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 complimented 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:
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 cake, self-raising flour is required. But if you only have plain to hand, fear not! You can use a 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.
Love this? Try this:
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.
Originally published in September 2017. Updated in March 2025.
Thank you to Naomi Seiler for creating the updated photos.
35 responses
Any chance the ingredient list could be also published in US cup measurements?
Margot Petersen here is a useful website for converting
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/cooking/cups-grams.php
Is the subscription free
Can I check that this gingerbread actually needs 90mins in the oven. Don’t want to dry it out so just checking first. Thanks in advance.
Mines took 40 minutes in fan assisted oven at 150°
Mine was done in 60 mins, at 140C Fan.
Can I freeze this gingerbread?
Lovely recipe very easy to do…. I give mine around 1hr 15mins then test … it’s usually done by then….. absolutely delicious gingerbread… very moist
This is the nearest i have come to a ginger bread recipe my 96year old mum gave me some years ago, I remember stiring the butter, treacle and golden syrup in the saucepan for her as a child (unfortunately I lost it) Thank you for this delicious recipe it brings back so many memories. Im off now to bake one to take to my mum.
This is also almost exactly the same as the recipe my mum cooked for us (and I helped with) as a child! We loved it spread with butter. Thanks so much for sharing!
Who needs Autumn to eat anything Gingerbread, I know I don’t, I’m almost obsessed with Ginger, we are in the beginning of what looks like one ery hot summer, and its still December. Your cake sounds wonderful just the kind that deserve a good slab of fresh cold butter, I have a date, pecan and Ginger I created that I love a good portion of real butter on, it’s diffinently going in my reportire, have it in my oven as I’m typing this, it smelling rather gorgeous might I say. Didn’t have quite enough treacle so topped it off with Molasses and I also added some chopped naked Ginger. Can’t wait for to be ready …
Such a great recipe. Easy and delicious. Just as gingerbread should be; moist, deep flavoured and rich in colour. Thanks
Excellent recipe the best gingerbread yet ,and ive tried a few recipes .I used a bit extra treacle butter and spices but it beats other recipes hands down
Great recipe, easy to follow. Swapped out the Ginger spice for Dutch spices Speculaas, which made from pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg.
And was delicious . One for the favourite recipe book..
Tried this out today as love gingerbread. It is amazing. I have recently started baking so this was easy to follow. Absolutely delicious with lashings of butter. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I can’t wait to try out some of your other family favorites.
Beauful full flavoured ginger cake well worth making
Do you think it’ll be ok if I use a cake tin instead of a loaf tin? Can’t wait to try it out
Hi,is it full fat milk or can I use semi skimmed?
Oh my goodness! This is delicious! Thank you very much, this will be a firm favourite.
Asked two loads amazing. I poured icing on top. Whal. Thank you.
First time making a gingerbread and turned out yummy
My Son and I have made Ginger cake using this recipe and it turned out beautifully!
Thankyou.
Made this earlier today house smells amazing , gingerbread just like my gran used to make , its delicious, thank you so much for sharing your recipes .. it’s very kind of you .. xxx
Lovely cake, made for the first time today. Made a few tweaks in slightly less sugar, we don’t have that sweet a tooth and as I didn’t have any mixed spice that got left out. Nonetheless it is a delicious cake, so moist, doubt it will last long here . Reminded me of my Nan .
I made this today, I’m really new to baking and got no patience so this was a delight to make. Think maybe my loaf Tin was a bit too heavy as after 1hr 30 mins in the oven, I think it could still have done with a bit more time. But, delicious smothered in butter.
My family and I love this Gingerbread cake. It is so delicious. We’ve been eating it over Easter. It is nice with butter or custard. Thank you for sharing this scrummy recipe with us!!
Could I make cup cakes instead of a loaf ? I realize I would have to monitor the cook time.
Thank you.
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.
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!
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.
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)
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.
How can I make eggless?
Could you please include additional info on substitutes for eggs in all your recipes? Please
First time trying this version.
The loaf cooked for 75 min but it had a crack in the middle all the way to the bottom and the slices had patches of very moist dough.
Can you please tell what I did wrong? The taste and colour are great.
Fabulous recipe.No fancy ingredients, but oh so delicious.
I made 2 at the same time.Always good to have something in the freezer.