OH TREACLE. It’s just the most wonderful time of the yeeeaaaaaaar! So, as a Christmas present from me to you, behold my gllooorious Ginger & Treacle Winter Wonderland Cake.
In all my blogging and baking I have never been so eager to draft a post and upload a recipe to my website. This is one of my favourite cakes I’ve made in a long time. I am not the greatest fan of treacle, it’s distinct molasses flavor is fairly bitter, and slightly overwhelming for my super super sweet tooth. However, when paired with ginger and ingredients of the gods, like golden syrup (mmmm) it produces a moist, squidgy, warmingly spiced cake. It’s probably also masked from the shear quantity of sugar in this cake, but HEY HO it’s Christmas!!!
I decorated his cake in a thick layer of vanilla buttercream, and topped with handmade Christmas tree’s. Obbbviosuly there was glitter involved too.
I hope this cake fills you with copious amounts of Christmas cheer that you can spread far and wide for all to hear ❤ Let me know if you have any questions. Lots of Love & Merry Christmas xoxoxoxoxoxoxx Sofia xoxoxoxoxoxoxx
Ingredients: – I doubled this recipe for my 4 layered cake 🙂
- 250g Unsalted Butter
- 250g Muscovado sugar
- 275g Golden Syrup
- 225g Treacle
- 500g Plain Flour
- 2 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1 tsp. Bicarb of Soda
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 ½ tbsp Ground Ginger
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3 Medium Eggs, free range
- 350ml Milk
- 200g Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 500g Icing Sugar
- 3 tbsp. Milk
- 1tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1tsp. white colouring
- glitter
For the Christmas trees:
- Ready-to-roll Green Fondant Icing
- Straight Pretzel Sticks
Method:
- Start by preheating your oven to 160°C Fan.
- Grease and line two 8″ baking tins with butter, and put to one side.
- Pop your butter, syrup and treacle, and muscovado sugar into a large pan and place on medium heat. Heat your golden mixture until all melted and combined. Set to one side.
- In a large bowl, sift in your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger and cinnamon. add the Ground Ginger.
- Pour your slightly cooled syrup mixture into the flour, and beat together with a wooden spoon.
- Crack your eggs into the mix, and top up with your milk.
- Fold together until you have a silky smooth cake batter ❤
- Pour your mix evenly between your cake tins, and place in the oven.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until golden and ‘springy’ to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool in their tins.
- Whilst your sponge is cooling, it’s time to make the buttercream.
- Place your room temperature butter into a medium bowl, or a free standing mixer. Sift in 1/2 of your icing sugar, and beat using an electric whisk, or a suitable setting.
- Beat until the mix forms a firm frosting.
- Sift in the remaining icing sugar, followed by your vanilla extract, milk and white colouring.
- Beat again for roughly 1 minute, until you achieve a silky, irresistible buttercream.
- It’s time to assemble… Remove your sponges carefully from their tins, and level-of the domed cakes with a bread knife, so you have 2 flat surfaces on each sponge.
- Place one onto your cake display/ plate of choice.
- Spread 1/4 of your buttercream ontop of the first sponge, right to the edges. Sandwich your remaining sponge ontop.
- Spread the remaining buttercream ontop of the final sponge, and around your cake to cover all the sides.
- To get your cake as perfect as can be, use a palette knife for spreading.
- I like to spread a thin layer of frosting all over the cake, and pop it into the fridge to firm for 10mins – this is called a crumb coat!
- Then once firm, spread the remaining buttercream evenly around all edges – this will stop the crumbs being dragged into your frosting 🙂
- CRUCIAL STEP – SPRINKLE WITH EDIBLE GLITTER.
- Finally, to make my christmas tree’s… Start by rolling a cone of fondant icing, roughly 2 inches high.
- Take some nail scissors (preferable with a slightly curved edge) and make little V-cuts into the fondant, starting from the top of the cone, to make the branches for your tree.
- Finally prod a pretzel stick in the base as the tree trunk – I got mine from M&S 🙂
- And decorate away!!
Happy Baking 🙂 Sofia xxxxxxx
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