Hello lovelies,
HAPPY BLOGMAS DAY 9!
When it comes to Christmas baking, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is gingerbread! wether that’s cookies, houses or gingerbread men to decorate, it’s a Christmas staple that can be enjoyed throughout this festive period.
Although, as I’ve mentioned in a previous baking post – I struggled a little this year in knowing how to incorporate ginger BUT it not being something I’ve written about before.
That’s when Pinterest came into play again. I’d seen a gingerbread cake whilst spending a few hours one evening (literally!) scrolling which I thought would be a different yet incredibly tasty way of allowing gingerbread to creep into my blogmas posts.
Likewise with the shortbread tree, I made this cake my own (despite finding a gingerbread cake online) by adding my own tips, tricks and touch onto it to make it an Elle special. It certainly has a Christmas feel to it this cake, even with minimal effort to decorate!
So if you’d like to spice it up this year with your gingerbread, then let’s get cooking;
Ingredients For Gingerbread Cake:
- 250g Of Unsalted Butter
- 250g Of Light Brown Sugar
- 250g Of Golden Syrup
- 500g Of Self Raising Flour
- 4 Teaspoons Of Ground Ginger
- 3 Medium Eggs
- 350ml Of Whole Milk
Ingredients For Decoration:
- 200g Of Unsalted Butter
- 400g Of Icing Sugar (Plus Extra For Dusting)
- Bag Of Little Gingerbread Men (I Brought Mine From Aldi’s)
How To Make The Gingerbread Cake:
- Firstly, gather together all your equipment, ingredients, line two circle baking trays (8inch – 20cm) and preheat your oven to 160oF / 180oC / Gas Mark 3.
- Secondly, add the 250g of unsalted butter and 250g of light brown sugar into a large bowl and cream together until it’s gone lighter in colour and fluffy.
- Next, in a cup, beat the 3 Medium eggs together. Once they’ve been beaten, pour the eggs slowly into the large bowl with the creamed butter and sugar and mix together.
- Then, fold in the 500g of self raising flour and 4 tablespoons of ground ginger until smooth.
- Now, add in the 250g of golden syrup and fold through the mixture.
- Once you’ve completed all the steps above, spoon the cake mixture equally into the two lined circle baking trays and place in the oven.
- These should bake for around 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. TIP: we did notice that they burned a little on the tops due to the golden syrup so keep that in mind.
- When they’ve finished baking, allow to cool in the tins for 10-15 minutes then transfer onto a wire rack to allow further cooling.
How To Decorate Gingerbread Cake:
- Once the two cakes have completely baked and cooled, it’s time to decorate.
- For buttercream:
- Beat the 200g of unsalted butter for around two minutes or until it’s gone lighter in colour and supple.
- Then, add in the 400g of icing sugar a little at a time, making sure you beat fully after each incorporation.
- Now the buttercream is complete, add in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and is that through.
- Spread half of the buttercream across the top of the bottom gingerbread cake, then place the other (not buttercreamed) cake on top.
- Using a 2D closed star piping tip, pipe the rest of the buttercream onto the gingerbread cake on the top. Going around the edge of the cake in a circler motions and continuing that inwards.
- Once you’ve done that, add some mini gingerbread men around the edge!
- Finally, sprinkle some crushed gingerbread men into the centre of the top cake (and bottom if you wish).
That’s my Gingerbread Cake prepared, baked and decorated simply! ready to share with your loved ones this festive period.
It’s one of those cakes that you can enjoy everyday that it lasts, without it getting boring (or feeling guilty… as it is christmas afterall). A Christmas table staple I’d say!
If you decide to make this gingerbread cake yourself, make sure you write a comment below or share photos with me on my social media platforms as I’d love to see your creations.
Sending you tons of love & hugs as always,
Elle xo
