Chocolate and Ginger Loaf Cake

This chocolate and ginger loaf cake is a comforting, moist, and earthy cake made with a combination of powdered and fresh ginger, and chocolate. It requires simple ingredients and involves creating a marble pattern with ginger and chocolate mix, then baking and glazing with an orange juice glaze.

As a child, my favorite biscuits were gingersnaps, and those really gingery ones with dark chocolate on them. I have many fond memories of dipping gingersnaps in tea and seeing how long they would last without breaking, then savoring the warm, gooey gingery-ness that resulted. So I wanted to make it in cake form.

I wanted it to be unmistakably ginger and chocolate of course. That’s why there is both powdered ginger, and fresh ginger in this cake. The fresh ginger keeps it beautifully moist, and the ground ginger gives the cake a genuine earthy warmth.

It’s the kind of cake I can imagine having a slice of, with a cup of tea, on my sofa on a Saturday afternoon when the rain is beating down on the windows and I’ve got my big winter socks on. The kind of cake that warms you from the inside.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Easy to Prepare. This looks impressive but is easy to prepare.
• Flavor. Chocolate and ginger are a match made in heaven.

How to Make Chocolate and Ginger Loaf Cake

This marbled loaf cake is taken to the next level with its contrasting rich chocolate and ginger components.

Key Ingredients 

• All-Purpose Flour. This type of flour keeps this cake light.
• Cocoa Powder. Gives the chocolate batter a rich chocolate flavor.
• Butter. Use non-salted butter to make this load cake.
• White Sugar. Use a light-tasting sugar like white sugar or cane sugar to sweeten the chocolate cake batter.
• Eggs. Use large fresh eggs, preferably at room temperature for best baking results.
• Chocolate Chips. Use dark or milk chocolate chips to add extra chocolate flavor.
• Brown Sugar. Adds a deeper richer flavor to the ginger cake batter.
• Cinnamon. Adds a touch of warmth to the ginger cake batter.
• Ginger. Use a mixture of dry and fresh ginger to really enhance the ginger flavor.
• Icing Sugar. Finely ground sugar is needed to make the glaze.
• Orange Juice. A touch of orange takes the glaze to the next level and makes the ginger and chocolate flavors shine.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Preheat the Oven. Preheat the oven and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

2. Make the Ginger Cake Batter. Using a stand mixer, cream together the butter and the brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix thoroughly. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and ground ginger. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Stir in the grated ginger.

3. Make the Chocolate Cake Batter. Using a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar in the same way as for the ginger cake, then add the eggs and mix until smooth. In another bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.

4. Create the Marble Look. Spoon in alternate spoonfuls of the ginger and chocolate cake batter into the loaf pan.

5. Bake. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the baked cake to cool on a cooling rack.

6. Make the Glaze. Mix the icing sugar with the orange juice to make a runny but thick glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake.

Recipe Tips, Variations, and Substitutions

• Leave the glaze plain. If you don’t have orange juice or would prefer not to use it, you can use an equal amount of milk or water to make the glaze.

Storage Recommendations

Store this loaf cake wrapped in saran wrap in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days or store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Try These Other Cake Recipes

• Cinnamon Spiced Pear Cake – This spongy cake is easy to make and combines the subtle sweetness of pears with a hint of cinnamon.
• Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake – A moist, lemony cake that uses olive oil instead of butter and is bursting with lemon flavor.
• Orange Upside-Down Cake with Rosemary – This upside-down cake recipe is delicate and delicious with flavors of orange and rosemary.
• Olive Oil Cake with Chocolate and Figs – A delicious gluten-free cake made with brandy and figs.