Oaty ginger slice
(Click here for the gluten-free version)
I found the recipe for this slice hand-written over 15 years ago in our family recipe book, way before the internet was around. I’ve since discovered the original version was Jo Seagar’s recipe – an amazing Kiwi cooking icon to be admired! There are a few versions of it floating around now, this is my slightly tweaked one. Somewhere between ANZAC and ginger crunch, it really is the most gorgeous recipe – super easy to make and a little too easy to eat, as well.
Base
150g butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
3/4 cup plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 cups whole oats
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
Icing
125g butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
5 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 – 2 cups icing sugar, sifted
Method
Preheat the oven to 180c. Line a 32cm x 22cm slice tin with baking paper.
Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large saucepan over a medium heat, stirring gently to combine. Remove from the heat.
Sift the flour, baking powder and ginger into the pan with the buttery mixture. Add the oats and coconut, and stir to combine. Press the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth out with your fingers, or the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and leave in the tin.
To make the icing, gently melt the butter and golden syrup in a saucepan over a medium heat. Remove from the heat and sift in the ginger and icing sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine to form a thick, smooth icing. Tip on to the warm slice and press out flat. Leave in the tin to cool then cut into slices. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week (a ludicrous notion – I bet it won’t last 2 days).
Hi Chelsea, Thanks for another amazing recipe…soooo easy and completely delicious! Everyone at work raved about this gorgeous slice. Every recipe of yours that I’ve tried (quite a few now) has been a winner!!! Have got all your books at home and love the recipes on your website. Thanks again :D
I love that this icing is ginger & not too sweet – so easy & very quicj
Great! x
Thank you Chelsea! I always enjoy your recipes but this is one I make often. No words to describe just how downright good it is. Thank you and all the best :) :)
Hi Chelsea – I add chopped crystallised ginger and sliced almonds plus extra ground ginger and it is just to die for. A fantastic hit with anyone whom I share it with. I also make 1 1/2 times the recipe for the icing so it is nice and thick – yummmmmmm
Hi Chelsea I made this for our morning tea at work to raise money for breast cancer went down a treat and we raised $180.. Just making another batch now for the family as they kept wanting to pinch the other one. ☺☺
Hi Chelsea
Currently have my first batch in the oven. Looks and smells great and the ‘batter’ tasted great. I did only use 100g butter in the batter part and 50g butter in the icing. I LOVE butter but the original was even too much for me. Thanks. p.s.I ‘m also putting some coconut over the top of the finished slice. :)
Hi, I want to try this as it looks lovely & I love ginger, but what type of brown sugar is it I need?
Thanks x
Just soft brown sugar :)
Hi Chelsea,
I just made this slice today for my little sister and she LOVED it!
Will def make it again :)
Hi Chelsea
Love the recipe. The cookies were gone in a flash. Is there a chocolate version?
You could always add choc chips in the base!
Loved it. Got finished in no time… do you have a chocolate version? Some of us cant go without chocolate!
Best ginger slice recipe, big hit in our house, thank you! Tooo moreish ;-)
Great! Thanks! x
In which of your books will i find this recipe.
You can find delicious ginger slice recipes in At My Table and Supergood x
Deeeelicious!!! I baked this in the morning and it was gone by the afternoon hehe. I’m about to bake another just to take to school camp – for the adults of course – there’s no way the kids are going to get any!
This is just sooooo delicious!! Too delicious – I have made it 4 times in the last month a huge hit in our house!
My wife doesn’t like coconut (or indeed any nuts!) – what would be a suitable substitute? just more oats or is that going to make it too dry?
More oats is fine!
Hi Chelsea, is the base supposed to be crunchy or more on the soft side? Thanks
It’s more chewy than crunchy :)
Would rolled oats work okay instead of whole oats?
Yes!
Wondering if I can use either honey or molasses or a mixture of both in place of the golden syrup?
Yes :)
Hi Chelsea
About to make your ginger crunch….am I dumb or what but cant quite understand 1.5 teaspoons B Powder ginger etc could you please explain
Sorry Bev, that just means one and a half teaspoons :)
I’m a big fan of ginger crunch. Well yum – this one ‘takes the cake’ excuse the pun. I had to ration it out to make it last longer. Perfect balance of ginger, and love the oaty base. Perfect.
Made this with Honey replacing the Golden Syrup in both the base and icing (because I ran out of golden syrup) and it was delicious! Turned out great! :)
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Hey Chelsea, I’ve just been given a stack of unsalted butter and was wondering if it would be ok to use for these and if so do I need to add any extra salt? Can you just use unsalted butter in any baking – whats the go here? Thanks!!!!
Yes, just add a wee pinch of salt and you’re away! Lots of people only use unsalted butter for baking – I don’t really mind either way.
I think I have passed this recipe on to everyone that I know. This doesn’t last one day in our house! Just posted it on a mummy page on FB and it seems that there are now going to be lots of mums doing some rainy day baking!
I’ve made this scrummy slice 3x in 2 weeks – every1 loves it! Thanks Chelsea!
what scrumps you on about? the 8% or the 4.8%, booze in the mix is always a good thing, wink wink..
Wow………..this oaty ginger slice was a great hit with the mothers at my son’s play group this week when I was rostered to do morning tea. Absolutely scrummy and a really nice alternative to the traditional ginger crunch.
Yummo, I made this and it was so hard to stop eating!! I bought your book yesterday and now I’m just waiting for it to arrive in the mail, so excited I can’t wait. I love cooking and baking and I’m really looking forward to trying all of your yummy food :)
To die for! I made this for morning tea at work and I had several requests for the recipe – and I NEVER get asked for recipes. I gave them the link to your website, thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
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I just made this. It is absolutely YUM!
Thanks Chelsea,
Lovely! Best ginger slice EVER.
Just made it. Delicious! Couldn’t stop eating the icing out of the pot hehe. But it did look like the picture. First of many of your recipes I will try.
Made this on Wednesday….. lasted (just!!) till Friday. Making again today (sunday). Mr 9 loves and is going to help make it. thank you
Made this yesterday and definitely got the thumbs up :)
Hi there, this slice has become my staple baking go to for gifts. This year I wanted to reduce handling eg. Cutting slice for packaging and make biscuits instead which makes it easier to gift. I added an extra 1/2 cup of flour and 1 egg to mix so it would bind and not be crumbly. They have come out delish but a more muffin texture.
Any ideas to keep the crunch? Perhaps shall I try the normal mix?
Appreciate any ideas
Regards Steph
Try the normal mix x
Made it and everyone loved it. Second batch to do this weekend. Looks just like the picture !!!
Not normally one to post comments, but…this slice is AMAZING. So simple to make but by far the best ginger slice I have ever had. Will be my all time favourite recipe now… will also try using this base to make my caramel slice…. thank you for sharing…
The best chelsea I had to have a piece while still warm and I grated some walnuts over some of it YUMMO lovee xx
Is this the famed Takaka Oaty Ginger Slice recipe ? Looks virtually identical to the copy I have – other than the quantitty of topping. Is a particularly tasty version of the old fashioned ginger crunch… :)
Yes, I think there are quite a few versions of a similar recipe floating around! This one was handwritten in our family cookbook over 15 years ago, and I made a few changes to it for my recipe. I’ve updated the introduction above the recipe to reflect this, so there’s no confusion :)
I know the Takaka recipe and this is very similar. My grandparents were from there and it must have been past around the area!
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Bit of a fail… Ran out of golden syrup and my oats had weevils! Round 2 tonight, I am determined to nail this!
Wow, Chelsea this recipe is awesome, so easy and quick! I love it, thanks for sharing…..delicious!
SO GOOD!!! don’t think this will last long in the fridge :)
Chelsea,this recipe looke so delicious Im gonna go to shop just to get some butter so I can make it tonight,and Im willing to bet anything yoy like,that,even tho I live alone,this will NOT last the week in a starage tin.Im drooling already hehe
Dear Chelsea,the ginger slice looks lovely but Grandaughter would not be able to eat it because it’s not Gluten Free because of the Rolled oats and Cealiacs cannot eat them.If you are an older adult you may be able to tolerate them.It does look delicious.
Hi Carol, if you click the link just below the heading there is a gluten free version there!
I used gluten free oats, turned out pretty good, only thing is I would recommend not using paper to line tin as it just stuck to it!
Do you think it matters that I only have quick oats??
It should be fine x
Just wondering if you have a Dairy Free version too? :)
You can try using coconut oil (cold pressed extra virgin) and that should work!
Beautiful! thanks so much for sharing the recipe with us all. Nothing like a good ginger slice!
Please can we have some low fat and lower sugar healthier options for those of us who are diabetics!
Hi Chelsea, I love the look of this slice and my mum is a huge fan of ginger slice the only problem is she can’t have coconut so I was curious as to weather the coconut is optional or if it could be replaced with something else. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Sincerely Fiona Bayne.
Yes, you can leave it out or just put more oats in!
Or use ground almonds?
Kia ora Chelsea, best recipe ever. Has always been a favourite, and I love that your website gets straight to the point, no bull shit. My dad could eat the entire tin
Drat! This looks so delicious, I’ll have to bake it tomorrow. Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing the Ginger Slice recipe on F B.
This has to be the yummiest slice ever.
My friends just love it and I shall be making it forever.
I will be making sure that all those who I share your recipe with will know that it came from you.
Cheers Alison. Blandford