Anna Louise A ginger cake is one of those recipes that I think about well before I make it — a September afternoon, the first cold morning of autumn, a day when the kitchen needs to smell of something warm and specific.
That smell, when a proper ginger cake is in the oven, is one of the finest kitchen experiences I know: the treacle, the ginger, the warmth of mixed spice coming together into something that is distinctly, unmistakably ginger cake.
This recipe gives a round, deep, slightly sticky-topped ginger cake — different from the gingerbread traybake on this site, which is a flat bake for cutting into squares, and different from the ginger cupcakes, which are individually portioned.
This is the cake format — baked in a round tin, sliced into wedges, served with butter or crème fraîche alongside — that I associate specifically with afternoon tea in autumn and winter.
Like all the best ginger cakes, this one improves dramatically over the first two days as the treacle and spices deepen and the texture becomes more yielding and more sticky. Make it the day before if you can.
Ingredients for Mary Berry Ginger Cake
For the Ginger Cake
- 175g unsalted butter, cubed
- 175g soft dark brown sugar
- 175g black treacle
- 175g golden syrup
- 300ml whole milk
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 350g plain flour, sifted
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda — dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water
- 3 balls stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped — gives vivid ginger pockets throughout
- 2 tbsp stem ginger syrup — from the jar, stirred into the batter
For the Ginger Icing
- 150g icing sugar, sifted
- 2 tbsp stem ginger syrup — from the jar
- 1–2 tbsp warm water — to give a flowing consistency
- 2 balls stem ginger in syrup, sliced — to decorate the top
How to Make Mary Berry Ginger Cake
Step 1 — Preheat and Prepare
Preheat your oven to 160°C / 140°C fan / Gas 3. Grease a deep 23cm round cake tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment. The relatively low oven temperature is important — the treacle and dark sugar in this cake burn at higher temperatures before the centre is cooked through.
Step 2 — Melt the Butter, Sugar, Treacle, and Syrup
Place the butter, soft dark brown sugar, black treacle, and golden syrup in a large saucepan. Heat over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for ten minutes.
Step 3 — Add the Milk and Eggs
Pour the milk into the cooled treacle mixture — stir to combine. Add the beaten eggs and the stem ginger syrup. Stir through.
Step 4 — Add the Dry Ingredients
Sift the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice, and nutmeg directly into the treacle liquid. Stir well until completely smooth. Add the finely chopped stem ginger pieces and stir through.
Add the dissolved bicarbonate of soda — stir through immediately. The mixture will froth slightly as the bicarbonate reacts with the acidic treacle. This frothing is the leavening action and is completely correct.
Step 5 — Bake
Pour the batter — which will be quite liquid — into the prepared tin. It should flow into the corners without needing to be spread.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until the cake is set across the top, a skewer inserted into the very centre comes out clean, and the edges have begun to pull very slightly away from the sides of the tin.
Cover loosely with baking parchment after 35 minutes if the top is darkening too quickly.
Leave to cool completely in the tin — at least two hours. The ginger cake is very moist and too fragile to remove from the tin while still warm.
Step 6 — Make the Ginger Icing
Mix the sifted icing sugar with the stem ginger syrup. Add enough warm water to give a smooth icing that flows from a spoon in a steady ribbon.
Pour over the completely cooled cake. Spread gently to the edges — letting it drip slightly down the sides. Arrange the sliced stem ginger pieces decoratively over the wet icing. Leave to set for twenty minutes.
My Top Tips For Perfect Mary Berry Ginger Cake
Black treacle is the defining ingredient. It gives the dark colour, the slightly bitter depth, and the specifically ginger cake character that golden syrup alone cannot produce. Do not substitute or reduce.
Stem ginger in both the batter and the icing. Ground ginger gives the background warmth throughout the cake. Chopped stem ginger gives vivid, slightly spicy pockets of concentrated ginger flavour throughout the crumb. The stem ginger syrup in the icing gives a specifically ginger glaze that ties everything together.
Cool the treacle mixture before adding the eggs. Warm treacle mixture added to eggs partially cooks them and gives a slightly scrambled, slightly grainy texture. Ten minutes of cooling gives a temperature that combines smoothly.
The batter is very liquid — this is correct. The treacle, butter, milk, and eggs give a batter that is considerably more liquid than a standard cake batter. Do not add flour to firm it up — the liquid batter gives the characteristic dense, moist, slightly sticky crumb.
Make this the day before. Of all the cakes on this site, ginger cake improves the most dramatically over the first two days. The treacle and spices deepen, the crumb becomes more yielding and more sticky, and the stem ginger flavour spreads through the surrounding sponge. Day one is very good. Day two is genuinely extraordinary.
Serving Suggestions
At room temperature with cold salted butter spread on each slice — the most natural accompaniment. With crème fraîche alongside as a pudding. With a cup of strong tea on a cold afternoon. As a gift — ginger cake keeps well and travels well and is one of the most appreciated homemade gifts possible.
How to Store Mary Berry Ginger Cake
At room temperature: Wrap in baking parchment and foil, or store in an airtight container, for up to 1 week. The cake improves significantly over the first three to four days.
In the freezer: Freeze without the icing for up to 3 months. Apply the ginger icing fresh after defrosting.
Mary Berry Ginger Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 160°C / 140°C fan / Gas 3. Grease and line a deep 23cm round tin.
- Melt butter, dark brown sugar, treacle, and golden syrup over medium-low heat — stir until smooth. Do not boil. Cool 10 minutes.
- Add milk, beaten eggs, and stem ginger syrup — stir through.
- Sift flour and all spices directly into liquid — stir until smooth. Add chopped stem ginger. Add dissolved bicarbonate of soda — stir immediately.
- Pour into tin. Bake 50–60 minutes until skewer comes out clean. Cover loosely after 35 minutes if darkening. Cool completely in tin — 2 hours.
- Mix icing sugar, stem ginger syrup, and water to a flowing icing. Pour over cooled cake. Spread to edges — let it drip. Arrange sliced stem ginger on top. Set 20 minutes. Slice.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add crystallised ginger instead of stem ginger?
Yes — 75g of finely chopped crystallised ginger gives a slightly drier, slightly more assertive ginger flavour. The syrup from the stem ginger jar adds additional moisture and flavour that crystallised ginger cannot replicate — but the cake is still very good.
Can I make this as a traybake?
Yes — pour into a greased and lined 30x23cm traybake tin. Bake at the same temperature for 35 to 40 minutes. Apply the ginger icing and stem ginger decoration as directed.
Can I leave out the black treacle?
The treacle is what gives this cake its dark colour, its slightly bitter depth, and its specific character. Without it the cake becomes a lighter, milder ginger sponge — pleasant but not the same thing. I strongly encourage keeping the treacle.
Why is my ginger cake sinking in the middle?
The oven door was opened too early, or the batter was too wet from a measurement error. Do not open the oven before 45 minutes. If the sink is consistent between bakes, check the bicarbonate of soda is fresh.
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