Gingerbread cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 350g plain flour
• 330g dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp treacle (molasses)
• 200g butter, chilled and diced
• 200ml milk
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 200g butter at room temperature
• 200g cream cheese
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 450g powdered sugar

For the frosted cranberries:

• 100g sugar
• 50ml water
• 100g super fine sugar
• 150g cranberries

For the decoration:

• Frosted cranberries
• Rosemary
• Gingerbread cookies

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line three cake tins, 14-16cm each.
2. For the cake combine all the dry ingredients, add chilled and diced butter and orange zest and mix until the breadcrumb consistency.
3. Add eggs gradually, then add treacle. Mix well. Add the milk, vanilla extract, and orange juice. Mix until batter is smooth.
4. Divide the batter evenly between tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until the wooden stick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
5. For the frosting mix butter with cream cheese and all the spices. Add sifted icing sugar and mix again until light and fluffy. Set aside.
6. For the frosted cranberries bring sugar with water to the boil, when all the sugar is dissolved, remove the syrup from the heat and let it cool a bit. Wash cranberries. Put them in the syrup and mix well, until all the berries are coated. Take cranberries out and spread them on a wire rack so they don’t stick to each other. Allow them to dry for 30 minutes. Roll each cranberry in a superfine sugar.
7. When the cakes are cooled, spread some frosting on a bottom layer, top with the second layer and repeat. Frost the whole cake on the outside and make the texture with the back of the spoon on the sides. Decorate with rosemary springs, frosted cranberries and gingerbread cookies.

It’s Christmas Eve! This day has finally come! Today is the final day of my Advent Calendar 2016!

It is time to gather your families and friends and celebrate.

I’m gonna celebrate with this delicious gingerbread cake with spiced frosting.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everybody!