Richly spiced ginger cake with a hint of coffee, this layer cake is a nod to my favourite festive treat – the gingerbread latte!
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With Christmas just around the corner, I knew I had to create a special Christmas recipe. I’m pretty proud of this gingerbread latte cake and I’m very excited to finally share it with you all!
This has got to be the most fun baking month, right? That time of year when it’s perfectly fine to indulge a little. Or a lot. I’m not judging, I’m right there with you.
Gingerbread lattes are my absolute go-to festive treat. I grab one every opportunity I get, and while drinking one a few weeks ago the idea for this recipe popped into my head. I was so excited to make it a reality!
The goal here was to get a perfect balance of sweet and spiced, with that coffee twist. I didn’t want any overwhelming the other and think that I’ve found the perfect balance here.
When developing other layer cakes like my Chocolate Coconut Cake and Lemon Raspberry Cream Cake, one of my main goals was to keep the cake as moist as possible. This cake is no exception!
Gingerbread layer cake recipe
Firstly I wanted that classic gingerbread flavour. This recipe contains plenty of ginger and cinnamon, as well as some nutmeg and cloves. Both the light brown sugar and treacle/molasses gives such a deliciously sweet flavour.
(If you love spiced cakes, check out my Carrot Loaf Cake, Hummingbird Muffins and Carrot Cake Swiss Roll!)
The coffee flavour is incorporated by using espresso powder. As it is a very fine powder there is no need to dissolve it in hot water. It’s simply whisked into the dry ingredients!
How to make a moist gingerbread layer cake
As mentioned above, this cake is anything but dry! Buttermilk is my not so secret weapon when it comes to creating a moist cake. You could use any other type of milk but you just won’t get the same level of moisture.
I’ve also added some oil to this recipe, and decided to use mainly light brown sugar, to again help keep the cake as moist as possible!
(This winning combination of buttermilk, oil and light brown sugar is used in all my muffin recipes too!)
Spiced Coffee Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Oh my, this icing… I swear I could just eat it straight with a spoon. Ok, I admit it, I did briefly and had to stop myself…
Following the instructions exactly, you’ll end up with a super light, fluffy and creamy frosting flavoured with ginger, cinnamon, coffee and a little vanilla. I love it and I hope you do too!
What equipment do I need to make this layer cake?
I’d definitely recommend using a stand mixer or hand mixer for this recipe, especially for the frosting as it requires a lot of beating!
You’ll also need three 20cm/8in sandwich tins, similar to the one pictured below. My tins have a loose base which makes removing the cakes so much easier. If you’d prefer to use silicone baking tins, I recommend greasing them with butter or lightly spraying them with non-stick cake pan spray, to ensure they come out in one piece!
This cake could be a great Christmas day dessert or even a twist on a birthday cake for a December birthday!
If you try this recipe I’d love to see! You can show me by tagging me @bakerjoblog or using #bakerjoblog!
other festive recipes to try:
Other cake recipes to try:
- Lemon Coconut Layer Cake
- Vanilla Layer Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
- White Chocolate Blondies
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Nutella Brownies
- Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
- Carrot Loaf Cake
- Hummingbird Muffins
- Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake
- Chocolate Coconut Cake
- Lemon Coconut Muffins
- Peanut Butter Brownies
- Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins
- Chewy Homemade Brownies
- Lemon Raspberry Cream Cake with Meringue Kisses
- Blueberry Nut Muffins
- Banoffee Brownies
- Carrot Cake Swiss Roll
Gingerbread Latte Cake
Equipment
- 3x 8in/20cm sandwich/baking tins
Ingredients
Gingerbread Latte Cake
- 180 g butter softened/room temperature
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 50 g caster sugar
- 3 medium eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 160 ml black treacle/molasses
- 200 ml buttermilk room temperature
- 50 ml vegetable/sunflower oil
- 370 g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1.5 tbsp espresso powder
Spiced Coffee Frosting
- 300 g butter softened/room temperature
- 620 g icing sugar sifted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp milk
Instructions
Gingerbread Latte Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan.
- Grease and line the base of three 8in/20cm sandwich/baking tins. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and espresso powder until just combined. Set aside.
- Using a large bown and the paddle/beater attachment of your stand/hand mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on high speed for 3 whole minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for a few seconds between each addition until combined.
- Add vanilla extract, treacle, buttermilk and vegetable/sunflower oil and beat on medium speed for around 30 seconds until all fully combined.
- Add half the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Repeat with the remaining half of dry ingredients. Try not to overmix at this stage.
- Spread the mixture evenly into the three 8in/20cm tins
- Bake each on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for around 18-20 mins, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Place tins on a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.
Spiced Coffee Frosting
- Using the paddle/beater attachment of your stand/hand mixer and a large bowl, beat the butter for 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
- With the mixer now on low speed, slowly add the sifted icing sugar to the butter 1 tbsp at a time. Once all incorporated it will look quite thick.
- Keep the mixer on low speed and add the vanilla extract, espresso powder, ginger, cinnamon, salt and milk.
- Once all combined, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for a full 5 minutes. Final mixture will be thick but light and smooth.
- Place in the fridge while you're waiting for the cake layers to cool completely before decorating the cake.
Assembling the cake
- Level the tops of the cakes with a knife or cake leveller.
- Place the first cake on your serving plate/board and pipe or spread 1/3 of the icing on top.
- Repeat with the second and third cake layer.
- The cake should keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days.
