This Gingerbread Layer Cake has sweet, spiced gingerbread cake with a just-sweet-enough cinnamon mascarpone frosting, covered with soft gingerbread cookie tiles!
Course Dessert
Cuisine Cakes
Servings 12slices
Author Amee
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies:
½ recipe Soft Gingerbread Cookies(See recipe notes for link. Make these the day before!)
8ozmascarpone cheese(take out of the fridge ~30 minutes before you need it)
Instructions
For Cookies:
Make half batch of my Soft Gingerbread Cookies (see recipe notes for link). The dough should rest in the refrigerator overnight for all those spicy flavors to marry, so make the dough the day before!
Roll dough to about ¼" thickness into a long rectangle at least 6" wide. I then used an embossed rolling pin (see note) to carefully press a pattern into the dough.
Trim the dough into long rectangles about 1.5"x6" in size. A pizza cutter (see note) is an excellent tool for this job. You may gather the scraps and re-roll as necessary. You will need about 13 gingerbread tiles to cover the outside of the cake. It never hurts to make a few extra just in case!
Place the gingerbread tiles about an inch apart on cookie sheets lined with silpats (see note) or parchment paper. Place the cookie sheets in the freezer while the oven preheats to 350° F.
Bake the gingerbread tiles for 7-8 minutes, or until slightly golden. While warm, clean up the edges of any tiles that have baked up larger than 1.5"x6" or aren't straight. Allow the tiles to cool completely on the pan.
For Cake:
Preheat oven to 350° F (if not already preheated from the gingerbread cookies). Grease three 6" cake pans (see note) and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt) and whisk to combine. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add sugar and brown sugar, then beat until light and fluffy. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary throughout mixing.
Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to incorporate before adding the next. Add the molasses and vanilla and mix to combine.
Add ⅓ of the flour mixture and mix until not quite combined. Add half the buttermilk (see note) and mix to incorporate. Repeat alternating additions of the remaining flour and buttermilk, mixing just until combined.
Divide the batter equally between the three prepared cake pans (see note). If you don't have three, you can hold the dough at room temperature while you bake the cake in batches. Be sure to wash, dry, and re-grease the pans between uses. A kitchen scale (see note) is helpful in ensuring you have divided the batter equally, which will ensure even baking and uniform cake layers.
Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in the pans for at least 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For Frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat until pale and fluffy.
Sift in the powdered sugar and add the vanilla bean paste (see note) and cinnamon. Beat to combine.
Add the mascarpone cheese and beat thoroughly to combine.
To Assemble:
Frost the cake with the frosting. I found it helpful to chill the cake with a crumbcoat before completing it. This is a tall cake, and the chilled cake holds up much better this way. Once chilled, complete frosting the cake. Reserve some of the frosting to pipe on top, if desired.
Apply the gingerbread tiles to the outside of the cake. I finished the cake with a sprinkle of sparkling sugar.Enjoy!
Notes
Note on gingerbread cookies: I used my Soft Gingerbread Cookies recipe for the gingerbread tiles. You need a half recipe for the gingerbread tiles. The dough should rest in the refrigerator overnight for all those spicy flavors to marry, so make the dough the day before! Once the dough is made and chilled, you can follow the rolling/baking instructions in this recipe. :)Note on buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk, you can make a quick substitution with milk (I find 2% milkfat or greater works best) and vinegar or lemon juice. For this recipe, put ¾ teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup, then add enough milk to come up to the ¾ cup line. Let sit for 5 minutes, then it's ready for use!Note on embossed rolling pin: I am in love with this pin! What an easy way to make dough extra special! Embossed pins can be pricey, but I found a very cost-effective pin here. Just note that this pin is seasonal, as it has snowflakes on it.Note on pizza cutter: A pizza cutter is the best tool for cutting out the gingerbread tiles! If you're in need of one, you can find one here.Note on silpats: I bake my cookies on silpats because they're reusable, nothing sticks to them, and the bottoms of the gingerbread browns more slowly. If you'd like to get some silpats for yourself, you can find them here.Note on cake pans: This recipe is for a 6" triple-layer cake. I prefer cake pans that are lighter in color, because I find that the cakes bake up moister (sorry not sorry). You can find 6" cake pans here.If you don't have three pans, the batter will still be good at room temperature if you need to bake them individually. See note on using a kitchen scale--it's much easier to divide the batter equally when you have one!Note on kitchen scale: To ensure I have the same amount of batter in each pan, I use my kitchen scale (link here) and weigh the pans. It's hard to eyeball the amount when you're using three pans, especially if you don't have three and you're baking the cake layers individually. Weighing the batter ensures even baking and cake layers that are uniform in size.Note on vanilla bean paste: You know me, it's in everything! Delicious and more economical than whole vanilla beans, this ingredient is my go-to for an extra punch of flavor. You can find it online here. If you prefer to substitute, you can use an equal measure of vanilla extract.