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Gingerbread Cake

Dark and stormy gingerbread cake

Spiced, ginger beer-infused sponges, a rum-spiked buttercream and butterscotch sauce with a lively drink on the side make for three layers of Christmas joy.
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Prep Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Course: Dessert
Calories: 478
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 120 ml ginger beer
  • 65 g black treacle
  • 175 ml vegetable oil plus extra to grease
  • 290 g plain flour sifted
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 290 g light soft brown sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground allspice
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 200 ml buttermilk
  • 3 medium eggs
  • zest of 2 limes
  • 3 tbsp dark rum
  • 40 g unsalted butter
  • 60 g dark soft brown sugar
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup
  • 75 ml double cream
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
  • 150 g softened unsalted butter
  • 190 g icing sugar
  • 225 g full-fat soft cheese
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 2 tbsp dark rum

Equipment

  • 8-inch round cake pans
  • Stand mixer or hand mixer

Method
 

  1. Prep the pans
    Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper circles. Skipping the parchment means half your cake stays fused to the pan, and you end up eating crumbles over the sink.
  2. Whisk the dry ingredients
    In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt until the spices are evenly distributed. According to The Spruce Eats, properly whisking dry ingredients before adding them to wet ingredients prevents overmixing and ensures even spice distribution throughout the batter.
  3. Cream the butter and sugar
    In a large mixer bowl, beat the softened butter and dark brown sugar on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is noticeably lighter in color and fluffy in texture. This step builds the structure of your gingerbread layer cake.
  4. Add the wet ingredients
    Beat in the molasses and eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. The mixture may look slightly curdled at this point this is normal and will resolve once the flour is added.
  5. Alternate dry and wet
    With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the ginger beer and rum (two additions of liquid, three of flour). Begin and end with the flour mixture. Keep the mixer on low high speed with liquid batter creates a flour and ginger beer facial mask.
  6. Bake the cakes
    Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 30–35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely at least one full hour before frosting.
  7. Make the rum buttercream
    Beat the softened butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, then add the dark rum and beat on high for 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy. If it's too thick, add a teaspoon of heavy cream. If too soft, refrigerate for 15 minutes before using.
  8. Assemble and drizzle
    Place the first cooled cake layer on a serving plate and frost the top generously. Add the second layer and frost the top and sides. Right before serving, drizzle the butterscotch sauce aggressively over the top and let it run down the sides. Presentation is entirely chaos and that is exactly the point