Sticky Gingerbread Loaf
A rich and sticky British Gingerbread Loaf made with treacle, golden syrup and plenty of warming ginger spice. Baked low and slow for a moist, slightly dense crumb, it gets even softer and stickier after a day or two - perfect sliced as it is or with plenty of butter.
PRINT RECIPE
Servings: 10 slices
INGREDIENTS
- 110 g Block Margarine or Butter
- 100 g Golden Syrup (see Golden Syrup note below)
- 100 g Treacle
- 150 ml Milk
- 225 g Self-raising Flour (see Self-raising Flour note below)
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 55 g Soft Light Brown Sugar
- 4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Mixed Spice
- 2 Free-range Eggs (at room temperature; see Egg Size note below)
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 160°C (140°C for fan-assisted ovens, Gas Mark 2 or 325°F) and line a 2lb loaf tin with
greaseproof paper . 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 slightly.
- In a large bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, sugar, ginger and spices. Pour the melted mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Add the eggs to the batter and mix until combined. The batter will be quite thin in comparison to some other cake batters - this is normal.
- Transfer the batter to your pre-lined loaf tin and bake in your preheated oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 mins. Use the time as a guide, as ovens can vary. The Gingerbread Loaf is ready when it is well risen, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Switch the oven off and loosely cover the top of the loaf with a sheet of
tin foil and allow it to cool in the switched-off oven - ideally until completely cool, but a couple of hours is still worthwhile if you need your oven back sooner - Once completely cool, store the gingerbread loaf in an airtight container, or leave it in the tin and wrap well. It can be eaten straight away, but it is even better after at least 24 hours (or ideally 2–3 days), when it will become softer and stickier.
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:
Treacle: If you can't get treacle, molasses is the closest alternative. Different brands of molasses can vary in flavour, with some more bitter or savoury than others, so the finished Gingerbread Loaf may taste slightly different.
Golden Syrup: Golden syrup is a classic British baking ingredient. If you can't get hold of it, light corn syrup is the closest substitute. For more information, including other substitutions and where to buy it, see my Golden Syrup Ingredient Guide.
Self-raising Flour: Don't have self-raising flour? Replace the 225g (1⅔ cups) self-raising flour with 225g (1⅔ cups) plain flour plus 3 teaspoons baking powder. You should still add the additional ½ teaspoon baking powder listed in the recipe. See my Self-raising Flour Ingredient Guide for more information and conversions.
Egg Size: I use mixed-weight free-range eggs in my baking. If buying eggs by size, medium eggs in the UK (roughly equivalent to large eggs in the US) are the best option.
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