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 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 0.5 tsp 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 tbsp 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.
Isabel
Saturday 13th of January 2024
Further to my comment the list of ingredients says 2 flax eggs per 1 cake.
Isabel
Saturday 13th of January 2024
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.
Bella
Tuesday 12th of March 2024
@By The Forkful, thanks. The cake was still delicious, despite my mistake.
By The Forkful
Monday 15th of January 2024
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!
K Fin
Saturday 17th of June 2023
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!
Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake - By The Forkful
Saturday 11th of February 2023
[…] know that if he could pick any cake off the shelf, it would always be a lemon drizzle cake (with a ginger cake a close […]
Susie
Thursday 2nd of February 2023
Hi How much candied ginger would you add as extra, I have the one in syrup would that be ok xx
By The Forkful
Thursday 2nd of February 2023
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!