This Easy Ginger Sponge Pudding uses a simple all-in-one batter and quick microwave cook to make a light steamed-style sponge in under 10 minutes. Keep the ginger flavour gentle or go hard for a fiery dessert – just don’t forget the cream or custard!
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I am a huge fan of the 10 minute microwave sponge. Starting with a simple sponge base, there are endless versions that you can make. I’ve shared many already – like ones with lemon curd, syrup/treacle, chocolate and jam. This version ginger might actually be the simplest yet. All you have to do is throw in some ground ginger into the base mix and you’re good to go.
Please don’t been fooled into thinking that this microwave version is in any way an inferior option to a classic steamed sponge pudding. You lose the need to boil it on the stove for a couple of hours but the end result is practically identical – 99% of people won’t be able to tell the difference!
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The Microwave “Steamed” Sponge Pudding Collection
Find all of my best Microwave “Steamed” Sponge Pudding recipes in one easy place. From 10 minute everyday sponges to a festive favourite in a fraction of the usual time, the best thing is you’ll never know they weren’t steamed for hours!
Featuring jam, lemon, chocolate, syrup, ginger and mincemeat sponges plus an easy cheat’s Christmas pudding and some custard options to serve with them.
How to Serve Ginger Sponge Pudding
Both classic steamed and microwave sponges are best served hot or at least warm. You can turn this ginger pudding out of the bowl and cut into into wedges to serve like I have. Or you can simply use a serving spoon to dig out hunks of the sponge.
You don’t need to add anything more to this simple sponge than something to serve it with like custard or thick cream. But if you wish you could add a drizzle of syrup too. Just golden syrup on it’s own works great. Or you can gently warm some syrup with some more ground ginger or finely chopped stem ginger before pouring over the pudding.
Going back to custard, I’m a huge fan of simple Bird’s custard powder custard. But if you want to be extra fancy, my made from scratch ginger custard would be the ultimate accompaniment.
Ginger Sponge Pudding Ingredients
Margarine
I’ve used margarine in this recipe instead of butter because I prefer the lighter texture that you get from a margarine or spread. The other benefit is that it is useable straight from the fridge.
By margarine I’m really talking about some kind of light spread. I’m not into “baking” margarines like Stork. I find they have an odd taste so just a regular, cheap spread will do nicely. With the prominent ginger flavour, you will not miss the extra butter flavour at all.
If you prefer to use butter, please do. You do need to make sure that the butter is soft before you start or the batter won’t mix properly. You might also find that the batter is a bit thick so you can always add a drop of milk or water.
Sugar
I’ve used white caster (superfine) sugar in the recipe but regular granulated sugar will work just fine too. It is cheaper and so I do often use it. Light brown sugar will also work well in this particular recipe. It will give you a slightly darker and denser sponge but the caramel notes from the sugar really complement the ginger. You could use half white and half light brown as a good compromise.
Eggs
I use large eggs in all of my recipes unless I state otherwise. But in this case, it really won’t matter if you use medium eggs – the recipe is extremely forgiving.
Flour
Self-raising flour is my preference here. It skips a step of needing to add baking powder as an extra ingredient But if you only have that option, it is easy to do. You need 1 tsp Baking Powder for every 100g of plain flour. So for 120g of flour, you will need a scant 1¼ tsp.
I’ve also made this recipe many times with white spelt flour and you’d never know the difference.
Ginger
Ground ginger is an essential spice in my house. I make my chewy ginger biscuits a lot so I always have a good stash on hand. What I have learnt from this is that not all ground ginger is created equal. Some has a deeper flavour than others. And some can be much spicier than others. And I’m not always convinced that it is even consistent between brands – different batches can be different.
Bearing this in mind and trying to tread a middle road, I’ve used 3 tbsp ground ginger in this recipe as written. This gives a prominent ginger flavour without being super strong. If you want to go super strong/fiery you could add up to 5 tbsp. If you want a more subtle flavour, or if you know that your ground ginger is on the hotter/stronger side, you could reduce the amount to 2 tbsp. Much less than this and you start to get into why-bother territory.
Be Flexible
This is a very simple recipe which you can absolutely use as a base to add your own stamp.
- I’ve mentioned adding some syrup as a serving suggestion. You could go one step further and mix this ginger spiked batter recipe with the syrup sponge pudding recipe and actually cook the ginger pudding on a layer of golden syrup. I also mentioned adding finely shopped stem ginger to the syrup. You could add stem ginger directly to the batter before cooking as well or instead.
- Add a dash of citrus to add another dimension to the sponge. Lemon, orange or lime zest would be great added to the a batter. Zest would be preferable to juice as it will add a stronger flavour without affecting the texture of the sponge. Something like orange extract would also work fine if you need a more store-cupboard option.
- Nudge the flavours more towards gingerbread by adding some cinnamon. For a more rounded flavour, add mixed spice or if you’re in the US, pumpkin or apple pie spice blends would be perfect here.
Vegetarian or Vegan Ginger Sponge Pudding
This recipe is suitable for vegetarians as written. To make it vegan, you will need to take on board my suggestions below to make the recipe both dairy and egg free.
Make Allergy Friendly Microwave Ginger Pudding
This recipe is free from nuts.
Gluten Free: Simply replace the flour in the recipe with a standard gluten free flour blend. If you’re using a blend without a raising agent, you will need to add baking powder.
Dairy Free: Use any dairy free margarine in place of the regular margarine.
Egg Free: If you can use a liquid egg replacer (whole eggs not just egg white), that should be simple swap. If you cannot get hold of such a product, use 1 tbsp vegetable oil in place of each egg. The texture won’t be quite the same but you’ll end up with a perfectly serviceable egg free ginger pudding.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
Equipment Notes for Ginger Sponge Pudding
Microwave
Naturally you will need a microwave to make this pudding. It is important to take note of what wattage your particular microwave is as this can affect the cooking time. I use the microwave on full power and the times given are for a 700/800w microwave. If you have a more or less powerful microwave, you may need to adjust the cooking times by 30 seconds one way or the other.
Although this is technically a microwave recipe, providing that you use an oven safe dish, you could easily cook this in the oven. But it would take about 45 minutes to cook.
Electric Mixer
Nowadays I almost always use some kind of electrical mixer to make a quick sponge. It is much easier to get an all-in-one cake mixture to mix properly this way. For this fairly small amount of mix, I find whipping out my Electric Hand Mixer preferable to using my big stand mixer bowl. But if that is what you have, use it.
If needed, you can mix this by hand using just a spatula or wooden spoon. If doing this, I would usually mix the butter and sugar together first then add the eggs and vanilla and mix then the flour. Its going to take a couple more minutes but this will ensure that everything is properly mixed together and it will cook evenly.
Cooking Dish
Despite the images in the recipe showing me using a glass pyrex bowl to make this ginger sponge, I often use a basic thin plastic mixing bowl. I own several of them in various sizes and use them for nearly everything. But they’re not very clear and are not helpful to show you what I’m doing!
You can really use any microwave safe dish you like. Plastic will not absorb as much heat as pyrex glass or ceramic so the cooking time I’ve given is less as the food itself will cook faster. The pryrex bowl that I have used in the recipe process images is 1 litre in size.
You should avoid using melamine or bamboo dishes. They absorb all the heat, get far to hot and leave your food uncooked.
A comprehensive list of the equipment used to make this recipe is included in the main recipe card below. Click on any item to see an example. There are no hard and fast rules so many items can be sensibly substituted to achieve the same results.
Get Ahead
This is a microwave sponge that is best cooked immediately before serving. You could cook it in advance and reheat it but that isn’t actually going to save any time. So I wouldn’t recommend trying to get ahead with the cooking.
You can however make up the batter and get it into the cooking dish all ready to cook. You still don’t want to do this too far in advance as the baking powder will start to activate. It will be fine made up to 4 or 5 hours before you intend to cook it.
Leftover Microwave Sponge Pudding
I’ve mentioned several times sponge is best cooked and served fresh. And that remains true but it can easily be reheated. It’s just is never quite the same as the first fresh serving.
It will reheat in just a minute or two – be careful not to overdo it as microwave scorched cake is not great. It is best to reheat in individual portions.
Overall the cake will keep for 2 to 3 days – It doesn’t need to be refrigerated but make sure to cover or wrap it well to make sure it keeps moist and doesn’t dry out.
Ginger Sponge Pudding Tips
Don’t try to use a bowl smaller than the one specified. Obviously you can if you have halved or reduced the recipe. But you should still make sure that the batter doesn’t come more than halfway up the bowl. During cooking the batter will at least double in size before deflating within 30 seconds of finishing cooking.
This recipe is said to serve 6. This is the kind of portion that you’d serve after a decently hearty roast dinner. If you want a larger portion, this recipe as written will serve 4.
You can always put a microwave on for another 30 seconds but you can’t rewind time. So if you are not sure about the power of your microwave, err on the side of caution.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
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More Ginger Recipes
The Recipe
Easy Ginger Sponge Pudding (Microwave Recipe)
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl – Medium 1 litre
- Electric Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
Ingredients
- 120 g Margarine - plus extra for greasing
- 120 g Caster Sugar (Superfine Sugar)
- 120 g Self Raising Flour (Self-Rising)
- 2 Eggs
- 3 tbsp Ground Ginger
Instructions
- Grease a microwave safe bowl with a little margarine and set aside.
- Measure 120g Margarine, 120g Caster Sugar and 120g Self-Raising Flour into a medium sized mixing bowl (or stand mixer bowl).
- Crack in 2 Eggs and add 3 tbsp Ground Ginger.
- Use an electric hand whisk or stand mixer to beat the ingredients together until fully combined.Note – Do not continue mixing past this stage as you could make the sponge tough.Note – Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is properly mixed in.
- Transfer the sponge batter into the microwaveable bowl. Roughly smooth out the top.
- Microwave on full power for 5 minutes if using a glass/pyrex bowl and 4 minutes if using a plastic bowl.
- Once cooked the sponge may look a tiny bit wet on the top but don’t be fooled, the sponge will be fully cooked.
- Use a plastic knife or spatula to loosen the edges of the sponge from the side of the bowl.
- Carefully turn the sponge out onto a serving plate or you can simply use a large spoon to serve straight from the bowl.
- Serve hot with lashings of custard.
Pamela says
Love ginger sponge as this was delicious – however mine was a little dry which I am sure was down to me not the recipe , what do you think I did wrong ?
Chloe says
You can add a tbsp or two of milk to the batter but I would largely think that it was just microwaved for a touch too long – there are so many variables with microwaves giving totally accurate time guides is tricky. I hope you enjoy your next attempt!
Alison says
Lovely recipe, thank you!
Chloe says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Janice says
I love ginger and I can’t believe how easy this pudding was to make in the microwave. So delicious.
Jane says
Ginger pudding, Is the 30 second extra time added on per 100w, as I have a 900w microwave. Many thanks.
Chloe says
That sounds like a pretty good rule of thumb! If you’re unsure, run a knife around the edge of the pudding as though you are about to turn it out – if the knife is clean then it’s good to go. If it is still wet then give it another minute or two cooking.
Lesley says
I’m a huge fan of all your microwave sponge recipes as they taste great and are a lot less faff than steaming on the stove! I think this one might be my favourite as I love ginger, it’s perfect with custard.