Now, many people know Justin Gellatly for his doughnuts (I’ve used his recipe to make Paska and Rhubarb + Custard ones), but he makes something else just as good! Some may even say it’s better – I’m talking about his cracking ginger cake! Rich, moist, and very moreish. And if you pick up a copy of Justin Gellatly’s book Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding you can try his recipe yourself! Or just keep reading to make my slight adaptation.
You can bake this cake in a simple 9×9″ tin, and cut it into squares. Serve it warm, adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream – it’s the perfect end to a meal! Or, you can fancy it up a notch like I did here – baking it in two round tins to make a layered cake. I used a vanilla German buttercream between the layers (and a thin layer on the outside for a ‘naked cake’ look), then topped it with caramel sauce, poached pears and some candied nuts.
Now, I made this once before with the same amounts used in Justin’s original recipe – and found that it didn’t taste quite as strong as the cakes sold in Justin’s bakery (Bread Ahead). So this time, I increased the amount of chopped stem ginger and ground spices. It’s such a great cake – sticky and full of ginger flavour.
For the caramel sauce – I really wanted to use a recipe that only had a couple of ingredients. Caramel sauce isn’t complicated – just sugar and a fat (butter and/or cream) that has been heated to a specific temperature for the consistency you want. I adapted this recipe slightly, using a dry caramel (I can’t be bothered adding water only to then boil it away) to make a sauce with the right thickness to top a cake. Not too runny, but you can still get some nice drips on the edges. Of course, I accidentally boiled it too long (distracted) and it was super thick, so I just thinned it a bit with some hot water! You could also add more cream instead.
As for the buttercream? Well, I decided to go for a German buttercream, as I dislike the traditional stuff. I was always that kid removing the icing from her cupcake because American-style buttercream is either sickly sweet or just tastes like butter. German buttercream is pastry cream that has been whipped with butter. And it is delicious! I used inspiration from this recipe, whipping the butter first, and adding the pastry cream in increments. I didn’t have any issues with it splitting, so perhaps it’s the new way to make buttercream?
And to top off the cake? Spiced poached pears and candied nuts! I used Jamie Oliver’s recipe for the pears, which is just so simple! The candied nut recipe makes waaaay more than you need – but they taste great so who cares! I had hoped to get some gold leaf to finish everything, but they sold out 🙁 Maybe next time!
And that’s it! Maybe a good cake for New Year’s Eve? I had hoped to post this before Christmas, but time got away from me… but hey – what else is new?
Ginger Cake with Poached Pears + Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- Ginger Cake
- 300 g plain flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp ground ginger
- 1.5 tsp mixed spice
- 1.25 tsp cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 375 ml whole milk
- 165 g dark brown sugar
- 150 g unsalted butter cubed
- 85 g black treacle
- 165 g golden syrup
- 1 tsp sodium bicarbonate
- 120 g stem ginger chopped
- 80 ml stem ginger syrup
- 1 egg beaten
- Caramel Sauce
- 120 g sugar
- 2 tbsp water optional
- 115 ml double cream
- pinch salt
- Vanilla German Buttercream
- 250 ml whole milk
- 100 g sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 20 g corn starch
- 7 g unsalted butter
- 1 vanilla bean
- 250 g unsalted butter softened
- Spiced Poached Pears
- 3-4 pears
- 0.5 cinnamon stick
- 0.125 tsp nutmeg
- 4 cloves
- 0.5 vanilla bean optional
- 2 cardamom pods crushed
- nub fresh ginger peeled sliced
- 200 g sugar
- 700 ml water
Instructions
- Ginger Cake
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt.
- In a medium pot, melt the butter along with the golden syrup, treacle, brown sugar, and 75ml of the milk. Bring to a slow boil.
- Whisk in the baking soda (be careful as it will bubble up quite a bit!) and then the rest of the milk to cool it down. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Whisk in the flour mixture, followed by the beaten egg, stem ginger and syrup.
- Let the mixture sit for 2 hours at room temperature. Meanwhile, grease and line the tin(s) with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan). Stir the cake mixture and pour into the prepared tin(s).
- Bake in the preheated oven for an hour, or until the cake is firm to the touch.
- Spiced Poached Pears
- In a medium saucepan, place the sugar, water and all of the spices. Bring to a simmer.
- Peel the pears (leave the stems intact) and place in the spiced liquid. Simmer for about 2 hours – or until soft.
- Leave in the solution while it cools, and store in the liquid until you are ready to serve.
- Caramel Sauce
- In a small pot, make a dry caramel with the sugar. If you’re not comfortable making a dry caramel, use water to get the sugar dissolving, then simmer until it turns a dark amber.
- Warm the double cream in the microwave until steaming. Once the caramel is a dark amber, add the cream, and whisk together.
- Boil the solution until it reads 107°C, then remove from the heat. Whisk in a pinch of salt, and some vanilla (optional).
- German Buttercream
- In a small pot, add the milk, half the sugar, and the vanilla bean. Bring to a simmer and remove from the heat. Let infuse for at least 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the cornstarch and sugar. Add enough milk to make a slurry.
- Bring the milk back to a simmer, and slowly whisk into the egg mixture. Return to the pot and bring to a boil (whisking constantly).
- Boil the mixture for at least 10 seconds, and then pass through a sieve. Stir in the 7g butter, then press cling film to the pastry cream to prevent it forming a skin. Cool to room temperature.
- Whip the butter in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Add the pastry cream a spoonful at a time, whipping well in between.
- Cake Assembly
- Place one of the ginger cake layers on your cake plate, and top with a third of the buttercream. Place the second layer on top, cover with another third of the buttercream, and then use the rest to ice the sides.
- Spread some of the caramel sauce on top, allowing small drips to go over the sides.
- Remove the poached pears from the liquid, and pat dry with some paper towel. Arrange on top of the cake, and surround with some candied nuts.