The recipe for this Chai Buttercream cake was adapted from The Great British Bakeoff, one of my favorite shows! If you remember this cake, then you owe it to yourself to try making it. I originally published this blog post in 2019.

Vegan Ginger Cake with Chai Buttercream

Ok, this cake it good. Really good. AMAZINGLY good. I couldn’t stop eating it. I ate so much of it that I think I’m currently little more than a sentient ginger cake. I am one with this cake, and I am really happy about that.

The recipe for this delicious ginger cake comes from my new favorite food show – The Great British Bake Off. I’ve been meaning to watch this show for the longest time, and finally got to chance to binge watch it over the holiday break. I started on season nine, and will quickly make my way all the way back to the beginning because this show is. SO. GOOD. I love watching the stories of the bakers and seeing them pour their all into their passion. I found it to be very inspiring, and I’m so glad that my favorites made it to the final round (I won’t say who to avoid spoilers).

In season nine of Great British Bake Off, there was an episode all about baking with spices and the contestants had to whip up their version of a ginger cake. Y’all, my mouth was watering during the whole hour. Their cakes looked amazing, and I walked away craving a ginger cake. It’s also been a while since I made a tiered cake, and this past weekend seemed like the perfect time. So, I looked for the ginger cake recipes from the GBBO, and was so happy to find some online! This recipe I found is absolutely brilliant, and I tweaked it just a bit to make it vegan. Enter this vegan ginger cake with chai buttercream icing. SO worth the work, I would make (and eat) this every weekend if I could! This Great British Bake Off ginger cake recipe is all that and a bag of crisps.

Y’all, I feel so passionate about the GBBO and I’m so happy I was able to make a vegan version of the delicious ginger cake that I saw on t.v. I have always been a huge fan of cooking shows and totally recognize that I probably would never do well on one of those I love to bake and think I know my stuff, but GBBO is another level. Maybe one day, but in the meantime I’ll just make this vegan copycat ginger cake recipe and enjoy the food from Great British Bake Off at home!

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Ginger Cake with Chai Buttercream

Inspired by Great British Bake Off!

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Course: Dessert

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 8 hours hours 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 200 g butter room temperature
• 200 g dark brown sugar
• 100 g maple syrup or honey if not vegan
• 30 g molasses
• 275 g self-rising flour
• 1 tbsp powdered ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of nutmeg
• A pinch of black pepper just a bit!
• 5 eggs
• 3 tbsp ginger paste
• 100 g crystallized ginger roughly chopped into very small cubes
• 12 tbsp butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamon
• A pinch of ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp almond milk
• 50 g crystallized ginger roughly chopped into very small cubes

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 320 degrees F. Lightly grease three 10-inch round cake pans and set aside.
• Put the vegan butter, sugar, syrup and molasses in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment, and beat on medium speed for 3-5 minutes, until soft and creamy.
• Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon and salt
• Add the eggs, one at a time, to the creamed mixture, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add in the ginger paste and mix until combined.
• Lightly fold the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Stir in the chopped crystallized ginger. Pour the batter evenly between the 3 cake tins and level so the tops are flat.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, until risen and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely, preferably overnight.
• When ready to decorate with the chai buttercream icing, beat the room temperature butter in a stand mixture until smooth and creamy (3-5 minutes).
• Sift powdered sugar into butter in three 1/2 cup sections, wiping down the side of the bowl and beating together after every addition.
• Add cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, and pepper and beat again. Add a splash of almond milk and beat for a few minutes until the frosting is smooth and keeps it’s form when manipulated. If the frosting begins to look too runny, stop adding milk. If the consistency is wrong, add milk to make the icing less stiff and add powdered sugar to make the icing hold its form better.
• Divide the icing evenly between two bowls, and stir the chopped ginger into one of the bowls. This is what you’ll use for the icing layers.
• Place one of the cake layers on a flat surface lined with parchment paper (put a dollop of icing underneath the cake to keep it from slipping around). Take about 1/2 of the buttercream icing with the crystallized ginger in it, and evenly ice the top layer of the cake.
• Now, place a second cake layer on top and frost it with the remaining crystallized ginger buttercream. Place the third cake layer on top of that one to complete it.
• Use the other half of the icing to frost the entire outside of the cake to your liking.