Description
Gingerbread cake with mascarpone whipped cream frosting and orange jam filling (for a 6 inch / 15 cm cake 10 -12 slices)
Ingredients
Gingerbread cake :
- 175 g ( 1 1/2 stick) Butter - softened
- 100 g (1/2 cup) Sugar - granulated
- 120 g (1/2 cup) Brown sugar
- 3 eggs - room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 175 g (1/2 cup) Molasses - or honey and maple syrup mixture
- 200 ml (2/3 cup) Buttermilk - or semi-skimmed milk
- 290 g (2 cups) Flour - all-purpose
- 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder - approx. 11 g)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Filling
- 4 - 5 tbsp. Orange Jam
Mascarpone frosting :
- 150 g 5,3 oz Mascarpone cheese - cold
- 200 g (3/4 cup) Heavy cream - full fat 30% and cold
- 2-3 tbsp. powdered sugar
Chocolate trees:
- 100 g (1/2 cup) semi-sweet chocolate
Instructions
Gingerbread cake
- In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, flour, salt, baking powder and the spices cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves (sift them twice if possible).
- Place the softened butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
- Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until creamy.
- Add the eggs one at a time while running the mixer on medium speed for one minute to incorporate them well.
- Add the vanilla extract and molasses and mix to incorporate.
- Add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk alternately and mix well between each addition until the mixture is smooth.
Baking
- Preheat oven to 347°F/ 175°C and prepare 3 round cake pans of 6 inch / 15 cm diameter, greased and lined with parchment paper only in the bottom of the pan.
- Divide the mixture between the 3 prepared pans (use an electric scale to check that each pan has the same amount of batter).
- Bake the 3 pans together in the oven for 30-35 minutes, after 30 minutes check for baking by sticking a toothpick in the center, it should come out clean or with a few crumbs.
- Remove the pans from the oven and let them cool a bit before turning them out and letting them cool completely on a wire rack, upside down.
- When completely cooled, cover the cakes with plastic wrap and store at room temperature until ready to assemble.
Chocolate Trees:
- Melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave.
- Place the melted chocolate in a pastry bag.
- Draw thick Christmas trees on a sheet of parchment paper.
- Let cool completely before peeling off.
Mascarpone whipped cream
- Place mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute.
- Then add the cold heavy cream and mix again with an electric mixer at medium speed for about 2 minutes until you have a thick frosting.
Assembly
- If necessary, cut out the bump of the cakes to have 3 layers of cake at the same level.
- Place a cake board on a turntable and place the first layer of cake on top.
- Spread a layer of mascarpone frosting and add 1-2 tbsp of orange jam in the center, smooth, and then cover with a little mascarpone frosting.
- Repeat this step for the next layer and place the last layer of cake.
- Cover the cake completely with the mascarpone frosting, smoothing it with a spatula.
- Add a bit more frosting on top of the cake and decorate with the trees.
- Place the cake in the fridge until ready to serve, and sprinkle with a little powdered sugar before serving to create a snow effect.
Notes
Storage: in the fridge under plastic wrap or in a storage box for 3-4 days.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: cake, Dessert
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Calories: 495
- Sugar: 44
- Sodium: 150
- Fat: 19
- Saturated Fat: 12
- Carbohydrates: 72
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 8
- Cholesterol: 86