Recipes • Posted by Andy Cross • 27th October 2021
Gingerbread latte cake made with gingerbread coffee syrup
Enjoy your favourite festive drink in cake form with this stunning gingerbread latte cake.
Moist, light and beautifully spiced, this cosy cake will solidify your status as Christmas Baker!
Ginger spice and all things nice
This one is for the gingerbread lovers. We’ve included gingerbread coffee syrup and ground ginger to create sweet gingery punch GBL fans will adore. The muscovado sugar, treacle and syrup add that classic gingerbread depth, while the coffee syrup brings a stickiness that makes this fluffy sponge ever so slightly pudding-ish. Just be sure not to flood the sponges when you add the syrup – a few spoonfuls will do nicely!
Gingerbread Coffee Syrup… in a cake!
Coffee syrup can only be used on coffee, right? Wrong! You can use it to make cake!
Got a little gingerbread coffee syrup lurking in the cupboard? Use it in this festive-flavoured cake! Both the sponges and buttercream enjoy a gingerbread latte makeover in our recipe; it gives a sweetly spiced warmth we love. Licking the spoon (and bowl) is definitely allowed.
How to make the best gingerbread layer cake
What are we putting in your stocking this year? A few top tips to help you make the best Christmas bake ever! Our first tip is to beat – really beat – the butter and muscovado sugar together. It needs more than a quick 30-second whizz with the mixer. Make sure your butter is at room temperature before you begin and beat it for four or five minutes. You’ll be able to see the mixture turn whiter as you mix – this shows you that you are getting lots of air in your mix and will have a lovely, light sponge!
Don’t worry if you’re mixture looks curdles when you add the syrups and eggs. Simply add a tbsp or so out of your measured flour to bring the mixture back together. Sorted.
Your cakes are in the oven, and the house smells goooorgeous… but don’t be tempted to open the oven door too early. This will allow a rush of cold air into the hot oven and cause the sponges to collapse. Wait until your timer pings before opening the oven door.
This golden showstopper is great for those who don’t like fruit cake. Brimming with Christmas warmth and gingerbread latte flavours, this crowd-pleasing cake is one you’ll make again and again!
Gingerbread Latte Cake Ingredients
For the cake:
140g unsalted butter
100g light brown muscovado sugar
80g black treacle
60g golden syrup
2 free range eggs
2 free range egg yolks
3 tbsp gingerbread syrup
300g plain flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
170ml milk, warmed
For the coffee syrup
60ml strongly brewed coffee or a double espresso
40g caster sugar
For the gingerbread buttercream:
100g very soft unsalted butter
225g icing sugar
1 tbsp gingerbread syrup
Milk (if needed)
Gold sprinkles or crushed gingerbread biscuits to decorate
Method
1. Preheat the oven to Gas 4/180°C/fan 160°C. Grease the base and sides of two 20cm round cake tins. Line the bases with baking paper.
Beat the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until light and creamy. The longer you beat, the fluffier your sponges will be.
2. Add the treacle, syrup, eggs, egg yolks and gingerbread syrup and mix until well combined.
3. Sift together the flour, spices, baking powder and salt. Add to the wet ingredients in two batches, alternating each time with the warmed milk. Beat until nicely combined.
4. Divide the mixture between the two tins. Bake in the oven for 25 mins, or until the sponges are risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the sponges in the tins while you make the gingerbread buttercream.
5. Beat the butter for about five minutes until soft and very pale. Add the gingerbread syrup.
6. Sift the icing sugar and add it gradually to the butter mixture. Beat well after each addition. If your frosting is a little stiff once you’ve added all the icing sugar, beat in a dribble of milk.
7. Remove the sponges from the tins and spread buttercream on one of them. Pop the second on top and decorate with the rest of the buttercream. Finish with sprinkles and serve!
Pop along to our online coffee shop if you need coffee to put in/enjoy with your gingerbread latte cake. Lots of loveliness awaits…
Meet the chimp behind this article!
Head Chimp founded Two Chimps alongside Laura in 2016 after being self-employed from the age of 21. He caught the coffee bug from using an at-home roaster, and the rest is history!
What Andy does outside of the treehouse:
When the weather’s nice, Andy loves going on bike rides with his trusty sidekick, microchimp Felix (who always leads the way, of course). Andy also enjoys spending time tending to the family’s vegetable garden, and looking after their at-home farmyard, which includes a cat, two guinea pigs, and six chickens!
Andy says…
“I believe every day is a school day, and I’m always looking for opportunities to stick my head in a book and absorb new knowledge. I also love a problem to solve and fix – there’s no such thing as problems, only solutions.”
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