Today on The Stay At Home Chef
I'm showing you how to make Christmas Gingerbread Cake.
This cake is a holiday masterpiece.
Today I'm going to be showing you how to make a 3 layer gingerbread cake,
however if you only need 1 or 2 layers for a smaller crowd,
you can visit my website and my website will actually scale the recipe for you.
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit,
and lightly grease 3 9-inch cake pans,
and then line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper.
Set the pans aside and next we'll work on our gingerbread cake batter.
This is all made in one mixing bowl.
You'll start with 3/4 cup of melted butter,
and that's 12 tablespoons,
then you'll need 2 cups of brown sugar,
2 cups of molasses,
which is 16 fluid ounces,
1 cup of warm water,
and 1 cup of buttermilk,
and it does help if this is room temperature,
add in 3 large eggs,
and give this a brief mix to combine.
It really only needs 30-60 seconds of mixing.
You can use a hand mixer for this,
a stand mixer,
or whisk it by hand.
Then we'll add in 2 tablespoons of ground ginger,
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon,
about 3/4 teaspoon of ground cloves,
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt,
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder,
and 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
Then give this just a 10 or 15 second mix to combine.
Then we'll slowly start adding in our flour,
and you'll need about 4 cups total of all purpose flour.
You want to mix it just until all the white specks of flour disappear,
and be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go.
I like to finish it off using a rubber spatula to make sure that everything got mixed in.
Then you'll want to divide this amongst your 3 pans as evenly as you can.
Then we're gonna bake these in the 350 degree oven for about 30-35 minutes,
until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Now while the cakes are baking we can go ahead and put together our frosting,
and set it aside,
so that we're ready to frost and assemble once the cakes are completely cool.
A cream cheese frosting pairs really well with gingerbread,
so we'll start out with 16 ounces of softened cream cheese,
and 1/2 cup of softened butter.
If you don't have access to cream cheese or you don't like cream cheese frosting,
you can always make a traditional buttercream or any other frosting that you think would go well with your gingerbread.
Then we're gonna use the hand mixer to cream this altogether until smooth.
I like to beat this for a good 2 minutes to make sure it's well combined,
and fluff up that butter and cream cheese just a little bit.
Then before I add in the powdered sugar,
I whip in 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract.
Then we can start slowing adding in our powdered sugar.
You want to add it in about 1 cup at a time,
and you can use up to 6 cups total.
How much powdered sugar you add in is kind of a matter of personal preference.
Some like their frosting a little bit sweeter,
others don't.
But you need to make sure it's a spreadable consistency.
This is a large cake,
so we do need a large amount of frosting.
Once your cakes have finished baking we'll go ahead and pull them out of the oven,
and we'll let them cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5-10 minutes.
Then we can flip it out onto the wire rack so that it can cool completely.
Be sure to let your cakes cool completely before you try to assemble and frost your cake.
Otherwise the heat from the cake will melt the frosting and you'll have a sliding mess.
Place the first one onto a cake stand or serving platter,
you'll want to frost in between each layer,
and the top.
And then frost the outside.
You can frost it plain or you can add on any sprinkles or other decorations as your heart desires.
Because this cake has a cream cheese frosting,
it does need to be stored in the refrigerator.
But it can stay good at room temperature for up to 2 hours.
You are ready to slice and serve.
Thanks for watching.
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