This is the easiest gingerbread house you’ll ever build – mainly because it isn’t one! Ditch the fiddly gingerbread buildings for a light and fluffy cake which tastes like Christmas. Thanks to Meagan Cook for this delightful recipe and photos.

Prep:
45 min
Cook:
30 min
Serves:
10-12

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cake

  1. 2 ½ cups (375g) plain flour

  2. 1 tsp ground cinnamon or Queen Cinnamon Baking Paste

  3. 1 tsp ground ginger

  4. ½ tsp ground nutmeg

  5. 1 tsp instant coffee

  6. 1 tsp baking soda

  7. ¾ tsp salt

  8. 170g unsalted butter, softened

  9. ½ cup (110g) caster sugar

  10. ½ cup (80g) light brown sugar

  11. 2 large eggs, room temperature

  12. ½ cup (125ml/175g) golden syrup

  13. 1 tsp Queen Fairtrade Vanilla Extract with Seeds

  14. ½ cup (125ml) warm water

Maple Whipped Cream

  1. 2/3 cup (160ml) sour cream

  2. 1 ¾ cup (430ml) cream

  3. 1/3 cup (75g) light brown sugar, packed

  4. ½ cup (75g) icing sugar, sifted

  5. 1/2 tsp Queen Fairtrade Vanilla Extract with Seeds

  6. ½ tsp maple syrup

Method - Gingerbread Cake

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 170 C (fan forced). Prepare three 6-inch cake pans in your favoured way to stop the cakes sticking to them. If that means wrapping the entire thing in a silicone film, then go right ahead.

  2. Step 2

    Get a bowl and dump in the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, coffee, baking soda and salt. Whisk it. Gently. Not like you’re a tornado wreaking havoc on far north Queensland.

  3. Step 3

    Give your mixer a loving hello then cream the butter with it. (Your mixer will treat you better if you are kind to it – well known (completely unproven) fact.)

  4. Step 4

    Throw in the caster sugar and icing sugar and ask your mixer to beat until smooth.

  5. Step 5

    Even though it’s annoying, stop every few minutes and scrape down the sides of your bowl. It means you won’t get any nasty mouthfuls of lumpy sugar when you’re eating the cake.

  6. Step 6

    Add the eggs, vanilla and golden syrup and watch it turn into a golden molten river while it all mixes up.

  7. Step 7

    Get your cup of warm water ready. Now. Not in a minute, and if you've done it already it will have gone cold. So yeah, now.

  8. Step 8

    Pour one third of your dry ingredients into the batter. 1/3 can be measured by squinting one eye shut and guessing. Mix on a low speed, or on a high speed if you like seeing the puff of floury smoke rise out of the bowl.

  9. Step 9

    Add half of the half of a cup of water and mix (get it, half of half of a cup? A quarter of a cup.)

  10. Step 10

    Repeat with another third of the dry ingredients, using the same measuring technique as before. Same goes for the remaining water.

  11. Step 11

    Dump in the remaining third of the dry ingredients (which will most likely not be anywhere near a third but likely a small gathering of leftovers, like the people who are still on the dance floor when the lights come up at the pub).

  12. Step 12

    Mix together, lean over the bowl and smell the Christmas.

  13. Step 13

    Run the generous batter into your cake tins, putting about the same amount in each. Because you probably didn't do it at the start, turn your oven on. Bake for 29 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius. If after 29 minutes it’s not cooked in the middle (which is tested by sticking a sharp implement into it and seeing if it comes out clean) then cook it for another few minutes. Check it again, and so on and so forth until it’s done. Trust your judgement, I trust you.

Method - Maple Whipped Cream & Assembly

  1. Step 1

    Get excited that you are making the world’s most delicious cake filling.

  2. Step 2

    Ask your mixer if it’s ready for another round, then put in the sour cream and cream. Mix until they start to thicken like yoghurt that’s been in the back of the fridge for too long.

  3. Step 3

    Slowly add the brown sugar and icing sugar to the cream. Slowly just means don’t dump it in one clump, but try to sprinkle it around a little.

  4. Step 4

    Pour in the secret ingredient. The maple syrup. Given that it’s name is in the title of the cream, it’s not really that much of a secret ingredient. Whisk until stiff peaks form.

  5. Step 5

    By this point you are probably thinking that making a gingerbread house would have been easier, but push on, you are almost done. Once the cakes are cool, cut each cake lengthways into two. You will not manage to make these slices straight, so don’t even bother trying. You can hide your wonky cutting with cream.

  6. Step 6

    Dollop a think blob of cream onto the first cake layer and spread it around. Add next cake layer on top, followed by more cream. Keep going until all layers have been used. You’ll probably have some cream left over. You have my permission to eat that straight from the bowl. Make the top look pretty any way you want.

  7. Step 7

    My suggestions are flowers, candy canes, strawberries, or half stale lollies that no one likes anyway like are on real gingerbread houses. Stand back and admire you’re handing work because you are a genius.

Thank you to Meaghan Cook for this delightful recipe. Learn more about Meaghan and her Gutsy Baking over on our blog in our Amazing Baker & Decorator Interview.

If using Queen Cinnamon Baking Paste, incorporate paste into wet ingredients.

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