations on each ingredient and possible substitutions, see the Ingredients section above.
- Gingerbread Loaf cake should be stored in an airtight container, and will keep for about 1 week once sliced.
- You can freeze Gingerbread Loaf, either as a complete loaf, or in slices. Tightly wrap your Gingerbread cake in cling film, then again in tin foil. To defrost, remove from the freezer and allow to warm to room temperature before eating. Do not re-freeze once defrosted, and do not leave in your freezer for more than 3 months to avoid freezer-burn.
Free-from & Vegan:
Nut-free: There are no nuts in this Gingerbread recipe but always double check your ingredients for any hidden nuts.
Dairy-free: To make this Gingerbread recipe dairy-free, simply use dairy-free margarine in place of butter, and your dairy-free milk of choice.
N.B. Any advice or suggestions to make recipes “free-from” or vegan are purely that – suggestions. Please be careful to double-check all ingredients individually, taking extra caution when serving to those with allergies & intolerances.
For more info on common food allergies, please see food.gov.uk | For more info on coeliac disease, please see coeliac.org.uk | For more info on a vegan diet, please see vegansociety.com
Originally published in September 2017. Updated in March 2025.
Thank you to Naomi Seiler for creating the updated photos.
Hi All.
I have just this second took thie out of the oven it sits’ on the side cooling.
The smell of the treacle is fantastic it’s so good I put the kitchen fan on so the neighbours can have a smell.
Taste test when it cools, if it lasts long enough to cool stuff made from the other recipes on hear dont last to long.
Very tasty alternative to my normal ‘sticky’ ginger bread. This has more of a cake texture and went down a bomb with the congregation after church.
(Mind you so did the syrup loaf)
Fabulous recipe. The same results I got when we made it in Home Economics in high school. Then, we cut it up with a wooden ruler and ate it warm. Still delicious using a knife and plate.
As an ex-pat who can’t easily get hold of certain shop-bought branded cakes, this cake is perfect, and dare I say it better!
I have dairy allergy but I substitute all cow dairy butter, for goat butter and I use oat milk as it has a better fat quality most similar to full fat cows milk.