When the night's begin to draw in and get darker, it makes me feel excited for Halloween, Bonfire Night and Christmas. But I really do miss the light nights! Well this Gingerbread Bonfire Cake is all about darkness anyway. Made with treacle, dark brown sugar and some Guinness for good measure. It was described as 'Bonfire Night in a cake' by my colleagues which is why I titled it appropriately. It really is the perfect cake for this time of year. Plus I've drenched it in a salted caramel sauce which is never a bad thing!
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Gingerbread Bonfire Cake
In a mixing bowl whisk together Guinness (you could also use another dark stout), black treacle, dark brown sugar, vegetable oil and eggs. In another mixing bowl sift together self raising flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Then add this to the wet ingredients and mix in.
To bake the cake use a ring shaped bundt tin, you can easily pick one up if you don't have one. Grease it with vegetable oil to ensure the cake doesn't stick. Bake it for 45 minutes until it is a deep rich brown and a skewer comes out clean. Let it cool for 5 minutes then tip it out of the tin, then I leave it to cool. To decorate. smother the cake with caramel sauce, then add chopped crystallised ginger on top for extra spice and a lovely crunch.
What size bundt tin do you need for this recipe?
The bundt tin I used was 10 inches wide and 3.5 inches tall, it has a capacity of 2.4 litres. This is a very standard bundt tin size, and if your tin differs very slightly, you can still use it for this recipe. Using a bigger tin will make the cake bake quicker, and a smaller tin will mean it takes longer to bake.
What caramel sauce should you use?
My favourite caramel sauce to use is my Homemade Caramel Sauce, it's rich, smooth and absolutely divine! You can also easily add salt to it to make it into a salted caramel sauce. If you don't want to make your own, it's quite easy nowadays to find a good quality ready made caramel (or salted caramel) sauce in the shops or online. I have used Tesco's Finest, Bonn Maman and Carnation Caramel in the past with great results.
How long does the cake last for and can you freeze it?
The cake will last for 3-4 days in an airtight container in a cool place. To freeze the undecorated cake, freeze on a plate until frozen solid, then carefully wrap in cling film. Remove the clingfilm when you take the cake out of the freezer to defrost.
Can you make this cake with plain/all purpose flour?
Self raising flour, which is very commonly used in the UK where I am based, already contains a raising agent and a little salt too. Therefore if you want to swap it for plain or all purpose flour, you will need to add some additional baking powder and also a little salt if you like. Some people like to add salt to cake recipes and some don't, so I'll leave that up to you as it won't affect the bake. The general advice is to add 2 teaspoons baking powder (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) per every 200g plain or all purpose flour. So for this recipe you'd need to add 2 teaspoons baking powder. Please note, I have not tested this recipe using plain or all purpose flour.
Can this cake be made gluten or dairy free?
Yes! For gluten free you can replace the self raising flour with a gluten free self raising flour blend. If you only have a gluten free plain flour blend, you will need to add baking powder. The general advice is to add 2 tsp baking powder per 200g flour, so for this recipe you'd need to add an additional 2 teaspoons of baking powder. You may also like to add ½ tsp xanthan gum for better texture. This cake is already dairy free, just make sure to decorate it with a dairy free caramel sauce.
Troubleshooting
If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!
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Gingerbread Bonfire Cake with Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 250 ml Guinness or other dark stout
- 165 g Dark brown sugar
- 340 g Black treacle
- 175 ml Vegetable Oil
- 3 Eggs large
- 225 g Self raising flour
- ½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Ground ginger
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
For decoration
- 2 tbsp Crystallised ginger chopped
- 150 g Caramel sauce good quality shop bought or homemade
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. I grease my bundt tin with vegetable oil, and I use a pastry brush to get it into all of the cracks. If you have a preferred way of greasing your bundt tin that has always worked for you, then please do stick with it. The bundt tin I used for this recipe measured 10" x 3.5" and has a 2.4 litre capacity
- In a bowl whisk together the Guinness, black treacle, the dark brown sugar, vegetable oil and eggs
- In a separate bowl, sift together the self raising flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and the salt. Add this to the wet ingredients and mix in
- Pour into the cake tin and bake for 45 minutes until it is a deep rich brown colour and a thin skewer inserted comes out clean
- Let it cool for 5 minutes then tip it out of the tin. If it doesn't come out straight away, run a knife along the edges and around the middle ring
- Leave to cool fully before pouring on the salted caramel sauce and garnishing with the chopped crystallised ginger. You may need to warm the caramel sauce for 15 seconds in the microwave to make it runny enough to drizzle over the cake
- This cake is amazing served with custard. Store leftovers in an airtight container and eat within 3 days
Notes
Nutrition
If you like this, check out more of my Cake recipes!
Recipe adapted from Chowhound.
Kate Glutenfreealchemist
Photos are a real struggle at this time of year...... But my drooling for this cake does not seem to have been affected, so I guess it must be a really good one! Perfect for Autumn!!
Kat BakingExplorer
Thanks Kate! Glad the lighting didn't affect your drooling for this cake!
Baking Addict
This looks amazing! It's perfect for this time of the year and I can imagine how good the flavour combination is - spicy ginger and salted caramel.
Kat BakingExplorer
It really is made for this time of year, thank you!
[email protected]
This is THE best season for baking- lots of wonderful themed bakes such as this one for Halloween & Bonfire Night and lots of flavoursome ingredients to choose from!
PS: I know exactly what you mean about photographing cakes at this time of year- I resort to only being able to bake at the weekend to make the most of the natural light!
Kat BakingExplorer
I think I am going to have to save as much baking as I can for weekend, sometimes if can't wait that long for cake though! 🙂
Kim
I just fired up my laptop to search for a recipe for a bonfirey cake to make for a bonfire party we're having on Saturday night, as soon as I saw this in my feedly I knew I didn't need to look any further! So thank you! What size bundt tin did you use?
Kat BakingExplorer
Thanks Kim! I hope you enjoy it as much as me and my colleagues did. My bundt tin is a 10" one 🙂
Janine
Love the sound of that flavour combination!
Unknown
Hi Kat,
I just made this cake, and although I haven't eaten it yet, I'm sure it's delicious! It definitely smells and looks amazing. I came across this recipe as I scoured the internet for fun/interesting recipes with black treacle -- mine was about to expire. Of course I also made Yorkshire Parkin, my favorite. 🙂
I posted a photo on Instagram and tagged you in it; I didn't let the caramel set enough so it's more of a drizzle, but I love how it shows off my bundt design.
Thanks for the great recipe! I'll be feeding the cake to all of my co-workers tomorrow as well, who I am sure will also be grateful to you!
Polly Smith
This was the perfect cake to bake for my father-in-law, whose birthday is on the 5th November. He loved it so much he came back for an extra slice.
The cake is soft, moist, delicious and so easy to make. A little of it stuck in my bundt tin (my fault) but I patched it up and poured over the delicious caramel sauce, which is definitely worth making!!
Another delicious recipe from The Baking Explorer!!
thebakingexplorer
Thanks so much Polly! I'm thrilled you liked it and happy birthday to your dad!
Sonal
This cake sounds amazing and I have loads of dark treacle to use up. Is there an alternative I could use instead of Guinness or dark stout?
thebakingexplorer
You could try a diet cola, or weak coffee. Or if you'd like some other ideas to use up black treacle, I have a collection of recipes you can find here: https://thebakingexplorer.com/leftover-black-treacle/
Nilsa
Hello. In the ingredients you dont have baking powder but in the steps you say sift the baking powder together with the flour. What should i do?
thebakingexplorer
Hi Nisla, apologies that's a typo, there is no baking powder as the recipe uses self raising flour. If you use plain flour though, you will need to add baking powder.