Ginger and Orange Cake

Nov 30, 2023

I'm hard pressed to think of a more comforting flavour combo to enjoy on a cold dark day than ginger, orange and dark chocolate. Imagine how wonderful it would be to find them in cake form!

Drum roll…..

Introducing this lovely Winter warmer…..a rich chocolatey cake with cheeky ginger and orange undertones. Plus – not just one but two - different topping options!!  Namely a zingy gingery butter cream to crown this dark beauty and a seductive orangey glaze to coax further down into the body of the sponge.

Alternatively, if you fancy a little excess, why not use both toppings together.  Gone on! it's approaching the season for it.

If you glance at the ingredients below, you'll notice the glaze is made from inulin syrup. Inulin is a sweetener made from chicory root. It contains just a minimal amount of sugar, making it suitable for people avoiding sugar and carbs to use in moderate measure. It has a gentle sweetness and neutral flavour, making it a very versatile sweetener for sauces and glazes such as this one.

Ingredients below are for a 23 cm square cake tin.

FOR THE SPONGE
2 oranges - juice and zest
5 eggs
80g melted butter
200g ground almonds
4 tbsp sweetener*
80g cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger
4 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp orange essence
Pinch of salt

OPTION 1 - CREAM TOPPING
150g cream cheese
70g melted butter
4 tsp milled sweetener*
2 tsp ginger paste
½ tsp ground ginger
3 tsp orange essence

OPTION 2 - SYRUP GLAZE
6 tbsp inulin syrup. (See Alternative Sweeteners for more information)
2 tsp orange essence.

*Natural sweetener options could include xylitol, erythritol, allulose. See Alternative Sweeteners page for more info. Each will have slightly different levels of sweetness. Adjust to taste.

Pre-heat oven 170C/325F Gas mark 3
Whisk or blend eggs, orange zest and juice, orange essence and ginger paste together until frothy.
Add the melted butter, mix in well.
In another bowl, mix the ground almonds, sifted cocoa powder, baking powder, ginger powder and salt.
Add to the dry ingredients to the egg mix.
Once blended, pour the cake batter into a cake tin lined with baking paper.
Smooth the batter evenly in the tin.
Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a knife put in the centre of the sponge, comes out clean.

For the syrup glaze option:
Once the cake has cooled a little in the tin. Take a fork and make lots of holes in the cake.  Working across the cake.
Spread the mixed glaze over the surface of the cake, encouraging it to drizzle into the holes made with the fork.

For the icing option:
Cool the cake on a wire rack.
Once the cake is completely cool spread the cream icing evenly over the top.

Store in the fridge.