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Gingerbread cake

Gingerbread cake covered with caramel biscuit icing and topped with iced gingerbread biscuits

Gingerbread cake

Name: Gingerbread cake
Prep time: 1 h 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 20
Ingredients: 150ml full-fat milk; 3 tbsp black treacle; 225ml vegetable oil plus a little for greasing; 375g plain flour; 3 tsp baking powder; 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda; 375g light brown soft sugar; 1½ tsp ground cinnamon; 1½ tsp ground ginger; 3 good pinches of ground cloves; 300ml buttermilk; 3 large eggs; 3 tbsp dark rum (optional – replace with extra milk, if you like); 1½ tsp vanilla extract; 250g pack slightly salted butter very soft; 600g icing sugar plus a little extra for dusting; 300g full-fat cream cheese; 2 tsp vanilla bean extract; 200g smooth caramelised biscuit spread (I used Lotus Biscoff biscuit spread); 50g desiccated coconut to decorate; silver edible glitter (optional); gingerbread shapes (see tip)

Cassie Best

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Serves 20

More effort

Prep: 1 hr and 20 mins

Cook: 30 mins

plus cooling

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.45 ratingsRate

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This decadent gingerbread cake is covered in a caramelised biscuit icing, finished with gingerbread biscuits and dusted with desiccated coconut 'snow'

Freezable (un-iced)

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Cassie's tips for making the best gingerbread cake:

I find this cake tastes even better a day or two after baking. I let it cool completely, then store it in the fridge in an airtight container. This gives the spices time to mellow and the sponge becomes even more moist.
If I want to add a little extra texture, I'll fold a handful of chopped crystallised ginger or toasted pecans into the batter. They complement the warming spices in the cake.
If you'd like to dial up the spice, I'll sometimes add an extra pinch of ground ginger or a little freshly grated nutmeg to the sponge. It's an easy way to give the cake an even warmer, more festive flavour.
If you can't find caramel biscuit spread, a cream cheese frosting or lightly spiced buttercream also works beautifully.
I like to enjoy a slice for dessert with a dollop of crème fraîche, Greek-style yogurt or softly whipped cream. It also goes perfectly with an afternoon cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

150ml full-fat milk
3 tbsp black treacle
225ml vegetable oil

plus a little for greasing
375g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
375g light brown soft sugar
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground ginger
3 good pinches of ground cloves
300ml buttermilk
3 large eggs
3 tbsp dark rum

(optional – replace with extra milk, if you like)
1½ tsp vanilla extract

For the caramel biscuit icing

250g pack slightly salted butter

very soft
600g icing sugar

plus a little extra for dusting
300g full-fat cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla bean extract
200g smooth caramelised biscuit spread

(I used Lotus Biscoff biscuit spread)
50g desiccated coconut

to decorate
silver edible glitter

(optional)
gingerbread

shapes (see tip)

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Nutrition: per serving

kcal626
fat35g
saturates15g
carbs70g
sugars54g
fibre1g
protein5g
salt0.8g

Method

step 1

Measure the milk and treacle into a saucepan (grease the measuring spoon with a little oil first and the treacle will easily slide off). Bring to a gentle simmer and stir until combined, then set aside to cool. Meanwhile, grease 3 x 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins with a little oil and line the bases with baking parchment (if you don’t have enough cake tins, see tip). If the tins are any shallower than 4cm, line the sides with a deep collar too. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
step 2

Measure the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and spices into a large bowl, then add ½ tsp fine salt. Mix the dry ingredients together with a large whisk; if there are any large lumps of sugar, squeeze these through your fingers until you have an even, sandy-textured mixture.
step 3

In a jug, whisk the oil, buttermilk, eggs, rum and vanilla. Add the milk and treacle mixture, and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and whisk into a smooth batter. Divide between the tins and bake for 25-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. You may have to swap the cakes over to cook evenly, but don’t do this until they’ve had at least 20 mins cooking. Cool the cakes in their tins for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack, peel off the parchment and leave to cool completely. Once cooled, you can wrap the sponges in cling film and store in a cool place for 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months – the texture and flavour will be all the better for it.
step 4

To make the icing, put the butter and half the icing sugar in a large bowl. Mash together roughly with a spatula, then whizz with an electric hand whisk until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar, the cream cheese, vanilla bean extract and biscuit spread. Mix again until smooth and evenly mixed. Transfer half the icing to another bowl and set aside. Use the remaining icing to stack the cakes and cover the entire outside in a thin layer – don’t worry about making the cake look too neat at this stage, as any crumbs trapped in the icing will be covered in the final coat. Chill the cake for 30 mins and the remaining icing for 20 mins (remove the icing from the fridge 10 mins before the cake to soften a little).
step 5

When the icing on the cake is firm, remove it from the fridge and use the remaining icing to cover the cake. Smooth the sides using a palette knife, but leave peaks and dips on top for your snow scene. Top the cake generously with desiccated coconut, a dusting of sieved icing sugar and some edible glitter, if you like, then decorate the top and sides with gingerbread shapes (see tip). If you’re not eating the cake within a few hours, store it in the fridge, but bring back to room temperature before serving. Wlll keep for 2 days.

RECIPE TIPS

ONLY ONE TIN?

If you have just 1 x 20cm cake tin, you can easily divide the cake mixture into three and bake the sponges in batches. Work in metric measurements as they are easier to scale down for this recipe, and write the new measurements out before you start, so you don’t get mixed up halfway through.

DECORATING YOUR CAKE

I used gingerbread Christmas trees, a house and hearts (you’ll need about 15 hearts for the outside). To decorate, mix 300g fondant icing sugar with enough water to make a thick icing, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a fine nozzle. Decorate however you like, then leave to dry. Place the trees and house on top of the cake and push the hearts into the icing.

Cassie Best

Cassie is our Head of Food. After training as a chef at Leiths School of Food and Wine, she's worked for Good Food for the last 13 years, creating hundreds of recipes, including many you see on the cover of the magazine. She has a passion for creating easy family meals that everyone can cook and also loves to bake with her two children. See more of Cassie's recipes

Cassie Best headshot

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2015

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A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.45 ratings

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