Gingerbread Christmas Cake with Snowy Lemon Buttercream
A warming, spicy and sweet 4-layer Gingerbread Christmas Cake with ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice, surrounded by a silky smooth and refreshing lemon buttercream.
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Serves: 10 slices
Calories: 1292kcal
Ingredients
Bowl ingredients:
- 1 kg self raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp ginger (dried/ground)
- 4 tsp cinnamon (dried/ground)
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 500 ml dairy free milk
Saucepan ingredients:
- 500 g dairy free margarine
- 300 g treacle
- 300 g golden syrup
- 350 g soft light brown sugar
For the buttercream:
- 500 g icing sugar
- 200 g dairy free margarine
- 1.5 tbsp natural lemon extract (*see notes)
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- 20cm Round Deep Springform Cake Tin
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 160° C fan (180° C conventional / 350°F / gas mark 4).
- Grease two deep spring form cake tins (20cm diameter x 7cm deep /8" x 3" ) and line them with parchment paper.
- To a medium saucepan add the ‘saucepan ingredients' (margarine, treacle, syrup and sugar) and warm until combined, around 5 minutes. Take the pan off of the heat and set it aside for 15 minutes to cool.500 g dairy free margarine, 300 g treacle, 300 g golden syrup, 350 g soft light brown sugar
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and spices.1 kg self raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 3 tbsp ginger, 4 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp mixed spice
- Once the liquid in the saucepan has cooled, add it to the dry mixture along with the dairy free milk.500 ml dairy free milk
- Stir well using a large whisk, until smooth and combined.
- Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and bake for 65 minutes. Test the mixture with a skewer or knife - if the skewer/knife comes out clean your cakes are done, if there is cake mixture still on the skewer/knife then cook the cakes for another 5-10 minutes until the skewer/knife does come out clean.
- Cool your cakes in the tins on the kitchen side. I like to make the cake the day before I want to decorate it because it needs to be completely cool before it can be decorated, plus it’s less to do all in one day.
- When the cakes are completely cool (at least 4 hours), cut each cake in half horizontally to make four layers in total, and level out the top. The offcuts will provide tasty decorating sustenance!
To make the buttercream:
- Add the icing sugar, margarine and lemon extract into a large bowl and either beat by hand or beat using an electric mixture. Once it is smooth and your cakes are cool, it’s time to decorate.500 g icing sugar, 200 g dairy free margarine, 1.5 tbsp natural lemon extract
- Layer buttercream on top of each cake and then place one cake on top of another, creating four layers. Smooth buttercream around the sides and top of the cake. Decorate however you like - I particularly like gingerbread woodland animals and upside down rosemary trees for this cake!
Video
Notes
* Lemon extract can vary in strength. I use 1.5 tbsp but I recommend adding it in stages until your buttercream is the desired flavour.
Recipe inspired by: Jamaica, Caribbean
Please check the allergens on the ingredients you purchase before use. The allergen information provided in this recipe is intended as a guide only and is based on the specific ingredients and brands used at the time of creating the recipe, therefore we cannot guarantee that the same will apply to the ingredients you use. Nutritional values are estimated.
We highly recommend you use the metric and 1x options on this recipe card for the best results. Please note that this recipe has not been tested using US measurements or increasing ingredient quantities to 2x or 3x, therefore results may vary.
Nutrition
Calories: 1292kcal | Carbohydrates: 205g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Sodium: 585mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 129g | Net Carbohydrates: 202g
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