It’s that time of year when all the coffee shops start selling lattes with festive flavors. Anytime I see a Holiday drink menu roll out I can’t help but get inspired to translate those flavors into cake form (see also: my Peppermint Latte Cake and Hot Cocoa Cake recipes). I thought it was about time for a delicious Gingerbread Latte Cake and to my complete satisfaction (and after lots of recipe testing), this one checks all the boxes! 

The recipe starts with a moist, heavenly Gingerbread Cake that will have your kitchen smelling like Holiday cheer. Between the spices, the brown sugar, and the sticky sweet molasses, this Gingerbread Cake tastes like the real deal. It’s got a decadent crumb and is packed with delightful gingerbread flavor. I love using cake flour in most of my recipes to make my cakes as light as possible, but in the recipe testing sessions for this one, I did learn that all purpose flour makes the best structure. The texture turned out perfect in the end! 

The spiced gingerbread flavor in this cake pairs so perfectly with the richness of the Coffee Buttercream and tastes so reminiscent of a gingerbread latte. I was in Holiday cake heaven eating all the scraps as I decorated. The buttercream is so easy to whip up and uses instant coffee (espresso powder works too!) mixed with milk to add flavor. It’s so silky smooth and perfect for filling, frosting, and piping. 

I’ve really been in the Christmas spirit this year, so I decided to go super festive with the cake decorating on this one. The design may look a little complex, but I promise it’s super easy with the right tools. I started by frosting the cake smooth and adding a White Chocolate Ganache Drip on half of the cake. I piped coffee buttercream rosettes with Wilton Tip 1M in a cascading pattern up the side of the cake and around the top (really similar to this technique). Then, I added some gingerbread man marshmallows that I found at my local Fred Meyer (here are similar ones), piped coffee buttercream stars with Wilton Tips 4B and 32, and finished off the look with some pretty Holiday sprinkles. 

No matter how you choose to decorate, this cake is so delicious whether you’re a gingerbread latte fan already or simply love all Holiday flavors. Here’s a quick video of the cake decorating process I used in case you’re inspired:

If you’re into cake decorating videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube channel! You’ll find tons of decorating tutorials, recipe videos, and my Cake Basics series in video format. I’m always adding new videos there, so be sure to hit the subscribe button and be in the know when I post a new one. 

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Gingerbread Latte Cake Recipe

Inspired by the ever festive gingerbread latte at your local coffee shop, this cake features layers of fluffy spiced gingerbread cake paired perfectly with rich coffee buttercream. In other words, the perfect cozy Holiday cake!

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Servings 15 slices

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cake

• 2 3/4 Cups (360g) all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 Cup (150g) white granulated sugar
• 1/2 Cup (170g) packed brown sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 Cup (180ml) molasses
• 1 Cup (240ml) full fat buttermilk* DIY recipe in notes

Coffee Buttercream

• 1 Tbsp instant coffee powder or espresso powder
• 3 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
• 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 7 Cups (840g) powdered sugar
• 4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Decorations

• gingerbread man marshmallows link to similar ones below
• white chocolate ganache drip link to recipe below
• holiday sprinkles link below

Instructions

Make the Gingerbread Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and a parchment or wax paper circle fitted to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
• Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into a bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter on medium-high for two minutes. Add in the white and brown sugars and cream on medium-high for another two minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and molasses, turn the mixer to high, and beat for one full minute.
• With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. Batter will be thick, but pourable.
• Pour the batter into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 30-35 minutes. They’re done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they’re entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.

Make the Coffee Buttercream

• Combine the instant coffee powder (or espresso powder) with the whole milk and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter on med-high until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes), scraping down the bowl and paddle a few times in between.
• Add powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle between intervals. Then add the vanilla, the coffee/espresso milk mixture, and salt. Mix on low until fully incorporated, about one minute.

Assembly

• Once the Gingerbread Cakes have cooled completely, level and torte each layer to your desired height. Fill and crumb coat the cake layers with Coffee Buttercream. Place the crumb coated cake into the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to firm up before moving on.
• To create the cake design pictured, frost a smooth layer of Coffee Buttercream around the cake and place it back into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, then create drips on half of the cake with White Chocolate Ganache.
• Fit one piping bag with Wilton tip 1M, a second piping bag with Wilton tip 4B, and a third with Wilton tip 32. Divide the remaining Coffee Buttercream amongst the three bags. Pipe rosettes with Wilton tip 1M in a diagonal direction up the side of the cake, continuing halfway around the top rim. Place gingerbread men marshmallows decoratively between the rosettes. Pipe stars with Wilton tips 4B and 32 around the rosettes and marshmallows, continuing up the side of the cake and halfway around the top edge. Here is a similar technique for the piping. Finish the look with Holiday sprinkles.

Notes

DIY Buttermilk recipe: add 1 Tbsp of white vinegar to a jar and top it with 1 Cup of whole milk. Stir and let sit for 15 minutes before using in the recipe. 

Make Ahead Tips: 

1. The Gingerbread Cake can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered tightly in plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, you can cover with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to two months before thawing to room temperature. 
2. The Coffee Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency. 

Did you make this Gingerbread Latte Cake recipe? I want to know how it went! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram and show me! I love to see what you create.

The post Gingerbread Latte Cake Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

There’s something about using buttercream to glue candy onto gingerbread that evokes whimsy and creativity, no matter what age you are. It’s one of my favorite Holiday traditions, and although it’s a whole lot of fun to decorate a gingerbread house, I find that they end up being more for displaying than eating. Maybe it’s because in order to get a solid structure, you’ve got to make sure the gingerbread is rock hard, or maybe it’s because you’re just so proud of your creation that it’s too pretty to eat. Either way, I wanted to pair the fun of creative candy placement with a gingerbread cake that actually tastes good enough to eat! Behold:

So much fun, right? I actually made a similar gingerbread cake last year, but decided to revamp it this year to focus more on tweaking the flavors. Last year, my cake was a little too dense and molasses-y, and did not pair super well with the rich chocolate ganache it was covered in. So this year I made a few changes to amplify flavor and create a gingerbread cake that’s moist and delicious, tastefully spiced, and so easy to whip up!

I decided to pair the gingerbread cake with a cinnamon-vanilla buttercream filling to really bring out the flavor in the cake. I chose chocolate buttercream for the finish because it actually makes the cake look like gingerbread, so when decorated with candy and white chocolate ganache, it has more of a striking resemblance to the gingerbread house creations we know and love. Thankfully, the chocolate buttercream actually pairs so well with the cake and filling flavors, so you’ve got a Holiday cake that looks too pretty to eat but actually tastes good! A win win in my book.  

For decorating this cake, all you need is your favorite Christmas candy, a half batch of vanilla buttercream, some pretty piping tips, and imagination that’s fueled by Holiday spirit! I love Wilton tip 4B (the open star tip) for whimsical finish work like this, and I’ve also used Wilton tip 3 to pipe some small dots. The white chocolate ganache drip is totally optional, but it reminds me of the royal icing that’s used to glue gingerbread structures together, so I added one for looks. It’s got such a light flavor that it doesn’t clash with all the rest of the flavors going on. I’ve got the recipe here just in case you want to add one yourself!

Here’s a quick video to demonstrate the decorating techniques I’ve used to create this gingerbread cake: 

Since the design of this cake is meant to be a bit childlike and fun, decorating it would be such a fun project to do with little ones! Just an idea for your long Holiday weekend as an alternative to the traditional gingerbread house. Whatever you decide to do design-wise, I think these flavors make the perfect Christmassy dessert to celebrate the season!

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Gingerbread Layer Cake Recipe

A Holiday classic: layers of moist and flavorful gingerbread cake filled with spiced vanilla buttercream, topped with chocolate buttercream and Christmas candy. 

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cake

• 3 3/4 cups (400g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 1/8 cup (254g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup (310g) granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup (95g) packed brown sugar
• 5 eggs, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (118ml) molasses
• 1 1/2 cup (355ml) full fat buttermilk* see notes for diy recipe

Cinnamon Vanilla Buttercream Filling

• 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups (420g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 1 1/2 cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 5 cups (600g) powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup (63g) natural, unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 Tbsp (60ml) whole milk, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

Make The Gingerbread Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch or four 6-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and a wax paper circle fitted to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans. 
• Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Add in white and brown sugars and beat on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla and molasses and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more. 
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the buttermilk and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. Batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
• Pour batter into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 35-40 minutes. They’re done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they’re entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.

Make The Cinnamon Vanilla Buttercream

• In a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. Cream butter on med-high until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes), scraping down bowl and paddle a few times in between. Add powdered sugar/cinnamon mixture a few cups at a time, scraping down bowl and paddle between intervals. Mix on medium until fully incorporated.
• Turn mixer to low and add vanilla and milk. Mix on medium for two minutes. Scrape down bowl and paddle and add salt. Mix for another minute on medium until incorporated.

Make The Chocolate Buttercream

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip butter on medium speed until creamy and light in color, about four minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle and add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, salt, and vanilla extract. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for two minutes.

Assembly

• Fill and crumb coat the room temperature cake layers with Cinnamon Vanilla Buttercream and chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Frost the final coat of the cake with Chocolate Buttercream and chill for another 30 minutes. Decorate by adding a white chocolate ganache drip (optional) and adhering candy to the cake with Vanilla Buttercream. Alternatively you can adhere the candy with Chocolate Buttercream or Cinnamon Vanilla Buttercream.

Notes

*Homemade Buttermilk Recipe: if you can’t find full fat buttermilk at your local store, you can easily make it yourself by adding 4 tsp white vinegar to a jar and pouring 1 cup of whole milk over the top. Give it a few whisks and let it sit for 15 minutes before using or placing in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.  

Make Ahead Tips: The Gingerbread Cake can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, for up to one day. Alternatively, you can tightly wrap the cake layers and place them in the freezer for up to two months before thawing and using.

The buttercream recipes can be made ahead and stored in airtight containers at room temperature for up to one day. Alternatively, you can store them in the refrigerator for up to two weeks before bringing back to room temperature and re-whipping with your stand mixer to bring them back to the correct consistency.

What are you planning on making for your Holiday dessert table this year? I really hope you get a chance to make this cake! If you love the flavor of spicy gingerbread + the soft, fluffy texture of cake, this recipe is a real Christmas treat. Let me know if you make it by tagging me on Instagram or letting me know in the comments! Happy Holidays! 

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