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This Green Tomato Cake is a revelation if you have never thought to put tomatoes in a cake. This gluten-free version is deeply flavourful, studded with stem ginger, sweetly spiced with a gentle nudge of caramelised ginger with a crunchy streusel topping.
Make this gorgeously fruity Gluten-Free Tomato Cake now whilst your tomato plants are bursting with fruit. It's a great way for using up your glut of green tomatoes. You may doubt the idea of putting chopped tomatoes in a cake but I promise that you will never regret it.
As soon as I came across the idea of using the last remaining green tomatoes of the season in a cake I was immediately intrigued and couldn't get it out of my mind. From the first time I baked it I was hooked and the whole thing totally made sense. It's a gorgeously moist cake and if you like a great carrot cake then you'll love this Green Tomato Cake recipe. It is the perfect use for the firm, tangy tomatoes that are still hanging round at the end of the season, especially when spiced up with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Great way to use up a glut of green tomatoes.
- The streusel topping is such a wonderful adornment, making the cake taste almost like a deliciously moist fruit crumble.
- The pockets of juicy tomato are so enticing and add another texture every now and then to the now complex structure of the cake.
- Beautiful spice cake with your favourite blend of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
- Gorgeous blend of gluten-free flours - sweet rice flour, oat flour, potato starch.
- No xanthan gum. READ MORE >>> Why I never bake with xanthan gum.
If you love any recipe that’s made with stem ginger then why not make your own – it’s an incredible larder ingredient and, like anything homemade, tastes so much better than the shop bought kind. READ MORE >>> Homemade Stem Ginger in Syrup
Gluten-free flour blend
We use 3 gluten-free flours in our flour blend to create the perfect texture and structure to our gluten-free sweet potato bundt cake. This particular blend means we have no need for xanthan gum.
Oat flour
Its rich toasted butterscotch undertones compliment the Autumnal vibe and warm spices. It has a light and fluffy texture so means this cake won't be dense.
However oat flour is one of those gluten-free flours that not all wheat intolerant folks can handle, so tread carefully here if you are making it for someone else who is gluten-free. It’s possible to buy gluten-free oat flour but if you can’t find it at your local health food shop or supermarket then you can grind your own gluten-free oats.
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Oat Flour
Substitution. The oat flour can be substituted for sorghum flour.
Sweet rice flour
This is a delicately flavourful flour that provides excellent structure and texture to the cake. It is also known as glutinous rice flour (although it contains no gluten) and its naturally sticky tendencies mean the cake holds together beautifully.
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Sweet Rice Flour
Substitution. The sweet rice flour can be substituted for almond flour.
Potato starch
This flour is used to balance out the cake so that we don't overuse the sweet rice flour which could lead to a dense cake. It's neutral and great for pairing with other gluten-free flours.
Substitution. The potato starch can be substituted for tapioca starch.
You could also substitute all 3 flours - the oat flour, sweet rice flour and potato starch - for my Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend. It works beautifully in this cake.
Full list of ingredients needed
- Green tomatoes
- Stem ginger plus its syrup
- Sweet rice flour
- Oat flour
- Potato starch
- Oats (small amount for the streusel)
- Caster sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Demerara sugar
- Light olive oil
- Eggs. This recipes uses medium eggs.
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Ginger
- Salt
How to make the cake
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.Â
Streusel
Rub together the flours, demerara sugar, cinnamon, butter and oats until the mixture is crumbly, then set aside.
Cake
- Wet ingredients. Beat together the sugars, olive oil, stem ginger syrup, eggs and vanilla until completely combined.
- Dry ingredients. Sift together the flours, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger.
- Mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Stir in the green tomatoes and the stem ginger until evenly distributed then pour into the cake tin.
- Sprinkle the streusel topping over the cake mixture.
- Bake for about an hour and a half.
Tips for best results
- For this cake the green tomatoes should be quite firm so they don’t leak too much liquid into the batter which leads to a longer bake time and a wet texture.
- Chop the tomatoes up into small pieces so the large chunks don't overwhelm the batter.
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This green tomato stem ginger cake cake stores very well at room temperature for up to 3 days if kept in a cool dark place in an airtight container.
How to freeze
Allow to come to room temperature then double wrap in plastic wrap and aluminium foil. Freeze for up to 2 months.
Thaw at room temperature overnight before unwrapping. Allow to rest for an hour then serve.
More gluten-free cakes you'll love
- Golden Beetroot Carrot Cake
- Plum Brown Butter Almond Cake
- The Best Gluten-Free Fruit Cake
- Bramley Apple Fruit Cake
- Pear and Almond Cake
Or if you'd like more green tomato recipes then have a look at this game changing Green Tomato Ketchup.
I urge you to give this Green Tomato Cake a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own baking creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Green Tomato Cake with Stem Ginger {gluten-free}
Ingredients
- 225 g caster sugar
- 225 g light brown sugar
- 240 g light olive oil
- 40 g stem ginger syrup
- 3 eggs - medium sized*
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 170 g sweet rice flour
- 170 g oat flour
- 35 g potato starch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 350 g green tomatoes - diced
- 75 g stem ginger - finely diced, about 4 balls
For the streusel topping
- 20 g sweet rice flour
- 20 g oat flour
- 85 g demerara sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 50 g cold butter
- 2 tablespoons oats
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 160°C / 140°C / gas mark 2 and line and grease a 20cm deep round cake tin
- First make the streusel topping by rubbing together the flours, sugar, cinnamon, butter and oats until the mixture is crumbly, then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl beat together the caster sugar, light brown sugar, olive oil, stem ginger syrup, eggs and vanilla until completely combined.
- In a separate bowl sift together the flours, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger.
- Add the flour to the sugar and egg mixture and beat until well combined.
- Stir in the green tomatoes and the stem ginger until evenly distributed then pour into the cake tin.
- Sprinkle the streusel topping over the cake mixture.
- Place the cake in the oven and bake for about 90-100 minutes until an inserted cocktail stick comes out clean. You might want to check the cake two thirds of the way through its cooking time and cover the top with foil if the streusel topping is getting too brown.
- Remove the cake from the oven and leave for 5 minutes in the tin before turning out to finish cooling on a wire rack.
Notes
- The eggs used in this recipe were medium size, 60g with shell and 50g without shell. If you can't get hold of medium eggs I suggest you weigh the amount which for this recipe would be 200g.
- Use firm green tomatoes that are not too juicy otherwise the cake will take an age to bake and there will be too much liquid in the cake batter.
Substitutions
- Oat flour. Can be swapped for sorghum flour.
- Sweet rice flour. Can be swapped for almond flour.
- Potato starch. Can be swapped for tapioca starch.
- OR. All 3 flours can be swapped for my Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend.
How to store
This cake stores very well at room temperature for up to 3 days if kept in a cool dark place in an airtight container.How to freeze
Allow to come to room temperature then double wrap in plastic wrap and aluminium foil. Freeze for up to 2 months.Ingredient measurements
- Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
- US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups
Claudia says
Yum. Recipes showed up just in time for help me use last of my green tomatoes. Took a little longer to bake but turned out ok. Cut whole cake in half, wrapped up for freezing immediately. Why you ask? I kept snitching small slices, in fact far too many. Loved the layers of flavor.
Georgina Hartley says
I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Finca El Chorillo says
Making this for the second time today. Such a lovely autumnal bake with all the tasty spices and stem ginger - and the tomatoes help keep the cake so moist! I bake in a loaf tin so i can more easily freeze half. This time i'm going to increase the spices too as befits the colder the weather. This cake is perfect with a cuppa around mid-morning, or early evening sat infront of the fire! Its going to be a firm favourite this winter...
Georgina Hartley says
I'm so happy you enjoy the cake - thank you for giving feedback!!
Maureen gaunt says
Ade this cake today and it looks and smells delicious . Haven’t tried it yet . Can I lfreeze it and if so how long for . I live alone and can’t eat it all at once!
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Maureen, yes you can freeze it. Wrap it up well - I use cling film and then aluminium foil - to avoid freezer spoilage. It will keep for up to 2 months. You can freeze in slices and then take out one slice at a time. Defrost overnight completely before eating!
Jayne says
I made this but replaced the flours with plain flour as suggested and baked it in two 1lb loaf tins and the result is delicious and will make a lot more than 14 servings - I've sliced and frozen one of the loaves for future use. It took about 2 hours to cook but is lovely and moist. You would never guess from the taste that the fruit in the cake is tomato. A great way to use up an excess of green tomatoes. Thank you.
Georgina Hartley says
What a great idea to bake it in loaf tins! Thank you for your lovely feedback - you are most welcome!
Sue Willima says
I've just made this but was unsure as to the ingredients hence no doubt the long cooking time. So my query is which part of the green tomatoes do you use ( I used all parts ).
Also if you discard the seeds is the weight given that of the prepared flesh of green tomatoes or the pre- prepared weight of the tomatoes please?
My green tomatoes were quite juicy and my cake took over 2 and a half hours and still is very moist.
Thanks Georgina
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Sue, I use all parts of the green tomatoes too. Whenever I buy green tomatoes they are quite firm, I always get mine from the farmer's market September time. I can imagine if they are quite juicy then it will definitely alter the consistency of the cake. I can amend the instructions to specify a firm tomato. Thank you for your feedback.
Kim says
Would you be able to tell me the US measurements for this recipe?
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Kim, I'm so sorry but I don't work in US measurements. It's actually difficult in the UK as the cup measurements available to buy are here are different to US cups. There's more info on this on my post here. However there are lots of great conversion websites that can help you convert from weight to volume measurements.
Kat says
Delicious! Served it with custard as it was quite a "pudding" style cake. As I am at the moment completely overwhelmed by green tomatoes it was lovely to do something other than make chutney with them. It was a long bake, and I think next time I will make two smaller cakes as per the reviewer above. I'd heartily recommend anyone to make this, if only to see the look on people's faces when you tell them it contains green tomatoes. I'm sharing the recipe with my MIL as she has a huge harvest of figs - think they would swap in quite well.
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Kat, I have noticed that it depends on how firm the tomatoes are to the length of the bake. If they are firmer then they don't take as long - not as much juice for the other ingredients to mop up. Happy you like the recipe! I also love the idea of making them into 2 loaf pans - I'll definitely give it a try!
Kim Peltz says
This looks delicious but I have not heard of some of the ingredients. Is stem ginger the same thing as fresh ginger root and what is ginger syrup? Also, is caster sugar the same as white sugar?
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Kim, stem ginger is ginger which is preserved in a sugar syrup. It's a very common ingredient in the UK but if you can't find it where you are then you could try making your own - it's incredibly easy and delicious!! The ginger syrup is the syrup which the stem ginger is preserved in. Caster sugar is white sugar but it is very finely processed, you can happily substitute regular white sugar though.