Irish Feather Gingerbread Cake Food

GINGERBREAD CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each with a parchment round.
• Stir together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
• Combine the brown sugar and butter in another large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined (it's fine if the mixture looks a little curdled).
• Stir the molasses into the boiling water in a large spouted measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the molasses mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, increase the speed to medium and beat just until smooth.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 22 to 27 minutes. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans on a wire rack. Once cool, invert the cakes onto the rack, then peel off and discard the parchment.
• For the frosting: Combine the butter and cream cheese in a clean mixer bowl. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the confectioner's' sugar, beating until combined. Add the vanilla and gradually increase the speed to high. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, adding up to 1 tablespoon of milk if needed so the frosting is spreadable.
• Place one cake layer flat-side down on a cake stand or platter. Top with about 3/4 cup of the frosting, spreading almost to the edges using an offset spatula. Place the remaining cake layer on top, flat-side up. Spread the remaining frosting on the entire cake and smooth the top and sides with the offset spatula. Refrigerate the cake while you decorate the gingerbread cookies.
• For the decorations: Meanwhile, microwave the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl until just melted. (Alternatively, melt the chips in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; do not let bowl touch the water.) Let cool slightly and put into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip (or use a plastic ziptop bag with the corner snipped off). Pipe eyes and smiles on the gingerbread cookie faces.
• Arrange the merry gingerbread men side by side around the bottom edge of the cake, pressing in slightly to adhere. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the nonpareils.

CLASSIC GINGERBREAD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a 9-x-13-inch cake pan.
• Beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the lemon juice, and ginger.
• In a separate bowl, sift the flour with the spices and the salt. Add this to the butter mixture and stir until blended. Stir the boiling water and baking soda and add this quickly to the batter, stirring quickly and then stir in the crystallized ginger (the batter will be fluid). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes, until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in the pan and cut into squares to serve with a dusting of icing sugar and a dollop of whipped cream.
• The cake will keep, wrapped, for up to 3 days.

IRISH FEATHER GINGERBREAD CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350. Generously butter a 10 inch Bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out the excess flour.
• In large bowl, sift together; flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and baking soda and set aside.
• I large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in brown sugar and molasses and cook 3 - 4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the beaten eggs.
• Stir in flour mixture and with a wooden spoon, beat until smooth.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the Guiness and water to a boil. Stir into the batter until smooth. Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cook on a rack about 5 minutes.
• Invert cake onto a platter and let cool 5 minutes more.
• Serve with fresh whipped cream.

OLD-FASHIONED GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 by 8-inch cake pan and line with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.
• Place the rum and raisins in a small pan, cover and heat until the rum boils. Turn off the heat and set aside. Place the butter and molasses in another small pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Pour the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cool for 5 minutes, then mix in the sour cream and orange zest.
• Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together in a small bowl. Mix with your hands until combined. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture and mix only until smooth. Drain the raisins and add them and crystallized ginger to the mixture with a spatula. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
• When the cake has cooled, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and orange juice and pour it onto the gingerbread, allowing it to drip down the sides. Allow the glaze to set. Cut the gingerbread into 9 squares.

GUINNESS GINGERBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line your cake pan with aluminium foil and grease it, or grease your foil tray.
• Put the butter, syrup, dark brown sugar, stout, ginger, cinnamon and ground cloves into a pan and melt gently over a low heat.
• Take off the heat and whisk in the flour and baking soda. You will need to be patient and whisk thoroughly to get rid of any lumps.
• Whisk the sour cream and eggs together in a measuring jug and then beat into the gingerbread mixture, whisking again to get a smooth batter.
• Pour this into your cake/foil pan, and bake for about 45 minutes; when it's ready it will be gleamingly risen at the centre, and coming away from the pan at the sides.
• Let the gingerbread cool before cutting into slices or squares.

GINGERBREAD & HONEY LOAF

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and butter and line a 900g loaf tin. Put the honey, butter and sugar in a saucepan and warm over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. Remove from the heat and pour in the milk and vanilla, then set aside to cool.
• Tip the flour into a bowl with the baking powder, spices and a pinch of salt. Add the egg, then gently fold in along with the melted butter mixture. Once combined, tip into the prepared tin, place on a baking tray, and bake for 40 mins until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool for 10 mins in the tin, then place on a cooling rack and leave to cool completely. Will keep in an airtight container for up to four days.

GINGERBREAD CAKE WITH CARAMEL BISCUIT ICING

Steps:

• Measure the milk and treacle into a saucepan (grease the measuring spoon with a little oil first and the treacle will easily slide off). Bring to a gentle simmer and stir until combined, then set aside to cool. Meanwhile, grease 3 x 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins with a little oil and line the bases with baking parchment (if you don't have enough cake tins, see tip). If the tins are any shallower than 4cm, line the sides with a deep collar too. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Measure the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and spices into a large bowl, then add ½ 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.
• In a jug, 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 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 don't do this until they've had at least 20 mins cooking. Cool the cakes in their tins for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack, peel off the parchment and leave to cool completely. 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 stack the cakes and cover the entire outside in a thin layer - don't worry about making the cake look too neat at this stage, as any crumbs trapped in the icing will be covered in the final coat. Chill the cake for 30 mins and the remaining icing for 20 mins (remove the icing from the fridge 10 mins before the cake to soften a little).
• When the icing on the cake is firm, remove it from the fridge and use the remaining icing to cover the cake. Smooth the sides using a palette knife, but leave peaks and dips on top for your snow scene. Top the cake generously with desiccated coconut, a dusting of sieved icing sugar and some edible glitter, if you like, then decorate the top and sides with gingerbread shapes (see tip). If you're not eating the cake within a few hours, store it in the fridge, but bring back to room temperature before serving. Wlll keep for 2 days.