A delicious, moist, healthy ginger cake recipe made without refined sugar or artificial sweeteners. This gingerbread loaf is also naturally gluten free and dairy free, and made with wholesome nutritious ingredients.
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What you'll love about the recipe
- Healthy ginger cake is a delicious moist, slightly sticky loaf cake. The flavour of ginger is comforting and warming, perfect in the winter months and holiday season
- Naturally gluten free and dairy free with no grains or refined flours
- There's no refined sugar or artificial sweeteners in this healthy ginger cake. It is lower in carbohydrates than a conventional recipe
- Healthy ginger cake also has plenty of fibre and protein to keep you feeling full and satisfied
Ingredients
Ground almonds and coconut flour form the base of this cake batter. They are nutrient dense ingredients, high in protein and fibre, and much lower in carbohydrates than wheat flour.
I use a similar mix of ground almonds and coconut flour in these healthy sticky toffee pudding and rhubarb cake recipes. It's naturally gluten free and makes a lovely moist, slightly dense cake which is perfect for these recipes.
The almonds are a source of healthy fats which take the place of butter in the recipe.
Eggs are vital in the structure of the cake, so whilst it's dairy free, it's not vegan. The eggs will whisk more easily if they are at room temperature, but it's not essential.
Unsweetened applesauce and dates are natural sweeteners and add moistness to the cake. The dates also add a lovely caramel richness which goes perfectly with the ginger spice.
I used a block of cooking dates are they are much cheaper than the beautiful Medjool dates. And as they are blitzed down in this date-sweetened ginger cake recipe, you won't notice the difference.
Molasses. There are just a couple of tablespoons of molasses in the whole cake, but it adds the lovely deep treacly flavour of a classic gingerbread.
Molasses are an alternative to refined sugar, and unlike other sweeteners are a source of vitamins and minerals.
If you don't have molasses you can omit it or use maple syrup although you won't get quite the same flavour.
Ground ginger - the vital ingredient which gives this healthy ginger cake its distinctive flavour.
I find three teaspoons of ground ginger give the gingerbread cake a very noticeable gingery taste without it being overpowering. Adjust the quantity to suit your taste.
You could also round out the spice flavour with a teaspoon of cinnamon if you prefer
Baking powder adds a little lift, although this style of cake does not rise a lot.
How to make healthy ginger cake
Chop the dates into small pieces about the size of a sultana, and cover them with boiling water. Leave to soak whilst you get on with the rest of the recipe.
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (140 fan). Line the base and sides of a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.
Add the eggs to the bowl of a food processor and whisk until light and frothy.
Add the applesauce and molasses and whisk again.
Drain the dates, reserving the soaking water. Add the drained dates to the cake batter and mix until smooth.
Add the ground almonds, coconut flour, ground ginger and baking powder and mix again. At this stage the mixture will be very thick.
Add 120 ml of the reserved soaking water. The mixture should just drop from a spoon. You can add splash more of the water if needed, but don't let the mixture go sloppy!
Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tin and level off the top.
Bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour.
The cooked cake should be firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean (ie not covered in cake mixture!)
Leave your healthy ginger cake to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes. Remove from the tin and carefully peel away the baking paper.
Leave to finish cooling on a wire rack.
Cinnamon and Kale Recipe Tips
- Weigh the coconut flour carefully. A little goes a long way so a variation can affect the texture of the batter
- If you prefer, you can make this refined sugar-free ginger cake by hand in a mixing bowl. Mash the drained dates well with a fork before adding to the batter
- A 2lb (900g) loaf tin has dimensions of approximately 8.5 x 4.5 inches (21cm x 11cm)
- If preferred, you can make a shallower ginger cake in a 8 inch square tin. It'll take less time to cook, so test it after 45 minutes with a skewer
- For a smaller loaf which serves 6, halve the ingredients and bake in a 1lb loaf tin for 45 minutes
Serving and storage
This healthy ginger cake loaf can be served either as a snack with tea or coffee, or as dessert.
The warming flavour of ginger is perfect in the Autumn and Winter, and especially popular over Christmas and holidays.
If you are serving it as dessert, try it with this healthy homemade custard (or dairy free custard if needed!). Or for an indulgent treat, add a drizzle of tahini caramel sauce.
Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 5 days.
Healthy gingerbread loaf also freezes well in an airtight container or sealed bag. Add a greaseproof sheet between individual slices of cake so that you can remove them easily.
Other refined sugar-free cakes
You might also enjoy these other low-sugar cakes. They are all naturally sweetened without refined sugars.
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Recipe
Healthy Ginger Cake (Refined Sugar-Free)
Equipment
- Food processor (optional)
- 2lb loaf tin
- baking paper
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 200 g dates stoned weight
- 200 ml applesauce unsweetened
- 2 tablespoon molasses
- 200 g ground almonds
- 50 g coconut flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 teaspoon ginger powder
Instructions
- Cut the dates into pieces about the size of a sultana. Place in a heatproof jug or bowl and cover with boiling water.
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (140 fan). Line the base and sides of a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.
- Crack the eggs into the bowl of a food processor. Whisk until pale and frothy.
- Add the applesauce and molasses and blitz until smooth.
- Drain the dates, reserving the drained water. Add the dates to the food processor and blitz again.
- Add the ground almonds, baking powder, ground ginger and coconut flour. Blitz to mix. At this point the batter will be very thick.
- Add 120ml of the reserved draining water from the dates and mix until the batter just drops from a spoon.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top. Bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour. The baked cake should be firm to the touch, and an inserted skewer should come out cleanly.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes, then finish cooling on a wire rack.
Notes
- Always weigh coconut flour carefully. A little goes a long way, so a variation can affect the texture of the batter
- If you prefer, make the refined sugar-free ginger cake by hand in a mixing bowl. Mash the drained dates well with a fork before adding to the batter
- A 2lb (900g) loaf tin has dimensions of approximately 8.5 x 4.5 inches (21cm x 11cm)
- You can make a shallower ginger cake in an 8-inch square tin. It'll take less time to cook, so test it after 45 minutes with a skewer
- For a smaller loaf which serves 6, halve the ingredients and bake in a 1lb loaf tin for 45 minutes
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
Becky says
I was really looking forward to making this cake to share with friends, but was very disappointed when the batter split. When I looked it up I learnt that all ingredients have to be at room temperature. Please do not assume a knowledge of baking. I wasted time making this and money on all the ingredients.
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, I'm sorry that happened to your ginger cake. Room temperature eggs will whisk a little easier, but in this kind of batter the temperature of the eggs should not make it split. Split batter is usually fixable by adding a little more flour - in this instance I'd try an extra teaspoon or two of coconut flour.
Adjoa says
Can date syrup be used instead of molasses. Also I want to use oat flour and almond flour for an Xmas cake can I add coconut flour?
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, yes date syrup will work in place of molasses. I'd only add coconut flour in a recipe where it's specifically recommended as it's quite different to other types of flour.
Raelene Hodge says
Love the look of this cake and I am a great fan of ginger, also a diabetic. Can I use oat flour instead of coconut flour as I use oat flour in a lot of recipes and don't have coconut flour. Thanks
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi, I'm sorry but oat flour wouldn't work in this recipe as coconut flour is completely different to other types of flour, it absorbs way more liquid. I do understand your point, as it is always nice to use what you already have, but coconut flour is good for diabetics as it's higher in fibre and lower in carbs. If you do decide to try coconut flour, store it in the fridge as it'll keep much better. There's a few other recipes on Cinnamon and Kale that you can use it in. My other suggestion would be to use this apple muffin recipe which is made with oat flour and add plenty of extra ginger.
Susan says
Hello
I love ginger cake so look forward to using your recipe. Can I use a different flour from coconut, my husband's not a fan. Also I plan to use golden syrup as no molasses. Any feedback most welcome. Thank you for the recipes.
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi Susan, I'm so sorry I missed this. You could switch in golden syrup, but I'm afraid the coconut flour is more of a challenge. It doesn't taste at all of coconut, but it behaves very differently from other flours in baking as it is very absorbent. If you decide to replace it with another flour, you'd need to use about 3-4 times the quantity of the alternative flour by weight.