Christmas to me associates with foods that have hints of mint, chocolate, orange or ginger! So today – I’m sharing this wonderful gingerbread cake recipe that I have made several times before and also gifted to some very special people this year 🙂 I think it’s so nice and festive, a lovely gift + makes your home smell amazing when it’s in the oven! The cake is warm and moist and the cream cheese frosting is sweet, smooth and also has a nice citrus kick to it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

For the cake:

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar or molasses

1/4 cup honey

2 1/4 cup plain flour

2 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 tsp ground clove

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup warm water

For the cream cheese frosting:

100 g softened butter

220 g cream cheese

2 cups powdered sugar

zest of 1 orange

juice of 1/2 orange

procedures:

1. In a bowl mix the dry ingredients (apart from the sugars) in a bowl, set aside.

2. In a bigger bowl- mix oil, eggs, white sugar until pale and thick. Then add the brown sugar and honey – mix well.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and the warm water. Mix well until smooth.

4. Line a square pan with a baking sheet, pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes at 180 degrees C.

5. Once it’s done – leave it in the oven but turn it off and open the door up a bit to allow the cake to cool gradually – this will prevent it from collapsing in the middle from a sudden drop in temperature.

6. As the cake cools, beat the soft cream cheese and butter until completely smooth. Then add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time until full incorporated. Grate in the zest of one orange and squeeze in the juice of 1/2 the orange, mix well.

7. If the cake is flat – perfect, if not- flip it over and spread the cream cheese frosting on the base of the cake to have an even surface.

Enjoy!