Anna Louise If you grew up in Britain, you probably know the McVitie’s Jamaica Ginger Cake — the one in the yellow wrapper with a sweet, sticky crumb and a very specific ginger warmth.
This is my homemade version, and I can tell you it is considerably better than the original. The crumb is darker, stickier, and more intensely spiced, and the ginger flavour is vivid and real rather than the gentle background note in the shop-bought version.
I make this every autumn and winter. The smell when it is baking — black treacle, stem ginger, warm spices — is one of my favourite kitchen smells of the year.
It keeps beautifully for a week, getting stickier and more intensely flavoured every day. On day three it is at its absolute best.
Ingredients for Mary Berry Jamaican Ginger Cake
For the Cake
- 175g plain flour, sifted
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 100g unsalted butter, cubed
- 100g soft dark brown sugar
- 3 tbsp black treacle
- 3 tbsp golden syrup
- 150ml whole milk
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3 balls stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp stem ginger syrup — from the jar
For the Sticky Ginger Glaze
- 3 tbsp stem ginger syrup — from the jar
- 2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
- Brushed over the warm cake for the characteristic sticky top
How to Make Mary Berry Jamaican Ginger Cake
Step 1 — Preheat and Prepare
Preheat your oven to 160°C / 140°C fan / Gas 3. Grease a 900g (2lb) loaf tin and line with baking parchment, leaving overhang at both long sides.
Step 2 — Melt the Butter, Treacle, and Syrup
Put the butter, dark brown sugar, black treacle, and golden syrup into a saucepan over a low heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes. The mixture will be dark and fragrant.
Step 3 — Make the Batter
Add the milk, beaten eggs, chopped stem ginger, and stem ginger syrup to the cooled treacle mixture. Stir well.
Sift the flour, ground ginger, mixed spice, cinnamon, and bicarbonate of soda into the liquid. Stir until a smooth, dark, slightly runny batter forms. The batter will be more liquid than a standard cake batter — this is what gives the sticky, dense crumb.
Step 4 — Bake
Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the cake has pulled very slightly from the sides of the tin. Cover loosely with baking parchment after 35 minutes if the top is getting too dark.
Step 5 — Glaze and Cool
Mix the stem ginger syrup and icing sugar together. Brush generously over the warm cake straight from the oven. The warm cake absorbs it slightly, giving the characteristic sticky, glossy top.
Cool completely in the tin — at least two hours. Lift out using the parchment. Slice and serve.
My Top Tips For Perfect Jamaican Ginger Cake
Black treacle is the key ingredient. It gives the dark colour, the slight bitterness, and the deeply warming character that separates a great Jamaican ginger cake from a pale, mild one. Do not leave it out or substitute with golden syrup alone.
Use both stem ginger and ground ginger. Ground ginger gives background warmth throughout the crumb. Chopped stem ginger gives vivid, slightly spicy pockets of concentrated ginger in every slice. Together they give a much more interesting result than either alone.
The batter is meant to be runny. Do not add more flour to thicken it. The runny batter is what gives the dense, moist, sticky crumb that is the whole point of this cake.
Bake at a lower temperature. Black treacle and dark brown sugar burn at higher temperatures. The low oven gives an evenly baked, properly dark — not burnt — result.
It gets better every day. The flavours deepen as the cake sits. I always make it at least a day before I plan to serve it, and on day three it is genuinely extraordinary — stickier, more intense, more specifically ginger.
Serving Suggestions
Sliced and spread with cold salted butter — the most satisfying way to eat it. With a cup of strong tea in the afternoon. As a simple pudding served slightly warm with a spoonful of crème fraîche alongside.
How to Store Mary Berry Jamaican Ginger Cake
At room temperature: Wrap in parchment and foil for up to 1 week — it improves throughout. In the freezer: Freeze without the glaze for up to 3 months. Apply the glaze fresh after defrosting.
Mary Berry Jamaican Ginger Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 160°C / 140°C fan / Gas 3. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin.
- Melt butter, dark brown sugar, treacle, and golden syrup in a saucepan over low heat — stir until smooth. Cool 10 minutes.
- Add milk, beaten eggs, chopped stem ginger, and ginger syrup — stir well. Sift flour, spices, and bicarbonate of soda into the liquid — stir to a smooth, dark, runny batter.
- Pour into tin. Bake 50–60 minutes until skewer comes out clean. Cover loosely after 35 minutes if darkening.
- Mix ginger syrup and icing sugar — brush generously over warm cake. Cool completely in tin — 2 hours. Slice.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes this Jamaican ginger cake rather than regular ginger cake?
The combination of black treacle, golden syrup, stem ginger, and a slightly runny batter gives the characteristic dense, dark, sticky crumb associated with the Jamaican ginger cake style. Regular ginger cake is often lighter and drier.
Can I make this without stem ginger?
Yes — increase the ground ginger to two teaspoons. The result is still very good but slightly less vivid in ginger flavour and without the pockets of stem ginger.
Can I make this as a traybake?
Yes — pour the batter into a greased and lined 30x20cm traybake tin. Bake at the same temperature for 35 to 40 minutes. Apply the glaze and cut into squares.
Why is my cake sinking in the middle?
The oven door was opened too early or the bicarbonate of soda was past its use-by date. Do not open the oven before 45 minutes and check the date on the bicarbonate.
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