Gingerbread Garam Masala Cake with Orange Buttercream Cheese Frosting

The spiced flavor in Gingerbread cake is the epitome of any holiday treat because it is filled with warm and cozy flavours. It works great as part of your dessert, breakfast or tea. The flavours are strong that scream Holiday and goes perfectly well with coffee. The recent cake competition that I took part in , made me think out of the box… I had to step out of my usual comfort box where I used to regularly bake anything with chocolate. Unique flavoured cake category definitely made me think out of the box and discover how I could add a twist to the flavor. So I decided to take my gingerbread cake to another level and I added a teaspoon of garam masala to the recipe, which actually complimented the cake with the other spices and it wasn’t strong at all. I felt good trying something new though I could never associate garam masala in a cake… but this recipe changed my outlook completely! 

You can frost this cake with chocolate, caramel, white chocolate or any cheese frosting! I paired my gingerbread cake with orange buttercream cheese frosting. It was the perfect tanginess and sweetness to this cake. This wintery cake can be made any time of the year if you want to feel festive!! Decorate it with rosemary or thyme, cranberries or pomegranate and your cake will be show stopper for sure! I hope you get to try out this recipe and keep me posted on how it turns out!!

INGREDIENTS:

For the Garam Masala Gingerbread Cake

·         1 cup brown sugar

·         3/4^th cup butter

·         2 large egg  

·         1/2 cup molasses

·         2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

·         1/4^th  teaspoon baking soda

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1 teaspoon ground ginger

·         1 heaped teaspoon Garam masala

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         1 cup hot water

For the Orange Buttercream Cheese Frosting:

·         1 lb of cream cheese room temp

·         1 cup butter room temp

·         2 Tablespoon orange zest

·         1 Tablespoon orange juice

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         200gm powdered sugar

Instructions

1.       Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.       Lightly grease and flour pans and place parchment on the bottoms. This is a sticky cake so please do not omit the parchment paper on the bottom of the pans.

3.       In a large bowl add the flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir with whisk to combine. Set aside.

4.       In bowl of mixer fitted with paddle attachment beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.

5.       Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition.

6.       Add in the vanilla and molasses. Mix well to combine.

7.       With mixer on low speed add the flour mixture in by spoonful alternately with the hot water, starting and ending with the flour.

8.       Mix just until well combined and smooth.

9.       Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans, smoothing the tops.

10.   Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

11.   Cool completely.

To make BUTTERCREAM frosting:

12.   Cream the cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy.

13.   Add in the vanilla, orange juice and orange zest, mix well to combine.

14.   With mixer on low speed add in powdered sugar one spoonful at a time until well combined and completely mixed and creamy, about 3-5 minutes of mixing after all powdered sugar is added. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.

15.   Note: This is a soft frosting because of the cream cheese, it does not pipe designs due to its soft nature.

 ASSEMBLY:

16.   Place dab of frosting on cake board/cake plate to keep cake in place.

17.   Place the first cake layer on the cake board/plate.

18.   Spread a large dollop of buttercream on top and spread evenly to the edges of the cake.

19.   Place next cake layer on top and spread with buttercream.

20.   Repeat with remaining cake layer until all are stacked.

21.   Once all the layers are in place apply a crumb coat of buttercream around the top and sides of cake. Refrigerate at least 45 min. (Crumb coat gives a nice smooth base to work with when ready to apply final coat of buttercream and decorate).

22.   Apply final coat of buttercream, I chose a semi-naked cake design for this but I still used a crumb coat to keep the final coat clean.

23.   Decorate with fruits or nuts or any holiday cookies and greenery you may have on hand.

All the above pictures are copyrighted Ticked by Inspirations.