Its the weekend. Thank god. For some reason this week has really taken it out of me and all i’ve craved was a sweet, sweet night of deep, deep sleep. But when things get like this, no matter how tired I am, I think that there is nothing that a delicious slice of cake can’t fix. A simple layer cake like this gingerbread cake with cinnamon buttercream is the perfect thing to soothe the soul.
This cake is the first thing i’ve tried from Philippa Sibley’s P.S. Desserts cookbook and, while it certainly isn’t as beautiful and artistic as the desserts she makes from this recipe, it worked a treat as a moist layer cake. The honey sets off the ginger giving the cake a lovely deep, sweet flavour and will make your house smell absolutely heavenly while it’s baking. It looks pretty cool too!
I know that these layers are still pretty wonky and uneven but i’m trying to get the hang of cutting the layers freehand because really, i’m so slap dash that even if I measured it all with toothpicks and whatnot, i’m sure my layers would still come out pretty rough. Still, I think that a little bit of character in a cake like this adds a little bit of charm. That my excuse anyway and i’m sticking to it!
I went with the cinnamon buttercream because I wanted a spice that would offset the ginger and a frosting that wouldn’t be too sweet. I went pretty hard on the cinnamon so you might want to only add a little bit at a time until you reach the flavour that you like. Beware though, the flavour will develop overnight if you are making it the night before so you might not need to go overboard in the beginning if you aren’t eating it right away.
So, even though this weekend will still be filled with marking exams and writing uni assignments, I will at least be able to sleep in and eat cake. If I can have those two things then it’s going to be a good weekend! What are you up to this weekend lovely readers? Leave me a comment below!
Gingerbread Cake With Cinnamon Buttercream – tweaked slightly from P.S. Desserts by Philippa Sibley
Gingerbread Cake Ingredients
250g honey
150g plain flour
100g spelt flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
zest of 1 orange
20g baking powder
3 eggs
125 ml milk
50g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
1. Warm the honey in a saucepan over low heat until liquid, then cool slightly
2. Sift dry ingredients (except sugar) together into a large bowl and add zest. Stir to combine then make a well in the centre
3. Whisk the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla together in a separate bowl
4. Pour the cooled honey and the egg mixture into the flour and whisk to form a smooth batter
5. Pour into two 8 inch round tins that have been lined with greaseproof paper and bake at 160 degrees celsius for 40 mins
6. cool in tin for 10 minutes then turn onto a cooling rack
7. When cakes are cool, slice each in half before filling and frosting with cinnamon buttercream
Cinnamon Buttercream Recipe
Ingredients
100g unsalted butter
3 cups icing sugar
3tbsp milk
3tsp cinnamon
Method
1. Beat butter in a large bowl until pale and creamy
2. Add icing sugar and mix on a medium speed until well incorporated
3. Add milk 1 tbsp at a time and mix on medium speed until you have reached your desired consistency
4. Add cinnamon 1 tsp at a time and (if you aren’t that keen on a super cinnamony taste) taste after mixing. Add more if desired.
5. Turn your mixer back up to medium and mix for another 3-4 minutes
6. Pipe between the slices of cake and on top
7. eat that cake!
