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Jamaican ginger cake with chocolate ganache and berry coulis

By: Food writer and photographer Elainea Emmott

Published: 29 Apr 24
Updated: 18 Oct 24

Jamaican ginger cake with chocolate ganache and berry coulis

Elainea Emmott’s Jamaican ginger cake is the ultimate comfort bake. Team it with simple berry coulis and chocolate ganache for a stunning dinner party pud.

Elainea says: “As a raucous child, I grew up with this heavenly smell of sweet sticky comfort coming from the kitchen on Saturday afternoons, putting us all in a good mood. It’s a great cake in its own right – easy to make, versatile and homely – but adding a chocolate ganache and coulis makes it sophisticated. Great for when friends come round for dinner.”

For comfort food on a cold night, swap the ganache for a jug of homemade custard.

Easy
May 2024

Test kitchen approved

Serves 10
Hands-on time 40 min, plus oven time 50-60 min

Elainea Emmott’s Jamaican ginger cake is the ultimate comfort bake. Team it with simple berry coulis and chocolate ganache for a stunning dinner party pud.

For comfort food on a cold night, swap the ganache for a jug of homemade custard.

Freezable

Nutrition: Per serving

Calories: 720kcals
Fat: 39g (24g saturated)
Protein: 7.9g
Carbohydrates: 78g (52g sugars)
Fibre: 3.7g
Salt: 0.3g

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Before you start

Ingredients

230g unsalted butter
230g soft brown sugar
80g black treacle
150g golden syrup
300ml whole milk
350g plain flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 medium free-range eggs, beaten
6 tbsp dark rum

For the coulis

250g frozen berries
1 lemon wedge
50g caster sugar

For the ganache

150g dark chocolate, chopped
200ml double cream
½ tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Specialist kit

30cm square or round baking tin

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Method

Heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4 and line the tin with baking paper. Put the butter, brown sugar, treacle and golden syrup in a saucepan over a low heat and gently stir until the butter has melted and everything is combined. Remove from the heat, stir in the milk, then set aside.
Sift the flour, bicarb, a pinch of salt and pepper, the ground ginger and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir to combine, then make a well in the centre. Pour the beaten eggs into the well, then start to incorporate the flour mixture and eggs, trying not to collapse the well. As the mixture in the centre thickens, add a small amount of the butter mixture, gradually getting more confident in your stirring. Keep adding the butter in small amounts, stirring constantly, until it’s all added and everything is combined. Go slowly – it should take about 5 minutes. Stir in the rum.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Turn out the cake onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the coulis. Put all the ingredients in a pan over a low heat and add 100ml water, then bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 10 minutes, then leave to cool slightly. Transfer to a food processor, whizz until smooth, then strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a jug to remove any seeds.
To make the ganache, put a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Add the chocolate and leave to melt. In another saucepan, bring the cream and sugar to the boil. Pour this over the melted chocolate with the vanilla, whisking to combine.
To serve, peel the baking paper off the cake and cut into 10 squares (or wedges if using a round cake tin). Cover each piece of cake with ganache, then spoon the coulis around it.