Gingerbread Cake
Oh hello, delicious and moist gingerbread cake, with ginger buttercream decorated with gingerbread men and of course some Christmas sprinkles.
We are getting closer to Christmas and I hope you have been enjoying all my delicious Christmas posts.
There has been a lot including Christmas Tree Brownies, Candy Cane Cookies as well as my Baking and Food and Drink Gift Guide. Hopefully, you have found your new festive recipe, if not, don’t worry there is still plenty of time until the big day.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a good ol’ Gingerbread Cake and this one definitely won’t disappoint. I decided to make this a two-layer cake but if you would prefer to make it three layers similar to my Cookie Dough Showstopper Cake then you can find all the instructions you need in the Alternatives section below.
Gingerbread Cake
So, to make this cake you need to start by creaming together the butter and sugar until it was light and creamy. Next, add in the flour, eggs, black treacle, baking powder, ginger and cinnamon and mix until all the ingredients are combined.
Black treacle is also known as molasses and is a thick, dark syrup. I used Lyle’s which comes in a red tin. You can find it in the baking aisle in most supermarkets.
Split the mixture between your two cake tins. I use these cake tins and normally I will lightly grease the bottom and sides with butter and then cover with baking parchment.
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Bake the cakes in the over for 35-40 minutes or until a cake skewer entered into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean.
Other ways to tell if your cake is baked is to lightly press the top of the cake and if it springs back then it is ready. You could also listen to the cake, I know this sounds a bit weird but stick with me, when you listen to the cake it is bubbling and popping then it isn’t ready. When you bring the cake out and it is silent then it is ready.
Decorations
I leave the cakes to cool completely in the cake tin. As they are cooling I start to get my buttercream and decorations ready.
Because this is a naked cake you can decorate it directly onto your serving plate.
To make the buttercream I mixed the icing sugar, and butter together until it was thick and pale. In the buttercream you must use unsalted butter. If you use a baking spread like Stork your buttercream will be too soft and when you pipe it won’t hold its shape. Next I added in the ground ginger and mixed again. If you find your buttercream is too thick then you can add in 1tsp of milk at a time. Mixing in between each addition until you reach the desired consistency.
I used a Wilton 1M Star Piping Tip and these extra-large piping bags. I don’t really have an expert way of getting the buttercream into the piping bag. Normally, I would just open the bag up and place it into a large cup, then scoop the buttercream from my bowl into the bag.
I started by placing my first cake onto my serving plate and piping the buttercream on. Next, I then added the second sponge and piped the remaining buttercream on. I decorated using gingerbread men and these Holly Jolly Ginger Sprinkles from Super Streusel which have the cutest little gingerbread men in them. You could also crush up a gingerbread man and sprinkle over the top of the cake.
Equipment
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Alternatives
If you would like to increase the recipe to make a three layered cake then just increase the ingredients amounts too 425g of unsalted butter or stork, light brown sugar and self raising flour, 8 large eggs, 200g Black Treacle, 1tsp Baking Powder, 5 ½ tsp of Ground ginger and 2 ½ Ground Cinnamon.
To make a naked cake just with three layers then the amounts below would still work. If you are wanting to cover the outside of the cake I would increase the amounts to 750g Icing Sugar 375g Unsalted Butter and use 2tsp Ground Ginger.
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Gingerbread Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 325 g Unsalted Butter or Stork
- 325 g Light Brown Sugar
- 325 g Self-Raising Flour
- 7 Large Eggs
- 150 g Black Treacle
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 4 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
For the Buttercream
- 500 g Icing Sugar
- 200 g Unsalted Butter
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- 3-4 tsp Whole Milk (optional)
For the Decoration
- Gingerbread Men
- Sprinkles
Instructions
To Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 170C (150C Fan). Line two 8” cake tins with greaseproof paper and leave to one side.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add in the flour, eggs, black treacle, baking powder, ginger and cinnamon. Whiskuntil all combined.
- Pour the mixture into the individual cake tins and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. You will know they are ready when they are springy to touch.
- Leave them to cool in the cake tin for 15-20 minutes and then remove and put them on a wire rack to cool fully.
To Make the Buttercream
- In a bowl mix together the icing sugar and butter until combined. Add in the ginger and mix again. If you find the mixture is a bit thick then add in a teaspoon of milk one at a time until it is the desired consistency. You can also add in ½ tsp of salt if you don’t like the buttercream to be too sweet.
- Put your buttercream into a piping bag and leave to one side.
- Place your first cake on your serving plate and pipe the buttercream on top.
- Add your second cake on top and again decorate with the buttercream. I used with gingerbread men and sprinkles to decorate the top.
Notes
- This Gingerbread Cake will last 3+ days in an airtight container.
If you do have any questions about this Gingerbread Cake recipe or any other recipes on my blog please contact me. You can send me a DM on social media or an email. You can find all my details on the right-hand side of this page.
I don’t like gingerbread, but I know so many people who do! I’ll have to give this a go soon, as I just know it’ll go down a treat. Thanks for sharing, it looks amazing xx
Hannah | https://luxuryblush.co.uk/
Thank you! I hope they all enjoy it.
I am not a huge fan of gingerbread, but this looks amazing and delicious! It would be such a great treat for Christmas xx
It would be and it would make the perfect gift to anyone who loves gingerbread too x
Now this is like the epitome of Christmas! The top of this cake and the decoration looks AMAZING, especially the cute little gingerbread men!
Thank you lovely!
This looks amazing! Your deserts always look so good. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes!
Thank you so much I appreciate it!
This gingerbread cake looks delicious! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you!
Oh my gosh, this looks incredible!! Gingerbread is such a festive flavour and this looks amazing!
Tash // A Girl with a View
Thank you!
Oh wow, this cake looks heavenly! I love gingerbread and the decorations look fab too. So tempted to make this 🙂
Thank you! I hope you enjoy them! If you do make them please tag me on social media or use #aspoonofvanilla I would love to see them.
Oh my gosh, this sounds INCREDIBLE! I love gingerbread so much, and can’t wait to try this recipe! x
Sophie | http://www.loveandliterature.co.uk
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it! If you do make them please tag me on social media or use #aspoonofvanilla I would love to see them.
I love a good gingerbread recipe and those gingerbread men are so cute!
Katie | katieemmabeauty.com
Thank you!
This looks so delicious! Reminds me in look a little or carrot cake, but this combination of flavors looks amazing as well!
Oh, my goodness! I love gingerbread themed food and this looks and sounds like a treat!
Thank you!
I wish I could pipe as good as that! I’m loving all the Christmassy themed posts x
Thank you! I’m sure your piping is fab!
Wow this cake is huge, and so cute and festive 🙂 thank you for sharing this recipe, it looks so amazing x
Thank you! x
So a lot your recipes I can’t make because I’m gluten free, (I could try gluten free flour maybe) but I still enjoy eating with my eyes and this looks and sounds so so good! Thank you for sharing!
Yip all of my recipes can be substituted with gluten-free flour!
Mmmh love the decorations, look so unusual. Black treacle sounds so delicious..
Thank you! Black treacle is incredible!
This looks like a perfect holiday cake!
Thank you!
This gingerbread cake is so cute and festive! I love gingerbread too so I will have to try this out!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it! If you do make it please tag me on social media or use #aspoonofvanilla so I can see it.
Thanks for sharing, wow this cake looks amazing! Perfect for tea on Christmas day or even before 🙂
This would be the perfect dessert for Christmas day! Or the perfect cake to share with neighbours or colleagues