Ginger Spelt Cake

This ginger spelt cake has fiery bits of stem ginger pieces in the cake. It’s made with spelt and whole wheat flours for a wholesome cake with earthy flavors. 

As much as I am loving the chillier weather in London, I’m dreading flu and cold season this year. With a baby in tow, my chronically sleep-deprived self can barely make it through some days. And because I’m driven by the fear of having to take care of our little active, crawling, and curious baby while I’m sick, I am doing absolutely everything I can to stay healthy.

One way to I’ve been staying healthy is by consuming ginger on a daily basis. If I feel any bit of sickness coming on, I start drinking mugfuls of ginger, lemon and honey tea. When I cook dinner, there’s a knob of ginger next to my grater so I can add a bit of ginger to any dish that can handle a gingery spice.  Since I’m all about ginger these days, I wanted to bake it into a cake…and ta-da, a Ginger Spelt Cake recipe.

My favorite part of this Ginger Spelt Cake is the actual bits of ginger inside, which adds texture to this otherwise soft cake. The generous amount of ginger in the cake obviously gives this cake a little spicy kick. It’s just enough spice to warm you up, and take the edge off the sweet icing. A bit of icing will go a long way on the cake.

The intensity of the flavors in this Ginger Spelt Cake also makes it go particularly well with your morning cup of coffee. I used spelt and whole wheat flours in this recipe so you can get a bit of goodness from the whole grains, and so the cake has more of an earthy taste to complement the ginger. Sit down with your coffee and enjoy a slice of this Ginger Spelt Cake!

5 from 3 votes

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Ginger Spelt Cake

Course Breads and Muffins

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 1 loaf

Author The Worktop

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1/2 cup stem ginger in syrup (200 grams)
• 1/2 cup spelt flour (70 grams)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (70 grams)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cups granulated sugar (135 grams)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (56 grams) (at room temperature)
• 1 egg - beaten
• 1/2 cup whole milk (120 milliliters)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar (125 grams)
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• lemon zest (optional)

Instructions

Make the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F/170°C. Line a 10-inch (25-cm) loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Remove the stem ginger pieces from the syrup. Finely chop the ginger pieces. Reserve the syrup for the glaze. You should have approximately 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) of syrup reserved.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice and salt. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
5. Turn the mixer to low speed, and add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix until combined. Add in the egg, milk and vanilla and mix until just combined.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the top is a light golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

Make the icing

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the reserved ginger syrup and powdered sugar. Add in the lemon juice one squeeze at a time, until the icing is the consistency of a thick syrup. I used the juice of 1/2 a lemon, but the exact amount will depend on the amount and consistency of the reserved ginger syrup.
2. Drizzle the icing over the cooled ginger cake. If you would like, grate lemon zest over the cake. I did not do this in the photos because I liked the smooth consistency of the icing on top.