Our resident baking babe, MINI MARTHA, got into the Holiday spirit and decided to go to town with a frosted dessert. Feast your eyes on this six-layer gingerbread cake with vanilla frosting, decked out in gingerbread cookies!
Every Christmas, I tend to make apple pies and pumpkin pies, which are delicious but don't look that festive. So this year, I decided to bake something that would taste and look like Christmas: a gingerbread cake decorated with mini gingerbread cookies! The cookie recipe is the best I've ever used; the biscuits come out crunchy but not too crunchy, and they don't lose their shape while baking. The cake is perfect because it's easy to slice into layers, and it can pile high without falling. As for the frosting, it has just the right amount of sugar, unlike most buttercream frostings that are way too sweet. I suggest making this cake over two days: make the cookie dough and bake the cakes on the first day, and chill the dough in the fridge overnight. The next day, bake and decorate the cookies, and assemble the cake. Happy holidays!
Winter Wonderland Cake
Gingerbread Cake: (adapted from The Little Epicurean)
2 ½ cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
¾ cup of butter at room temperature
½ cup of granulated sugar
½ cup of light brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup of molasses
½ cup of lukewarm water
Gingerbread Cookies: (adapted from The Iron Whisk)
3 cups of all purpose flour
½ teaspoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
½ cup of butter at room temperature
½ cup of light brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoon of ginger
1 ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon of cloves
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup of molasses
Royal Icing:
2 eggs
Powdered sugar (around 2 cups will be needed)
Vanilla Frosting:
2 cups of milk
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cups of room temperature butter
2 cups of granulated sugar
1. Start with the cake. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 6-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper and butter the parchment also. Set these aside. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt; also set this aside. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter. Once creamed, add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, and beat until smooth. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure that all of the butter/sugar mixture is creamed. Add both the eggs and molasses, and beat again.
Add 1/3rd of the flour mixture at low speed (so it doesn’t fly everywhere). Add ¼ cup of the lukewarm water and mix in. Then add another 1/3rd of the flour mixture, and another ¼ cup of the water. Finally, end with the last 1/3rd and mix until combined. Take the prepared cake pans and scoop the cake batter into them, making sure there is an even amount of batter in all of them. Smooth out the tops of the cakes and place them in
Every Christmas, I tend to make apple pies and pumpkin pies, which are delicious but don't look that festive. So this year, I decided to bake something that would taste and look like Christmas: a gingerbread cake decorated with mini gingerbread cookies! The cookie recipe is the best I've ever used; the biscuits come out crunchy but not too crunchy, and they don't lose their shape while baking. The cake is perfect because it's easy to slice into layers, and it can pile high without falling. As for the frosting, it has just the right amount of sugar, unlike most buttercream frostings that are way too sweet. I suggest making this cake over two days: make the cookie dough and bake the cakes on the first day, and chill the dough in the fridge overnight. The next day, bake and decorate the cookies, and assemble the cake. Happy holidays!
Winter Wonderland Cake
Gingerbread Cake: (adapted from The Little Epicurean)
2 ½ cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
¾ cup of butter at room temperature
½ cup of granulated sugar
½ cup of light brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup of molasses
½ cup of lukewarm water
Gingerbread Cookies: (adapted from The Iron Whisk)
3 cups of all purpose flour
½ teaspoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
½ cup of butter at room temperature
½ cup of light brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoon of ginger
1 ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon of cloves
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup of molasses
Royal Icing:
2 eggs
Powdered sugar (around 2 cups will be needed)
Vanilla Frosting:
2 cups of milk
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cups of room temperature butter
2 cups of granulated sugar
1. Start with the cake. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 6-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper and butter the parchment also. Set these aside. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt; also set this aside. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter. Once creamed, add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, and beat until smooth. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure that all of the butter/sugar mixture is creamed. Add both the eggs and molasses, and beat again.
Add 1/3rd of the flour mixture at low speed (so it doesn’t fly everywhere). Add ¼ cup of the lukewarm water and mix in. Then add another 1/3rd of the flour mixture, and another ¼ cup of the water. Finally, end with the last 1/3rd and mix until combined. Take the prepared cake pans and scoop the cake batter into them, making sure there is an even amount of batter in all of them. Smooth out the tops of the cakes and place them in