Ginger Sponge Pudding
This comforting sweet treat is soft and fluffy with a sweet, sticky sauce. For best results, serve with a delicious pour of custard.
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NutritionPer Serving
- Calories296
- Carbs46g
- Fat14g
- Saturates3.3g
- Protein4.6g
- Sugars20g
Your dishes
You’re amazing, look at the Ginger Sponge Pudding dishes you’ve made…
For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff to know in the blurb!
Our Ginger Sponge Pudding is a tasty and toasty after-dinner treat that’s perfect for chilly evenings. Soft and sticky, you can tuck into it on its own (straight from the microwave, even!), but it’s even better with a generous helping of custard. Here’s our slimming-friendly custard recipe.
This recipe will easily serve six people, but if you’d prefer separate portions, you could also bake it in individual ramekins. It’s a good way of stopping yourself from eating it all in one go too. We were definitely tempted!
When Strictly sensation Anton Du Beke waltzed into the kitchen at PON HQ as a guest on The Magic Ingredient podcast, we made this Ginger Sponge while chatting about career choices, custard, and everything in-between!
You can listen to the episode here:
You can cook this Ginger Sponge in the oven or in the microwave. Both ways are equally delicious, but the microwave method is perfect if you’re short on time and after a delicious, warming dessert in a jiffy!
What diets is this Ginger Sponge Pudding suitable for?
This Ginger Sponge recipe is suitable for vegetarian diets. It can be made suitable for dairy-free diets by swapping the following ingredients out for dairy-free alternatives:
- Reduced fat spread
Remember to take extra care when you’re cooking for people with allergies. Use separate utensils, cookware, and preparation surfaces.
Do you need any special ingredients to make this Ginger Sponge Pudding?
Agave syrup is a type of sweetener that looks similar to honey. You should be able to find it in the baking aisle of your local supermarket.
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Don’t worry if you don’t have a pudding basin, you can find one like this easily on Amazon. 
How many calories are in this Ginger Sponge Pudding?
There are 296 calories per portion in this Ginger Sponge Pudding, which means it falls into our Weekly Indulgence category. These recipes are perfect for when you’re hosting or just fancy some good old comfort food. To cut down the amount of calories even more, you can simply halve the portion size.
Since this Ginger Sponge Pudding fits well with major diet plans like Weight Watchers, it’s a great one to have on hand if you’re counting calories.
As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly. You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.
To cook in the oven:
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 1.2L pudding basin with reduced-fat spread. Cut a circle of non-stick baking paper to fit the bottom of the dish. Then spoon the agave syrup on top.
Step 2
Add the flour, spread, sweetener, caster sugar, eggs, baking powder, vanilla extract, and ground ginger to a mixing bowl. Then whisk with an electric whisk for 2 minutes — until light and creamy.
Step 3
Scrape the cake mixture into the bowl, on top of the syrup layer.
Step 4
Cut a 28cm circle of non-stick baking paper, then tear off a section of foil slightly bigger than the circle. Layer the paper, then foil, and wrap the top of the dish tightly — with the paper on the inside.
Step 5
Place the basin into the oven, and cook for 45 minutes — until a knife inserted comes out clean. Remove the basin from the oven. Loosen round the edge of the basin with a knife and place a plate on-top, flip over onto the serving plate, slice and serve.
What could I serve with this Ginger Sponge Pudding?
This Ginger Sponge is absolutely delicious when served with our slimming-friendly custard! It also works really well when served after the following main dish and accompaniment:
How do you know when this Ginger Sponge Pudding is cooked?
If you’re cooking this recipe in the oven, then you’ll need to cook your Ginger Sponge for around 45 minutes — until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
If you’re following the microwave method, cook for 3 minutes for a large pudding, or 1 minute each for individual ones. Again, a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean when cooked.
Here in the UK, standard advice is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep you and whoever it is you’re cooking for safe.
Can you cook this Ginger Sponge Pudding any other way?
You can cook this Ginger Sponge recipe in the oven, microwave, or your slow cooker. All three methods will create an equally tasty dessert, but the microwave option will cook slightly quicker!
How long can you keep this Ginger Sponge Pudding in the fridge?
Once you’ve served your Ginger Sponge Pudding, ideally you should eat it within 4 hours.
If you do allow any leftovers to cool, be sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid, and chill. You can keep leftovers of this Ginger Sponge Pudding in the fridge for approximately 3 days or so.
Can I freeze this Ginger Sponge Pudding?
Yes you can! This recipe can be frozen, but please remember to do the following;
- Freeze it as soon as it’s cold enough.
- Use a container or bag that’s suitable for freezing.
Don’t forget to add a label with what it is, and on what date you put it in the freezer!
How do I reheat this Ginger Sponge Pudding?
From chilled: For a large pudding, reheat in the microwave for around 1 minute 30 seconds — until piping hot.
From frozen: Defrost thoroughly and then, for a large pudding, reheat in the microwave for around 1 minute 30 seconds — until piping hot.
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Ginger Sponge Pudding
This comforting sweet treat is soft and fluffy with a sweet, sticky sauce. For best results, serve with a delicious pour of custard.
-
Prep Time
5 MINS
-
Cook Time
45 MINS
- KCals 296
- Carbs 46G
Instructions
To cook in the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 1.2L pudding basin with reduced-fat spread. Cut a circle of non-stick baking paper to fit the bottom of the dish. Then spoon the agave syrup on top.
- Add the flour, spread, sweetener, caster sugar, eggs, baking powder, vanilla extract, and ground ginger to a mixing bowl. Then whisk with an electric whisk for 2 minutes — until light and creamy.
- Scrape the cake mixture into the bowl, on top of the syrup layer.
- Cut a 28cm circle of non-stick baking paper, then tear off a section of foil slightly bigger than the circle. Layer the paper, then foil, and wrap the top of the dish tightly — with the paper on the inside.
- Place the basin into the oven and cook for 45 minutes, until a knife inserted comes out clean. Then remove the basin from the oven. Loosen round the edge of the basin with a knife and place a plate on-top. Then flip over onto the serving plate, slice, and serve.
Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?
With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.
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We agreed with Slimming World to remove their trademarked terms from our website
If you’ve made this Ginger Sponge Pudding Recipe and loved it, let us know by sharing a photo and tagging us on Instagram or in our Facebook group!
16 comments
See what others have to say
SarahSunday 9th November 2025
The method mentions caster sugar, but there is none in the ingredients list?
HollyTuesday 11th November 2025
hey Sarah, thanks for you message we have now amended the recipe to include the caster sugar, thank you!
SarahSunday 9th November 2025
Hi, can you confirm the amount of caster sugar that goes in the recipe, the ingredients list doesn’t show any but the instructions do?
HollyTuesday 11th November 2025
Hey Sarah, thanks for you message we have now amended the recipe to include the caster sugar, thank you!
Claire AndersonSunday 9th November 2025
There’s no caster sugar in the recipe but the instructions mention caster sugar. Is this part of the reason it hasn’t turned out well for some people? Not sure of the quantity, so I’ve just guessed.
HollyTuesday 11th November 2025
Hi Claire, sorry about this thanks for you message we have now amended the recipe to include the caster sugar, thank you!
Claire BuckleyTuesday 25th May 2021
I made this using 4 little pudding basins from Morrison’s and they turned out brilliantly. Nice texture and they reheated well from frozen
HollyWednesday 26th May 2021
Hey Claire, thanks so much for getting in touch the individual Ginger Sponges sound great!
MarinaSunday 17th January 2021
Mine was the same. And I’d seen the above comment. Are the quantities definitely right because this was the first recipe from you that’s gone hilariously wrong. It was like a science experiment. I’ve got all your books and this was the first failure 🥰
HollyMonday 18th January 2021
Hi Marina, A steamed sponge should have more of a dense and moist texture compared to a regular sponge cake. When you beat the mixture you are incorporating air to make the overall texture lighter before putting it into the basin. When microwaving loosely cover the basin with cling film and microwave for 3 minutes, depending on your microwave this may take less time so could result in a tough or rubbery texture. Hope that helps!
PamSunday 17th January 2021
Light and fluffy? I have followed this recipe to the tee. The mixture does not resemble ‘light & fluffy’, even after 10 mins of beating it with a electric hand mixer. What have I done wrong? I’m going to try and cook it but I’m not very hopeful…..
HollyMonday 18th January 2021
Hey Pam, I’m sorry you’ve had a little trouble with the Ginger Sponge. When you beat the mixture you are incorporating air to make the overall texture lighter before putting it into the basin but over-mixing can have the opposite effect beat the mixture until it’s combined and a paler colour. When microwaving loosely cover the basin with cling film and microwave for 3 minutes, depending on your microwave this may take less time so overcooking could result in a tough or rubbery texture. Hope that helps!
KarenFriday 15th January 2021
What size pudding basins do I need? I’m doing the individual ramekins version but when I make it again (and I will!), I’m going to use the pudding basins method, so just need to know how big or small they need to be?
HollyMonday 18th January 2021
Hi Karen, a 1 pint pudding basin would work for this recipe. Hope that helps!
LaurenTuesday 22nd September 2020
Mine turned out horrible! 🙁 I have no idea why but it ended up like a really tough Yorkshire pudding! It had to be thrown away. I did mine in the microwave. Maybe I’m doing something wrong?
SharonTuesday 22nd September 2020
Hi Lauren,
If a sponge is too dense and solid, it could be because the mixture hasn’t been beaten enough. When you beat the mixture you are incorporating air which will help to make the sponge lighter, so the mixture needs to be beaten until it’s light and fluffy before putting in the pudding basin. Thanks for getting in touch and hope you have more success if you make this again.
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