Christmas Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I wouldn't say that gingerbread cake is the most synonymous with Christmas for me, I love it all year round. But in lieu of not making an actual Christmas cake this year I decided to make it so. With the minimal amount of decorating I am patient enough for.

This super moist, gently spiced gingerbread cake is layered with a big thick layer of cream cheese frosting and topped with a mini rosemary and cranberry Christmas tree. The addition of some strong coffee into the mix helps give a rich flavour which I love with the ginger.

This layer cake is now a firm favourite within the family. I almost definitely deviated from the recipe and made it in one giant deep cake tin and simply sliced it in half once cooled to save on washing up. Even better still, this recipe is a one bowl method that Mary Berry would be proud of.

C H R I S T M A S   G I N G E R B R E A D   C A K E   W I T H  
C R E A M   C H E E S E   F R O S T I N G
(Makes a 3 layer 8 inch cake, or 2 layer 10 inch cake)

For the cake:

375g plain flour

200g golden caster sugar

1tbsp ground ginger

2tsp ground cinnamon

1/4tsp ground nutmeg

2tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tsp baking powder

1/2tsp salt

2 eggs

240ml vegetable oil

180ml molasses

240ml freshly brewed hot coffee

For the frosting:

225g full fat cream cheese

225g unsalted butter, softened

345g icing sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

Rosemary and dried cranberries to top, optional!

• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line your baking tins.
• Place all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a large stand mixer and give a quick whisk on a low speed to incorporate.
• Add the eggs, vegetable oil and molasses and whisk once again, this time of a medium speed, until well combined.
• Add the coffee and gently fold together until smooth.
• Divide between the prepared baking trays and bake for 18-20 minutes in the 8 inch tins or 20-25 minutes in the 10 inch tins. Once baked, a skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean.
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before upturning onto a wire rack to cool fully.
• To make the frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth on a medium speed of a stand mixer.
• Sift in the icing sugar, give a super gentle fold with a spatula to avoid a dust cloud before beating on a low speed. Add the vanilla extract and continue to beat for up to 5 minutes until fluffy.
• To construct the cake, layer the bottom layer of the cake on a large plate. Top with a big dollop of frosting, smoothing round with a palette knife before adding the other layer(s). There should be enough frosting to sandwich a 3 layer cake including the top layer - I had loads leftover, but decided to do a super thick middle layer only. 

Decorate with sprigs of rosemary and dried cranberries to make a christmas tree. Alternatively, lashings of glitter or a dusting of icing sugar for snow would also work.

---

Food in December

Happy New Year all!

Another month and year has flown past and there's been plenty of great food. Perhaps a little too much, but that's what January is for. I don't expect January to be full of wheatgrass and yoga, just maybe fewer mince pies and cream. Sadly, no festive Christmas burgers either. I have no real plans for January as yet in terms of baking, I should probably devise a form of plan, but for now here's the end of 2015...

At the start of December I popped over to Brighton for Afternoon Tea in Blackbird Tea Rooms, home to the best scones you'll find. Starbucks helped to spread the festive cheer and get me in the holiday mood by dropping off some #StarbucksBakes treats. I'm looking forward to recreating their fig and cinnamon loaf cake at home. Sadly I can only recall one burger this month, but at least it was an old favourite from Honest Burgers. The Christmas special burger included smoked bacon, deep fried brie, cranberry sauce and rocket - I'd have quite happily eaten it in lieu of Christmas dinner it was that good! I headed to Truc Vert with the girls for our first Raclette experience. Plenty of melted cheese and charcuterie, check out their Raclette Wednesdays through January for a great night out. I'm not one for takeaways, unless its Eat First. Homemade meals delivered straight to you to, all you need to do is heat up when you're ready. I ordered a turkey dinner with pigs in blankets for a work lunch treat on Christmas Eve, Eve! (Use my code  'DQ5FPASX' for £10 off first orders). And for something extra special, Williamson Tea's Kenyan Earth, a bright, full-bodied English Breakfast tea. The festive elephant caddie would make a great gift, or is great to keep for your festive brews.

And whilst we're rounding up the year, my favourite and most popular posts of the year:

• Food photography tips - a few little tips and tricks in food photography and styling ideas
• Super simple Churros DIY with Tefal Optigrill - grilled doughnuts are heavenly and if you haven't tried them already, they really should be a new year's resolution
• Cookie dough marshmallow brownies - perhaps the most lengthy recipe ever, but it involves cookie dough, marshmallow and brownies, gloriously good
• Bake Off Bake Along series - baking along with all 10 weeks of this year's GBBO, at times I felt like giving up even with only one recipe a week, but it was a great challenge to try new recipes

So that's it!

Here's to another year packed with fabulous food and lots of fun for you all xxx

---

Recipe: Lindt Chocolate Gingerbread Forest Cake

I'm not usually one for decorating cakes with icing and figures, but when these cute little Santa's Helpers from Lindt dropped through my door I couldn't wait to bake with them. Guessing it was too cruel to melt them down for brownies, I figured it best to make them a little gingerbread forest home. Albeit before reaching their inevitable end, because cakes are made for eating after all!

This chocolate gingerbread cake from Nigella is gloriously fudgy and squidgy. Topped with some chocolate gingerbread shaped into trees and chocolate elves. I'm thinking of making another one now with a giant chocolate santa and reindeers too!

Whilst my cake may not win any decoration prizes, the Lindt Christmas figures are great for decorations. And, who doesn't want to spend a Sunday afternoon decorating gingerbread and drinking mulled wine?

C H O C O L A T E   G I N G E R B R E A D   C A K E

(recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's Feast)

Chocolate gingerbread cake:

175g unsalted butter

125g dark muscovado

2 tbsp caster sugar

200g golden syrup

200g black treacle

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tbsp warm water

2 eggs

250ml whole milk

275g plain flour

40g cocoa powder

Chocolate frosting:

110g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

170g icing sugar, sifted

55g cocoa powder

1-2 tbsp whole milk

1. Heat the oven to 170 degrees and grease and line a 7 inch round cake tin.
2. Over a low heat, melt the butter, sugars, golden syrup, treacle and spices in a large saucepan.
3. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in a cup with the warm water.
4. Once melted, take the butter mix off the heat and beat in the eggs, milk and bicarbonate of soda.
5. Gently fold in the flour and cocoa powder until just incorporated.
6. Bake for 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool fully.
8. Whilst the cake is cooling, make the chocolate frosting. Beat the butter, sugar and cocoa powder in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add a few drops if needed to help loosen the frosting.

C H O C O L A T E   G I N G E R B R E A D   T R E E S

65g unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

75g caster sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

60ml whole milk

1 egg

150g plain flour

25g cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line two oven trays with baking paper.
2. Beat the butter a sugar together on a medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the spices, milk and egg and continue to beat, this time on a low speed. 
3. Sift in the flour, cocoa and baking powder and stir together until the mix forms a ball of dough.
4. Wrap in cling film and chill for 15 minutes.
5. Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out to about the thickness of a pound coin.
6. Using tree cutters, or any other shapes you have, cut out shapes and place on the oven trays with half an inch space between each.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. Place on a wire cooling rack to cool and firm up.

For assembly:

Ice the gingerbread trees with green icing. To frost the cake, use a palette knife to smooth the chocolate frosting over the top. Decorate with the iced trees and Lindt figures.

Thanks to the festive people at Lindt for sending me some chocolate too cute (almost) to eat!

---

Recipe: Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies with Mackays Christmas Preserve

These gingerbread cookies are the most festive cookies, ever.

I make the dough a day in advance and leave it to chill in the fridge. You can either take a few chunks out a time to make fresh cookies as and when you need, freeze it for a later date...or just eat them all in one go.

I've tried this recipe with a few different jams and preserves, my favourites being Mackays Christmas preserve or cherry jam. Regular strawberry and raspberry would work equally well!

Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies with Mackays Christmas Preserve

(Makes 3 dozen)

150g butter, softened

170g soft brown sugar

80g molasses

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

1 egg

450g plain flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1⁄2 tsp ground nutmeg

1⁄4 salt

60g Mackay’s Christmas Preserve

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the molasses, ginger and egg and mix well.

Sift in the flour, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda, nutmeg and salt and stir until well incorporated.

Press the dough into a ball, cover and chill in the fridge for 4 hours, or overnight.

Heat the oven to 1800c and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Scoop the dough into 1-inch balls and place on the tray with a 2-inch space between each cookie.

Press a thumbprint into the centre of each ball, about 1⁄2 inch deep.

Fill each with about 1⁄2 tsp Mackay’s Christmas Preserve.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Store in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.

I was sent some gorgeous festive samples from Mackays in order to come up with some recipes. Feel free to use any jams...although this festive preserve is a sure winner!

Gingerbread Marshmallows

   There's not much that can beat homemade marshmallows in a hot chocolate. I'm sure someone else could give it a much more technical reasoning...but, they just seem to melt loads more. These plump pillows of gingerbread goodness have a strong warming spice on their own that can completely transform any hot chocolate.

   After spending many an hour on Pinterest the other evening, I found my self suffering with a bad case of American marshmallow envy. They always seem to have much more choice of supermarket kinds. Even very cute gingerbread men shaped ones! I gathered it would be a little unreasonable to jet off to The States just to purchase some, so I hunted for some recipes to try my very own!

Spiced gingerbread marshmallows
(Recipe from Annie Rigg's 'Sweet Things')

Ensure that you fully prepare and measure all ingredients before starting. It's also helpful to have all pans, bowls and tools out ready. Marshmallows aren't too technical to make but do involve some good timing and a pan of molten hot syrup. For this molten hot syrup, use a sugar thermometer. So easy to use, and very essential for sweet treats such as these.

     1tbsp icing sugar
     1tbsp cornflour
     6 leaves gelatine
     2 large egg whites
     185g golden caster sugar
     pinch of salt
     2tsp ground ginger
     1/2tsp ground cinnamon
     pinch of allspice
     pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
     100g soft light brown muscavado sugar
     2tbsp treacle
     2tbsp golden syrup

• Lightly grease a 20cm square baking tray. Line with baking paper and lightly grease again.
• In a small bowl, sift together the icing sugar and cornflour.
• Use a few teaspoons of the mix to dust the inside of the greased tray.
• Place the gelatine leaves into a bowl of cold water and set aside.
• Place the egg whites in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, add 1tbsp of the caster sugar and the salt, but don't whisk.
• In a separate small bowl, mix together the spices.
• Heat the remaining caster sugar, light brown sugar, treacle and golden syrup in a medium saucepan with 150ml of water.
• Bring to the boil then leave to simmer until the syrup reaches 115 degrees on the sugar thermometer.
• Remove the pan from the heat and quickly turn the stand mixer on to whisk the egg whites to a stiff peak.
• Drain the softened gelatine leaves and stir until melted in the syrup mixture.
• Pour into the whipped egg whites, continuing to whisk on a low speed.
• Increase to a medium speed, add the spices and continue to whisk for a further 3-4 minutes.
• Pour into the prepared tin. Shake and give it a little wiggle to smooth out the top.
• Leave to cool before covering with cling film and leave for a further 4 hours, or overnight, to set.
• Once the marshmallows have set, turn out onto a work surface dusted with the remaining icing sugar and cornflour mix.
• Using a sharp, lightly oiled knife, cut into squares. 
• Toss all squares in the icing sugar to ensure all sides are coated.

Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

You can find my coconut marshmallow recipe here. 

And if you fancy following my boards on Pinterest, you may find them here.

As part of a blogger's Secret Santa, I sent some to the lovely Leona from Oh! Leona. Check out her blog to see her cute dog, Rex, who is fond of chocolate!