Vegan ginger cake - a moist, sticky, spicy sheet cake that is full of flavour, easy to make and perfect for snacking on. Egg and dairy free.
I know it isn't really the right time of year for ginger cake, it is much more of an Autumn/Winter kind of thing; but we have been having a lot of dreary weather recently and I have just been in the mood for comforting bakes and warm flavours.
This cake ticks all of those boxes as well as being really simple to make and vegan to boot. It is warm and generously spiced, with a moist, dense texture and is wonderful for snacking on throughout the day.
It is also incredible served warm with ice cream or custard for a comforting old-fashioned style pudding!
I based this vegan ginger cake off my recipe for toffee apple gingerbread and veganised it by replacing the eggs with soy yogurt (you can use coconut yogurt if soy is an issue) and using vegan spread in place of the butter.
I like to use Stork for vegan baking as I think that it gives the best texture, but feel free to use your favourite spread instead.
I topped the vegan ginger cake with a simple lemon glaze and some chopped crystallised ginger. It really doesn't need it as the cake is plenty sweet enough and full of flavour on it's own; I just wanted to make it look a bit prettier for photos as it is quite plain looking on it's own.
You can make the glaze or omit it as you wish.
This cake keeps fairly well; store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Vegan Ginger Cake Recipe:
Vegan Ginger Cake
Ingredients
Vegan Ginger Cake:
- 200 g (¾ cup +1 Tbsp) vegan spread/margarine (ideally the solid block kind rather than the spreadable kind in a tub)
- 200 g (1 cup + 1 Tbsp) dark brown soft sugar
- 250 g (¾ cup) golden syrup
- 100 g (scant ⅓ cup) treacle
- 360 g (3 cups) self-raising flour
- 2 Tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 120 ml (½ cup) plain soy yogurt
- 120 ml (½ cup) unsweetened dairy free milk (I used almond)
Lemon Glaze:
- 50 g (½ cup) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
- 1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
- a handful finely chopped crystallised ginger
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and grease and line a 23cm/9in square tin.
- Place the vegan spread, sugar, golden syrup and treacle in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Fold half of the dry ingredients into the butter sugar mixture then mix in the yogurt. Fold in the other half of the dry ingredients then finally mix in the milk.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and spread level. Bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, place the sifted icing sugar in a bowl and gradually stir in enough lemon juice to make a runny glaze. Drizzle over the cake and scatter over some chopped crystallised ginger. Cut into squares and serve. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
Ange
This was lovely and moist and tasted fantastic. Now in the top 5 in our household.
lottie
tried this today and it was amazing!!! so moist and warming. excellent recipe
Lydia
Potentially my most popular cake !! I stumbled on as a last resort emergency cake to please all my flat mates with a variety of dietary intolerances and this cake did not only suit everyone but it was everyone's new fave cake! Defo recommend,
p.s don't need treacle/as much golden syrup as recipe suggests ! I often am running low and can't taste the difference, plus better to reduce that sugar quantity anyway :')
Emily Pearl
So impressed by this recipe! Perfect texture and taste - something I've found so difficult to achieve in baking since going vegan 🙂
Vaishali Menon
Could you please let me know how do i make vegan spread or what can i use instead ?
hannahhossack
Vegan spread is just margarine that doesn't contain any dairy. If you aren't able to find any then here is a recipe to make your own vegan butter substitute: https://avirtualvegan.com/easy-vegan-butter/ (not my recipe)
Lauren
Amazing! I made some cupcakes too as my cake tin was smaller, it all tastes divine - everyone loves it 😀