With the festive season ahead, I couldn’t resist playing around with these flavours!
I must confess; she’s not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, although she might surprise you with her gentle and warm flavours. The lemon cream cheese icing cuts through the sweet and sharpness of the ginger. Prepare yourself for some serious flavours!
(The gingerbread cookie recipe is also added)
RECIPE
CAKE (1 LARGE LAYERED CAKE)
250g butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3 large/XL eggs
1 cup golden syrup
1 tbsp vanilla essence
3 cups cake flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp fine ginger
½ tsp salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 cup buttermilk/Amazi
50g dried ginger slices, finely chopped
ICING
200g butter, softened
400g icing sugar, sifted
230-250g cream cheese
2 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp fine ginger (optional)
pinch of salt
GINGER COOKIE (±30 COOKIES)
125g butter, softened
½ cup golden syrup
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 large egg
1 cup castor sugar
3 cups cake flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp fine ginger
½ tsp salt
METHOD
CAKE
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and position the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Prepare two round cake tins (21-23cm) with baking paper and non-stick spray.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (Tip 1).
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition (Tip 2).
5. Add the golden syrup and mix until well combined.
6. Sift together all the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and mix well.
7. Add the buttermilk and chopped ginger and mix until just combined.
8. Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake tins and bake for 35-40 minutes (Tip 3).
9. Once the cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cakes, remove the cakes from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before loosening the sides and demoulding the cakes onto cooling racks.
10. Allow the cakes to cool down completely before icing (Tip 4).
ICING
1. In a medium bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer until light, fluffy and pale. This is the most time-consuming step.
2. Add the icing sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until well combined and creamy.
3. Add the cream cheese, lemon juice, fine ginger and salt. Mix until just combined.
GINGER COOKIE
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the butter, golden syrup, milk and egg until well combined and smooth.
2. Sift together the rest of the ingredients over the wet ingredients and whisk until a soft, smooth dough forms (Tip 5).
3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C and prepare baking trays with non-stick spray.
5. Prepare your work surface with cake flour and roll the cooled dough out (2-3mm).
6. Use cookie cutters of your choice to cut through the dough and place the cookies on the prepared baking trays (Tip 6).
7. Bake one tray of cookies at a time in the middle of the oven for 7-8minutes.
8. Allow the baked cookies to cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container once completely cooled down.
TIPS
1. This is a very important step to ensure a light, soft textured cake. I would recommend using a stand mixer with the balloon whisk attachment.
2. If using a stand mixer, I would recommend you switch to the paddle attachment before adding the rest of your ingredients to prevent over mixing of the cake batter.
3. To ensure even baked and even layered cakes, divide the batter into the cake tins by weight.
4. I halved each cake layer to create this 4-layered cake. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, you can use the extra icing to ice the sides of the cake.
5. If the dough seems a bit dry, don’t add extra moisture; rather mix it with your hands to form the dough. If the dough is too soft and wet, it will be difficult to work with.
6. Place the cookies about 1cm apart on the baking trays. After cutting the cookies out, recollect the excess dough to form a ball and roll it out again to not waste any dough.
