Vegan Ginger Cake With A Sticky Treacle Glaze
Vegan Ginger Cake - a moist, sticky, spicy loaf cake that is egg and dairy-free and perfect as a dessert or paired with a cup of tea in the afternoon. Enjoy!
I first made this vegan ginger cake to give to my Granddad as a thank-you for helping me get my old campervan ready to sell last year (boy am I glad to say goodbye to that old thing!).
If you've had a traditional Jamaican ginger cake before, you'll know the heavenly experience it is. A dense, pillowy-soft cake packed with spicy ginger and rich nutmeg, with a sticky treacle glaze to top it off.
My Granddad and Dad are particularly big fans of ginger cake, so I set myself a challenge to recreate a vegan-friendly version that tastes as good - if not better - than a traditional version.
Well, I'm happy to say that I succeeded, and this vegan ginger cake honestly tastes better than any ginger cake I ever had in the past.
This vegan ginger cake is:
- Spicy
- moist
- soft
- indulgent
- rich
And it's perfect with a hot cup of tea when the 3 pm lull rolls around.
Honestly, I was blown away by how well this cake turned out. My Granddad couldn't even tell the difference between my vegan ginger cake and a standard version.
Plus, he even texted me to say thank you. From my Granddad, that's true praise. Ha ha!
This is a really easy recipe, and will still taste great without adding the glaze at the end. The glaze really kicks it up a notch though.
If you're looking for other ginger recipes, you'll love these vegan gingerbread cookies and gingerbread cupcakes!
How to Make This Vegan Ginger Cake
To start, preheat your oven and line a loaf tin with baking paper, allowing the paper to hang over the edges so you can easily remove the cake from the tin once cooled.
To start, you'll take a jug and mix your plant-based milk with the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), then set aside. You'll also make your flax egg so this can be thickening while you prepare the other ingredients.
Then, you'll sift your flour, spices, and salt into a large mixing bowl, and then heat the treacle, syrup, vegan butter, and brown sugar with a little water over a low heat until just melted.
Once melted, you'll beat the mixture into the flour and stir until smooth, then add the flax egg and milk for a fairly runny batter. Then, bake for around an hour to an hour and a half to until a skewer comes out clean when inserted.
Sticky ginger cake glaze
The glaze is what makes this cake really sticky and indulgent - it will taste perfectly fine without the glaze, but it takes just a few minutes to whip up and will really transform the cake.
Simply heat golden syrup and brown sugar, and add a little cinnamon, ground ginger, and vanilla essence for extra flavour. As soon as you've taken the cake out of the oven, I recommend poking a few holes in the cake to really let the glaze soak in and do its thing.
This loaf cake has become one of my favourite go-to baking recipes now, and it honestly gets better every time.
The cinnamon and ginger give it a subtle spice, without completely overpowering the cake.
Flax Egg Note
This recipe uses a flax egg, which is a vegan substitute for eggs.
It's literally just flax seed mixed with water, but I've provided a link in the recipe below to help you find the correct measurements!
If you're looking for an easy (OK - fairly easy, you do have a few more components than just throwing everything in a bowl) loaf cake recipe, I highly recommend giving this ginger cake a go - whether you eat a plant-based diet all the time or not, I know you're doing to love it.
Can you freeze this vegan ginger cake?
Yes, this cake is fine for freezing! It will be best if you slice the cake, then wrap the individual slices in clingfilm before freezing. Simply allow it to defrost in the fridge or for a few hours on the counter before eating.
Recipe variations:
- You could add some chopped candied stem ginger into the cake mix before baking to add a real kick to this cake
- Some chopped dates or even vegan chocolate chips could be a great addition to this ginger cake
- Instead of the sticky glaze, you could make a vanilla or ginger icing to drizzle over the cake
Sticky Vegan Ginger Cake
A real show-stopper: this vegan cake is everything you could want in a loaf cake. It's rich, sticky, moist, and packed with spicy flavour to recreate the classic dark Jamaican ginger cake for a plant-based diet.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 175g plain flour
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- 0.5 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 120ml unsweetened almond milk (or other plant milk)
- 75g black treacle (molasses)
- 75g golden syrup
- 75g dark brown sugar
- 80g dairy-free butter (I used VitaLife)
- 2 flax eggs
- pinch of salt
Glaze:
- 30g dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon golden syrup
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C and line a loaf tin with baking paper
- Mix your bicarbonate of soda with your plant milk and set aside
- Sift the flour, spices, and salt into a large mixing bowl
- Separately, heat the treacle, syrup, butter, and brown sugar with a little water in a pan over a low heat until melted - don't let it boil! - then remove from the heat
- Beat the syrup mixture into the flour until smooth
- Add your flax egg and the bicarbonate/milk solution and mix - the batter will be fairly runny
- Pour the batter into your lined tin and bake for approximately 1 - 1.5 hours until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, covering the top with foil if it starts to go too dark
- While the cake is cooling, make your glaze by heating the syrup and sugar over a low heat until combined
- Prick the top of your cake with a skewer, and then brush with your glaze to allow it to sink into the cake
- Leave for a further 10 minutes until the cake is cooled, then turn out onto a wire rack
Notes
Wrap the cake in clingfilm or store in any airtight container. It should keep for up to 5 days.
This cake can also be frozen.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 269Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 104mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 2gSugar: 19gProtein: 4g
Nutrition information is not always accurate.
I had to look up “black treacle”. In the U.S. it would be molasses. Sounds delicious.
Ah, I had no idea! Thank you 🙂
Could I use egg replacer instead of flex seed
Hey Sam, I've not tried using egg replacer instead so couldn't really say one way or the other. Let me know how it turns out if you do try it though!
finally got around to making this with egg replacement, it was amazing, my daughter has a few food intolerances and misses ginger cake, this went down a treat thank you do much
hi just got around to making this with egg replacer, and its it's amazing, thank you so much, my daughter has a few food intolerances and ginger cake is one thing that she absolutely misses having, will definitely be making this again and again
Amazing, so happy to hear that! Thanks for leaving a comment 🙂
Hi Sam, would you mind telling us which egg replacer brand you used? We have a flaxseed intolerance in our household, so would be great to know what’s work with you. We desperately miss ginger cake! We’ll also be trying an alternative to wheat flour, another intolerance, so if there’s any recommendations that would be awesome! TIA x
Hello! Would it be possible to use fresh ginger instead of ground? I have a load in the cupboard so could do with using some 🙂
Thanks!
Mon
Hey Mon, I think that would work fine! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Looking forward to this. I've been using a different recipe lately with banana, but this one sounds more indulgent. Will give it a whirl and let you know how it goes 🤓
Awesome!
Hi, This looks amazing! Have you ever tried it gluten free? Wondering if it will work - might have to give it a go 🙂
Thank you! I haven't tried it gluten-free but will be sure to update if I do. Would love to hear how you get on, though!
Good to know that works too! I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
I have just made this today,. As you say it’s super easy and it has come out really well and tastes delicious. I think perhaps my flaxseed wasn’t as fresh as it could have been as it doesn’t seem to have risen quite as much as yours, although perhaps my baking tin is slightly larger. I took your advice and added the sticky glaze but omitted the extra spice. Great recipe thanks for sharing x
Hi Caroline, thanks for the nice comment - so glad it turned out well! Next time I make this I'm going to measure my loaf tin to add to the recipe.
Made this today and it was yummy! Even though I’ve been vegan for years I’ve avoided baking recipes with flax eggs for some reason. I wasn’t sure I got it right as it wasn’t as gloopy as I expected but the cake rose nicely and was light. The glaze didn’t go as well as I wanted but still tasted nice!
So happy to hear this!
What is golden syrup and mixed spice?
Hey Kelly, I just looked up some substitues you can use if you don't have golden syrup in your country:
- Light corn syrup/ light treacle
- Maple syrup
I haven't tried these though so am not sure how they would affect the recipe.
Apparently, mixed spice is also called pudding spice in the states! It has a mix of sweet spices such as Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger and Cloves. Hope this helps!
Hi, if you use dates - what quantity ? I have puréed dates x
Hey Lucy, I'm not sure pureed dates would work - it might make the cake a bit too mushy! Let me know if you try it. I would advise adding about 5 - 6 diced dates if you did want to add them in.
Like!! Great article post.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Not quite sure how I managed this but mine ended up burnt ON THE BOTTOM AND SIDES! I lined my loaf tin with baking paper and followed the instructions exactly. I put foil over the top after 20 mins and took it out after 1 hour total. Maybe my oven is too hot? The inside of the cake is absolutely yummy though 🙂
Oh no! Perhaps you put the tin too low in the oven? Or yes perhaps it was too hot! So glad you got to enjoy some of it still at least!
1lb or 2lb loaf tin? Not sure if I'm just being blind!
2lb!
Hi
You say to add a little water to the syrup and sugar mix, approximately how much do you recommend?
Add a tsp at a time until it's your desired consistency - I think max 3 tsp!
Thank you...will make this over the weekend as
I am baking this cake right now! as I am expecting vegan guests later. I had to assemble a lot of strange items but the mixture tasted delicious before it went in the oven.
I used vegan block for butter, oatly milk for dairy, agave syrup instead of golden and I made my first flax egg.
I am looking forward to the taste test.
It may turn me vegan yet.
Thanks.
Awesome 🙂
Hello! I have two loaf tin sizes and I have no idea which one to use. I have made this ginger cake once before and it was absolutely amazing so I want to make it again today but I can't remember which loaf tin I used! The one is 8,5 x 4,5 and the other one is 10 x 5. Which one you think I should use? Thanks!
Made this today and it tastes amazing 😃
I’m trying to recreate some mini ginger loaves I used to have. Do you think this would work as 12 mini loaves, and if so how would you adjust the cooking time? Thank you.
Hi Katy, that sounds great - sadly I'm not sure how this would turn out as I haven't tried it myself, although I'd expect mini loaves to bake quicker so I'd keep a close eye on them! Let me know how you get on!
Hi Yaz,
I just made your recipe following to the letter - it came out great. Rose like a trooper! Wished I could upload a pic of it.
Has anyone else had this cake’s time in over reduced? The recipe says 1-1.5 hours and this one came out at 26 minutes.
Makes a wonderful ginger cake. I used aquafaba (from a tin of cannellini beans) as the egg replacer and instead of all plain flour used two third plain and one third wholemeal flour. I have also used this recipe to make an upside down ginger and pear cake - baking in an 8" sponge tin with caramelised pear slices at the bottom. Make a great pudding served warm and equally delicious cold.
Cannellni beans can then be mushed up to make a flourless chocolate brownie.
Hi
How much candied ginger would you add as extra, I have the one in syrup would that be ok xx
Hey Susie, the one in syrup is perfect! If it's the version in little balls I'd say maybe three diced up? Let me know how it turns out!
This cake is amazing, but for some reason it bakes on my oven completely after just 25 mins! I have an oven thermometer which I check often and it says 180, so I have no idea what’s going on but either way, it’s PERFECT!
Hi. Is it correct that the recipe has 2 flax eggs? I doubled the recipe so have added 4 flax eggs. Is this correct? Got confused as method says now add your flax egg and link to flax egg recipe says when you double your recipes you make 2 flax eggs. Just waiting to see how cake comes out. In oven now.
Hi! Yes I did 2 flax eggs (so double the ingredients for the recipe for a flax egg). I will make a not to make the ingredients notes clearer!
@By The Forkful, thanks. The cake was still delicious, despite my mistake.
Further to my comment the list of ingredients says 2 flax eggs per 1 cake.
I have not made it, but I had it made for me for my birthday and it was delicious. Wish I could send you a photo as it was iced in lemon flavoured icing and decorated with fresh flowers - delicious and beautiful.
Ah sounds delicious! So glad you all enjoyed it
Obviously this recipe has worked for plenty of people. In my experience I decided to do mini loaves, three and all because that's pretty standard and this batter fills up 2/3 of 3 mini loaf pans. I baked them for 47 minutes because you're supposed to reduce the baking time by 25% with mini loaves and the instructions on this recipe say bake between 1 hour and one and a half hours. 47 minutes would assume the shorter time. In 47 minutes they had not risen at all so I left them in an additional 10 minutes but they look pretty much the same with the stick coming out clean. I don't know if it's that these just aren't pretty but I have done a lot of baking in my life. It could be good to give some instructions for actual pan size as well as time for baking in three standard mini loaf pans. Sign me hoping for the best
It's me again, these ended up being pretty good. It's very moist and you absolutely have to use parchment paper. Greasing a nonstick pan does not work. Some many loaves I made fell out without their bottoms, but the top half was good enough to share with people. I am now baking a regular sized loaf pan for 90 minutes and I think it should be really good. Thank you for this recipe I will use it a lot. Molasses has a lot of iron in it.
Love this cake, upped the ground ginger to 1.1/2 tbsps, and used ginger syrup in place of golden soup, also replaced water when making up the flax eggs with really COLD coconut milk, worked a treat, thanks for recipes, will make others.
Would I be able to replace the vegan butter with sunflower/vegetable oil?
yes that could work!
Hello,
Recipe looks amazing but what can I use instead of a flax egg please that would also work? Thank you
Hi.
I would love to make this ginger cake but I do not have access to vegan butter where I am living. Can i use oil instead and can I substitute flaxseed with chia seed . Thanks in advance