“I have always been intrigued by the fact that small children, my own included, who seem so sensitive to spice in anything else (like a healthy stir fry!), love gingerbread cookies, which have such a robust flavour profile and warm spiciness,” says Helen Goh. “When the boys were going for a mega birthday sleepover, I had the idea of translating Nigella Lawson’s chocolate Guinness cake into a ginger version, replacing the Guinness with ginger beer. It was a very successful experiment – the cake retains all the damp luxury of the original, with a backbite of ginger that engages intriguingly with the chocolate. The children loved it (and so did the adults)!”
Ingredients
Makes 16 squares
Chocolate ginger beer cake
- 250ml ginger beer (see preparation tip)
- 250g unsalted butter, sliced into about 6 pieces
- 60g unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed; see Preparation tip)
- 250g caster sugar
- 130g sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 270g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
Icing
- 250g cream cheese, at room temperature
- 100g icing sugar, sifted
- 100ml thickened (double) cream
- 50ml ginger beer
- Flaked chocolate, to garnish
Method
- Grease and line a 20cm square or round cake tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 160˚C fan-forced.
- For the cake, combine the ginger beer and butter in a large, wide saucepan (large enough for the whole cake to be mixed in, about 3 litre capacity) and place over medium heat. Stir gently until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and sift in the cocoa powder and sugar. Whisk to combine, then set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a jug, then pour into the ginger beer mix and whisk gently to combine. Sift the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda into the batter and whisk gently until smooth and combined. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for about 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, for the icing, place the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium–low speed until smooth. Reduce the speed to low, add the icing sugar and beat for about 30 seconds, until incorporated, then add the cream and ginger beer. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 1–2 minutes, until thick and smooth. Refrigerate until needed.
- When ready to serve, use a spatula to spread the icing thickly over the cake. Scatter flaked chocolate over the top, then serve.
Preparation and serving tips
- The kind of ginger beer you use will make a difference. Try a few and see which you like best. Once baked, the flavour of the ginger dissipates somewhat, so err on the side of a ginger beer with a strong presence. I like Fever-Tree.
- Buy the best cocoa powder you can. I like Droste, Dr Oetker or Callebaut.
- The un-iced cake will keep for about two days, but once iced, it’s best to eat on the same day.
Images and text from Baking and the Meaning of Life by Helen Goh, photography by Laura Edwards. Murdoch Books, RRP $55.00 – out now and yours to purchase from great Victorian booksellers including Readings, Hill of Content and Books for Cooks.