I don't quite know why I did it, but when my turn came to provide a cake for Cake Club at work, I decided to take a chance on a recipe I'd stumbled across on the BBC Good Food website instead of sticking to something I was confident with. It ended up being one of the best cakes I've ever made, sparked a bizarre debate on the score (Cake Club is very serious, and there was a lot of discussion as to whether it was a 9.8 or a 10, but I'd have been delighted with either!) and I knew I had to make it again the following week so my family would have the opportunity to try it.
Behold, the Gingerbread Biscoff Cake: a three layered monster of light gingerbread sponge and decadent caramel biscuit cream cheese icing. It. Is. Amazing.
The original recipe can be found on the BBC Good Food website here, but as ever is below with my notes and photographs.
Ingredients:
For the gingerbread sponge:
150ml full-fat milk
3 tbsp black treacle
225ml vegetable oil, plus a little for greasing
375g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
375g light brown soft sugar
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1½ tsp ground ginger
3 good pinches of ground cloves
300ml buttermilk
3 large eggs
3 tbsp dark rum (optional – replace with extra milk, if you like)
1½ tsp vanilla extract
For the caramel biscuit icing:
250g pack slightly salted butter, very soft
600g icing sugar, plus a little extra for dusting
300g full-fat cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla bean extract
200g smooth Lotus Biscoff biscuit spread (I used crunchy instead - mainly because it's on offer in Morrisons - but I think it worked really, really well in the icing.)
Method:
Measure the milk and treacle into a saucepan (it's best to grease the measuring spoon with a little oil first and then the treacle will easily slide off). Bring it to a gentle simmer and stir until combined, then set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, grease 3 x 20cm cake tins with a little oil and line the bases with baking parchment. If the tins are any shallower than 4cm, line the sides with a deep collar too. Heat the oven to 180C / 160C fan / gas mark 4. Measure the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and spices into a large bowl, then add 1/2 tsp fine salt. Mix the dry ingredients together with a large whisk; if there are any large lumps of sugar, squeeze these through your fingers until you have an even, sandy-textured mixture. Soft brown sugar tends to harden in the packet so if it's too difficult to handle either bash it a lot (that's what I did: excellent to release anger, almost like kneading bread...) or gently warm it in the microwave to loosen it up.
In a jug (I'd recommend a large bowl with a pouring lip instead as it's a lot of liquid), whisk the oil, buttermilk, eggs, rum and vanilla. Add the milk and treacle mixture, and mix well.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and whisk into a smooth batter.
Divide the batter between the tins and bake for 25-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean.
You may have to swap the cakes over to cook evenly, but if you have to make sure you don’t do this until they’ve had at least 20 minutes cooking. Cool the cakes in their tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack, peel off the parchment and leave to cool completely.
According to BBC Good Food, once cooled you can wrap the sponges in cling film and store in a cool place for 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months – the texture and flavour will be all the better for it.
To make the icing, put the butter and half the icing sugar in a large bowl. Mash together roughly with a spatula, then whizz with an electric hand whisk until smooth.
Add the remaining icing sugar, the cream cheese, vanilla bean extract and biscuit spread.
Mix again until smooth and evenly mixed.
Transfer half the icing to another bowl and set aside. Use the remaining icing to cover the cake in a crumb layer. To start, place a small dollop of icing on your serving plate - this will stop the cake flying off when carrying it!
Place your first sponge on the plate, add a layer of icing, top with a sponge and repeat.
Coat the outside of the cake in a thin layer of icing – don’t worry about making the cake look too neat at this stage, all you're doing is sealing the cake. Chill the cake (and the remaining icing) for 30 minutes.
When the icing on the cake is firm, remove it from the fridge and use the remaining icing to cover the cake. Build the sides up slowly in layers and smooth them using a palette knife. Depending on how you want to decorate it, either smooth the top, or leave rough peaks and dips. BBC Good Food says to dust the top in desiccated coconut, icing sugar and edible glitter so it's like a snow scene, but I chose a simple border of glittery stars. If you’re not eating the cake within a few hours, store it in the fridge, but make sure you bring it back to room temperature before serving. It'll keep for 2 days but I really doubt it'll last that long!
What a beauty! It's not too clear from the pictures but it's enormous: this will serve 15-20 people depending on the size of the slices, and trust me, you really don't need a lot! It's extremely decadent so a little goes a long way. I had a slice at 10.30am and didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day, if that helps...
I'm not exaggerating: this is probably best cake I've ever made. The gingerbread sponge is so light, moist and beautifully complimented by the rich cream cheese frosting. I really can't recommend the crunchy Biscoff spread enough: it's worth it purely for the added texture. I think without it the whole cake would be too smooth, and - dare I say it - boring?
I've never had so many compliments on a cake: promise me you'll give it a go / persuade someone else to make it for you?! At this stage of December you'll probably be sick of fruit cakes and mince pies so this is a delightful alternative that still feels wintery and seasonally appropriate!
So, what do you think?! Do let me know in the comments below!
I made this recipe but in cupcake form. They were very moist and scrumptious; my family loved them. I froze some of the cupcakes for later use. I used them 2weeks later and they were still moist and scrumptious
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