How to Make a Gingerbread Naked Cake
Gingerbread Cake
You will need:
(3) 8″ cake pans
pan spray
For cake:
(3) boxes Duncan Hines Vanilla cake mix
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup molasses
1 cup vegetable oil
12 eggs
4 1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
For sugared cranberry topping:
1-2 cups cranberries
1/2 cup Karo™ corn syrup
1 cup sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat three 8 inch round cake pans with cooking spray, or grease and flour the pans tapping out the excess flour. Set the prepared pans aside.
2. In a large bowl and using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cake mix, buttermilk, molasses, oil and eggs on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until well blended. Scrape the sides of the well and mix again until all the ingredients are incorporated.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, filling each one approximately 3/4 full. You may have a little remaining batter (you could make a few cupcakes).
4. Place the pans in the preheated oven on middle rack. Bake the cakes for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Remove the pans from the oven and place on wire cooling racks for 25-30 minutes.
6. Run a knife around the edges of the cakes, flip the pans over and gently extract the cakes.
7. Return the cakes to the wire racks and finish cooling completely before frosting and decorating.
8. Meanwhile, make one batch of cream cheese icing. Recipe below.
To assemble and decorate the cake:
1. Before decorating, trim the crowns from the cake tops with a cake cutter or long serrated knife so they are flat and even.
2. Place one of the 8 inch cakes on a cake board. Using an angle cake spatula spread about 1/2 cup frosting evenly across the top of the cake layer. Place the second 8 inch cake on top of the first, with the cut side on the bottom.
3. Repeat step 2 with remaining 8″ cake.
4. Using the angled cake spatula, lightly cover the sides of the cake completely with a very thin layer of icing. After the cake is coated in icing, scrape sides again with angled spatula to pull any excess icing off.
5. In a small bowl, mix cranberries and Karo™ syrup until berries are coated.
6. Pull berries out using a fork or spoon. Pour 1 cup sugar in separate bowl. Place corn syrup coated berries in bowl of sugar. Using fork or hands, coat berries in sugar.
7. Pull berries out of bowl and place onto cake as a decorative topping!
Gingerbread Cake
Equipment
- (3) 8" cake pans
- pan spray
Ingredients
For cake:
- 3 boxes Duncan Hines Vanilla cake mix
- 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 12 eggs
- 4 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
For sugared cranberry topping:
- 1-2 cups cranberries
- 1/2 cup Karo™ corn syrup
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat three 8 inch round cake pans with cooking spray, or grease and flour the pans tapping out the excess flour. Set the prepared pans aside.
- In a large bowl and using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cake mix, buttermilk, molasses, oil and eggs on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until well blended. Scrape the sides of the well and mix again until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, filling each one approximately 3/4 full. You may have a little remaining batter (you could make a few cupcakes).
- Place the pans in the preheated oven on middle rack. Bake the cakes for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the pans from the oven and place on wire cooling racks for 25-30 minutes.
- Run a knife around the edges of the cakes, flip the pans over and gently extract the cakes.
- Return the cakes to the wire racks and finish cooling completely before frosting and decorating.
- Meanwhile, make one batch of cream cheese icing. Recipe below.
To assemble and decorate the cake:
- Before decorating, trim the crowns from the cake tops with a cake cutter or long serrated knife so they are flat and even.
- Place one of the 8 inch cakes on a cake board. Using an angle cake spatula spread about 1/2 cup frosting evenly across the top of the cake layer. Place the second 8 inch cake on top of the first, with the cut side on the bottom.
- Repeat step 2 with remaining 8" cake.
- Using the angled cake spatula, lightly cover the sides of the cake completely with a very thin layer of icing. After the cake is coated in icing, scrape sides again with angled spatula to pull any excess icing off.
- In a small bowl, mix cranberries and Karo™ syrup until berries are coated.
- Pull berries out using a fork or spoon. Pour 1 cup sugar in separate bowl. Place corn syrup coated berries in bowl of sugar. Using fork or hands, coat berries in sugar.
- Pull berries out of bowl and place onto cake as a decorative topping!
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Photos by Kelly Clare Photography
Gorgeous and YUM!
You are speaking my language with this one! I love a good dressed up box mix and gingerbread spice is my favorite dessert flavor.
You call yourself a baker? PLEASE!! The cupcakes at Trophy Cupcakes and Sprinkles are better than your garbage. But what do you expect from a small town farm girl who is not very sophisticated?
Looks fabulous!! I love all your recipes! I especially love your tutorials and appreciate them!! Good luck with your new bakery!
Thank you, that is so sweet!
I am in shock with the comment above. As you already know, so many people think your work is amazing. I am personally blown away by your talent and I DO parties, cake decorating, weddings, etc. Thank you for sharing your ideas for the rest of us to copy and pawn off as our own. I mean really, there’s no better way to be of service to others than to share your talent. So, thank you and Merry Christmas from one small town farm girl to the another!
Hey ANN ONONOUS (or however you spell your internet troll alias) Go away! No need to slander and be completely RUDE for no reason. Or better yet, why don’t you write under your REAL NAME, and stand behind the GARBAGE you’re speaking?! Not woman enough to call someone out without hiding behind your computer screen?????
Where is your cake stand from?
Anthropologie!
Hey girl!
Can you advise or link a short tutorial on how to do the cranberries in regards to placement. Were they cooked at all? I just want to anchor somehow so when cutting I don’t have berries everywhere ????????Thanks Your Biggest fan??? Damien Felix on FB
Hi Damien! No, they aren’t cooked. Just placed on top of the cake, no particular rhyme or reason. They will fall when the cake is cut, or you can take them off before cutting to alleviate cranberries spilling. 🙂
Do take them off or you risk the Great Cranberry Race in all directions. Just scatter them on the service plates and all will be lovely.
In the instructions, you say to put cake mix and all other ingredients into the mixer to combine and the next step says to add 1/2 the dry ingredients… Are you referring to the cake mixes already added in the first step?
Good eye Nancy! I had an unnecessary extra step in there. Whoops! Edit made 🙂
If I am making this cake for tomorrow night , can I decorate now and leave it out?
Hi Lina,
If you decorate the cake today, I’d suggest popping it into the refrigerator until tomorrow. Wait to put the cranberry garnish on at room temp. (The cranberries lose their sugared look in the refrigerator). Happy Baking!
Hi
Looking to make cake today but only want to use 2 boxes of cake mix, how should I reduce the recipe to make just two boxes.
Thanks,
Michelle
Hi! This is a dumb question but is the cake mix Duncan Hines French Vanilla? I cant find just vanilla anywherrrrreeee!!! Thank you so much.. I am dying to make this for the holidays, it looks so pretty and YUM!!!
Yes, that will work!
How do you get that iced look on the greenery?
I sugared them just like you would with cranberries!
What type of greenery did you use? This is beautiful!
Just greens I clipped from my yard!
Jenny cooks but doesn’t bake? 3 boxes of cake mix, I’m disappointed because it’s so simple to make a scratch cake.
Hi Rebecca,
Sorry to hear you are disappointed. I bake both types of cakes, both scratch and doctored cake mix. Love sharing different kinds of recipes with my audience so there is something for everyone.
Three BOXES cake mix for THREE baking pans?? Has anyone actually made this? I bake A LOT and needed a quick and easy second dessert for thanksgiving. This was a DISASTER. The cakes overflowed and I didn’t even put them all in. How is 3 boxes not a typo? I could have easily made 2 layer cakes with all the mix I had. I think Jenny made a different cake and then just made up this recipe or something. Flavor was awesome but all was ruined by overflow. Including cleaning my oven.
Hi Jen,
In the third instruction it says how full to full your pan as well as you may have extra and to make a few cupcakes if you like. Sorry to hear your pans overflowed. I made the cake pictured, from this recipe listed here. Merry Christmas.
Jenny