Gingerbread Cake with Caramel Buttercream

From my Instagram

Other than peppermint, nothing rings in the holidays quite like gingerbread. Warm spices and sweet buttercream marry perfectly in this festive cake.

I greased and floured my pans to make for easy tipping out, and used 2-9” rounds instead of 3-8” pans. I let them bake towards the longer end of the time, checking them every few minutes to make sure they didn’t over-bake. In my case, the cakes were very moist, but soft and crumbly, so leveling/splitting the layers into 4 resulted in 2 layers and some scraps. You win some, you lose some.

Now, this caramel buttercream was to die for 😍 it was so yummy and the fact that everything, even the caramel, is made from scratch by you makes it all the more satisfying. Light and fluffy, but not too sweet, this buttercream balances out the ginger and molasses from the cake.

I decorated with simple gingerbread cookies and sugared cranberries. Super easy to make, you start with a simple syrup of equal parts sugar and water. Once the syrup has cooled , pour it over fresh cranberries and let sit to soak up all that sweet goodness. After draining the cranberries, roll them in granulated sugar and let dry completely on a cooling rack. You can also dip rosemary sprigs or pine needles in the sugar as well to add greenery to your cake and it would look super pretty as well.

This cake would make the perfect centerpiece to any holiday party or event. Leave a comment for any other Christmas bakes you’d like to see this year!

I loved this cake, and it was a huge favorite among friends and family as well. I’m not normally a fan of gingerbread, but this cake was definitely a winner. It looks beautiful, tastes beautiful, and is perfect for the holidays. I think part of the problem I had with my cake layers was that I didn’t take into account the altitude difference. (1 year later and I’m still not baking per high-altitude standards…) I really think the cookies and cranberries added such a festive touch to the cake. If sugaring the cranberries is too messy, I think a simple fruit glaze would be beautiful as well, just to give them that finished sheen.

Original Cookie Recipe from: Gimme Some Oven

Original Cake Recipe from: Half Baked Harvest