Gingerbread Cake With Caramel Sauce & Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

If you’re a fan of gingerbread cookies, then this is a great variation to get your gingerbread fix in a cake form. This cake provides a mild ginger taste, lightly spiced with all spice and cinnamon. The molasses mixed through the cake provides a dense texture. Iced with a wonderful vanilla cream cheese icing proves a beautiful sweet offset to the cake. Top and drizzled with caramel sauce simply blends amazingly to finish the cake to perfection.

Ingredients:
Gingerbread Cake
• 225 g Butter softened
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup White Sugar
• 1 cup Molasses
• 2 large Eggs
• 3 cups Plain Flour sifted
• 1 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp All Spice
• 1 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Bicarb Soda
• 1 1/4 cup Milk
Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
• 450 g Butter softened
• 500 g Cream Cheese softened
• 4 cups Icing Sugar
• 1/4 cup Thickened Cream
Caramel Sauce
• 1 cup White Sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 75 g Butter
• 1/2 cup Thickened Cream

Instructions:
Gingerbread Cake
1. Pre-heat a fan forced oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Grease and line with baking paper two 20cm (8 inch) round springform baking pans.
3. In a large bowl add butter, brown sugar & white sugar and using an electric mixer, beat butter until light & fluffy.
4. Add molasses & eggs and continue beating until fully combined and smooth.
5. In a separate bowl, add plain flour, baking powder, all spices & bicarb soda and mix together until combined.
6. Add flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture. Combine with butter mixture in alternate additions and combine fully after each addition. Add the flour and milk in about 3 additions each.
7. Pour mixture evenly into the two prepared pans, smooth the mixture in each pan and place into oven
8. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
9. Remove from oven and cool in baking pans for about 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely

Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
1. In a large bowl add butter and using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy.
2. Add cream cheese and continue beating until fully combined.
3. Add icing sugar, one cup at a time and continue beating until fully combined.
4. Add thickened cream, a little at a time, and beat through until you achieve the required consistency to ice the cake.

Caramel Sauce
1. Make caramel sauce per the caramel sauce recipe link below. Allow caramel sauce to cool before coating and drizzling on cake.

Cake Assembly
1. Place one cake on a plate and layer with vanilla cream cheese icing
2. Invert and place second cake on top and layer top and sides with cream cheese icing. Note: you may find it easier to layer the cake by initially icing for a crumb layer, then refrigerating for 15-20 minutes to allow icing to firm. Then remove from refrigerator and continue icing.
3. Return to refrigerator for 15-20 minutes before adding the caramel sauce
4. Remove from refrigerator and coat the top of the cake with caramel sauce and drizzle down the sides of the cake. Place in refrigerator to allow caramel sauce to set.
5. Remove from refrigerator and pipe icing decorations on top of the cake.
6. Place and store in refrigerator to allow icing to firm and remove from refrigerator only when ready to eat.

For pictures & more follow the link below:
Gingerbread Cake With Caramel Sauce & Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

bon appetit