gingerbread

Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Even though it’s not Christmas anymore, I feel like gingerbread is a great winter flavor. So don’t be discouraged to still make this! No need to wait 11 months 😉 I whipped up this cake annnd it is AMAZING! The perfect dessert to serve at a dinner party or in the morning with a cup of coffee or an afternoon tea. And this Frosting! Holy moly delicious deliciousness! Cream cheese frosting is one of my favorites and it’s really easy to make! No different than a regular buttercream. The recipe is in the post.

Go grab your aprons, start your ovens and let’s get to baking this gorgeous cake!

What you will need:

8 or 9 inch round springform pan sprayed with non-stick spray

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup molasses
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs

Cream Cheese Frosting:

6 oz. cream cheese at room temp
1/3 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional decorations (cranberries, little gingerbread cookies, etc.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together boiling water and baking soda. Whisk in molasses and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Let cool a few minutes before adding in eggs.

Whisk in vegetable oil and eggs into molasses mixture. Whisk into the dry mixture 1/3 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour into prepared pan and bake about 30 minutes or when a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack about 10 minutes.

Once slightly cooled, remove the side of the pan by first sliding a knife around the edge. Make the frosting.

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Add in powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Frost the cooled cake and decorate how you want. Store covered in the fridge.

Before serving, remove the cake from the fridge for 10-20 minutes to soften the cake.

Enjoy!

 

Gingerbread Play Dough

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Attention all parents, nannies, and just anyone who loves play dough! Make this over winter break. I repeat: make this over winter break! It’s so easy, super fun, and smells delicious! You probably already have all the ingredients on hand and it’s hours of fun for your little ones (or you). Liam made this at school and his teacher gave him the recipe to make at home.

Here he is having a blast rolling it out…

We had a ton of fun playing with it, probably a good hour!

A while back we made regular play dough which was also fun. There’s just something about making “Christmas” play dough that’s special 🙂 So here’s what you need:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2 Tbsp ground ginger
1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup water

Mix in a bowl and knead until smooth. Have fun! Store in a ziplock bag.

Gingerbread Cookies

I know Christmas is over, but I was really sick the week before and was not motivated at all to post or bake. But here I am! Better late than never, right?! Liam was sick, too. He actually had pink eye in both eyes! Thank God we are all healthy now and were fine for Christmas. And here we are! Back in full force and ready to bake and share recipes 🙂 I hope you all had a great holiday with friends and family!

The recipe below is actually half of what I usually do when I make these. I got about 21 cookies so if you need more, just double it and you’ll get 40 + depending on the cookie size. Have fun with it, get the kids involved. Seriously, the dough is very easy to work with and the cookies are just so darn cute! So here we go!

What you will need:

Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
Cookie cutters

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Set aside. In another large bowl or bowl of your electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add molasses and egg and beat until well combined. Slowly add in flour mixture until dough is formed.

Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. On a lightly floured surface (I use parchment paper plus flour), roll out one of the dough discs. Usually gingerbread cookies are pretty thin so I’d say about 1/8 of an inch thick. Then, cut out with desired shapes.

Place the cookies on a cookie sheet and stick in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate however you want and enjoy!

I left mine naked because I think they are so cute. Plus, I used sparkling sugar on the trees because I’m using those for a cake you will see in the next few days 😉

Gingerbread Muffins

Don’t worry! It’s not Christmas just yet. These muffins are PERFECT for fall! I found the recipe in a book I got from Crate & Barrel called 500 Cupcakes. I looked at the ingredients and was intrigued! AND I had everything on hand, no grocery shopping needed 🙂 Make these muffins for  a great afternoon treat, after school snack or just because!

What you will need:

7 cupcake liners

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Just under 1/2 cup milk

For the drizzle:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Note: This is half the recipe. Feel free to double it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and brown sugar. Add all the other ingredients and stir until combined. Pour batter into liners 2/3 of the way. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

For the drizzle, stir together ingredients. Drizzle over muffins with a spoon. Enjoy!


Store at room temp in air tight container.