Gluten-Free Ginger Cake With Lemon or Lime Icing

Recently gluten-free and once a baker by profession, my mission is to adapt old favorite recipes to make this lifestyle change tastier!

A Gluten-Free Lifestyle

I recently went gluten-free for health reasons, and my baking world was rocked. I have found that there are so many GF recipes out there that simply don't work or just don't taste good. Too many different flours are involved, and I missed my old recipes.

I don't believe that living a gluten-free lifestyle should involve compromising on taste. So why not adapt the recipes I already loved? This one is an old Delia Smith recipe I had been making for years and is, in her own words, "quite simply my favorite cake . . . It's simple but absolute heaven." I hope you like it as much as she and I do!

A Few Tips to Consider Before You Start

• Line a 6x10-inch cake tin/pan (or use nonstick).
• Take out the butter ahead of time. It must be room temperature, or it will be difficult to work with.
• Grease/oil your spoon before measuring out the molasses. Then just push it off the spoon with a spatula.
• Use lime or lemon juice for the icing. Only limes are available where I live.
• Remember, every oven is different. The timing I have provided is for a non-fan oven. If you are using a fan oven, check your cake after 30 minutes. Mine just took 50 minutes.
• This cake freezes really well, with or without the icing. It slices easily while it is still frozen.
• Never ice a warm cake! Wait until it has completely cooled.

Cook Time

Ingredients

For the cake mix/batter:

• 175 grams (or 7/8 cup or 6 ounces) soft butter
• 175 grams (or 7/8 cup or 6 ounces) brown sugar
• 4 medium eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons stem ginger syrup
• 1 tablespoon molasses or carob syrup
• 190 grams (or 1 1/3 cup or 6 1/2 ounces) green banana flour
• 3 teaspoons ground ginger, heaped
• 1 tablespoon ground almonds
• 2 1/2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon fresh root ginger, grated
• 5 pieces preserved stem ginger, chopped
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

For the icing:

• juice of approximately 2 limes or lemons
• 225 grams (or 1 1/2 cup or 8 ounces) icing sugar
• crystalised ginger pieces

Instructions

1. Line your cake tin/pan, lightly oiling it to help your cake release easily. Preheat your oven to a low setting: 180°C.
2. Prepare your cake batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer, add soft butter and brown sugar. Beat them together for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
3. Beat the eggs with a fork. With the mixer running, add the eggs little by little to the cake. (Don't worry if the mixture looks curdled; the addition of the flour will sort that out.)
4. With the machine on a slower speed, add the ginger syrup and molasses (or carob syrup). Gradually add the flour, ground ginger, baking powder, and optional xanthan gum, one tablespoon at a time, until it is all incorporated.
5. Now for the last few ingredients: Add the ground almonds followed by the milk then lastly the grated root ginger and the chopped pieces of stem ginger.
6. Pour the batter into the baking tin, spreading it so to be even. Bake in the middle of the oven for approximately 40 to 50 minutes (times vary depending on your oven type). You will know when your cake is done; it will be springy and firm to the touch in the centre.
7. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Then carefully transfer to a baking rack to finish cooling.
8. To make the icing: Add lime or lemon juice little by little to the icing sugar until you get the consistency of thick cream. You may not need all the juice.
9. Spread the icing over the top of the cake only, allowing it to drizzle down the sides. Cut your crystalized ginger into 15 pieces and place it on the cake so that when you cut it you have 15 squares of cake with a piece of ginger in the middle of each. Perfect with a cup of tea!

© 2019 lemonkerdz

Comments

Liza from USA on January 23, 2020:

The cake looks scrumptious! I was looking for a recipe that is different from what I always used. I'm interested to know more about the green banana flour as I never heard of it. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

lemonkerdz (author) from LIMA, PERU on April 27, 2019:

It is starting to become more available through amazon and I saw some good deals on eBay. It’s made from dried plantain which is the type of banana used for cooking in many Caribbean foods. Since the cake only calls for 6 1/2 oz it’s not that expensive if you are gluten intolerant. You don’t taste the banana so you can still enjoy your ginger fix.

RTalloni on April 27, 2019:

Banana flour is new to me and it's surprising that it has a mild flavor. Looking forward to trying this as I love, love, love ginger cake.

lemonkerdz (author) from LIMA, PERU on April 26, 2019:

It sure is generalbrat and after doing this hub I have a whole cake to munch down on.

It’s one of only a few gluten free cakes that don’t taste like you are being careful for having a condition.

generalbrat from california,usa on April 26, 2019:

Yummy looks great