Vegan gingerbread cake with custard buttercream

That is my final recipe of 2022 and I’m signing off with one thing very particular. It’s my gran’s layed gingerbread recipe that my mum has kindly allowed me to veganise for my weblog. My mum makes this cake for Christmas yearly and everybody loves it. It’s one among many Christmas desserts my mum makes (this candy tooth I complain about every so often runs in my household…) and it’s a non negotiable a part of the Christmas menu in her opinion…

My makes an attempt at veganising this cake have been fairly hilarious and just a little irritating, I received’t lie. My gran’s recipe ebook has some obscure models of measurements, which led me to make some errors initially. One factor I realised after my makes an attempt on the custard buttercream have turned out just a little beneath par was that when my mum says ‘tablespoons’ she truly means a selected tablespoon that was part of my gran’s marriage ceremony crockery set and mentioned tablespoon measures 20 ml (versus 15 ml) so I saved on utilizing too little flour for the quantity of cream.

Lastly, we labored it out at which level my mum appeared geniunely bewildered that I didn’t know that she meant ‘gran’s tablespoons’ though I’m fairly positive she by no means harassed that time. Anyway, we had snicker and I gave her a delicate ribbing about how delightfully imprecise some elements of gran’s recipe have been.

In the long run, we hit the jackpot and I’m tremendous happy because it’s one among my favorite Christmas truffles. The idea behind this cake is definitely pretty much like a tiramisu though the ratios of biscuit base to cream is completely different and so are the flavours. My mum’s cake has 4 layers, however I needed it extra regal and photogenic so ended up selecting 5. Though it’s tempting, I don’t suggest stacking any greater than 5 sheets as the overall weight of the cake is an excessive amount of and a few of the buttercream could begin to squeeze out.

The bottom of this dessert is gingerbread, however as an alternative of slicing it into cookies, it’s formed into giant rectangular sheets. These sheets get moistened with a selection of soaking liquid – Amaretto, lemon water, chai tea – and stacked collectively in between layers of custard buttercream and a few bitter jam for distinction. Your complete edifice (it seems like one if you end up constructing it) then wants relaxation (72 hour is right) for the gingerbread layers to melt and for the flavours to develop and mingle.

Flavours apart, what’s nice about this cake is which you can cut up the work into phases and make some objects so far as two weeks forward of time. My mum tells me that she bakes the gingerbread bases two weeks earlier than Christmas and doesn’t put together the cream till 6-5 days forward and solely assembles the entire thing 4 days earlier than Christmas. It’s a good cake for if you wish to make one thing spectacular, crowd-pleasing (who doesn’t like gingerbread?) but one thing that doesn’t require any work on the day. I’m a large fan of this cake and I’m so happy that I now have it in my fridge – it makes me really feel rather less homesick this Christmas. I hope you’ll be tempted to make it and that you’ll get pleasure from it as a lot as my household does.

MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS

GINGERBREAD SHEETS

VEGAN BUTTER: I used vegan butter block (Violife) in each gingerbread bases and buttercream. One other model, which I truly desire however it’s not obtainable domestically to me, is the Danish model Naturli. Use any vegan butter you get pleasure from, however ensure that to go for one which is available in a block, not the softened, spreadable selection that is available in a bathtub.

MUSCOVADO SUGAR: Muscovado sugar, which is way much less refined than different sugars so it comprises loads of naturally current molasses, contributes loads of flavour to those gingerbread sheets. It exists in darkish and lightweight selection, and whereas each will work, I like to recommend utilizing darkish muscovado sugar for optimum flavour. Muscovado sugar is kind of a moist sugar so it tends to clump loads when being retailer. If yours has any clumps, squash them between your fingertips earlier than including to the bowl with butter.

GROUND FLAX: If you’re making these with common flour, there isn’t a want so as to add flax in any respect. If nonetheless, you wish to make these gluten-free use a well-balanced GF flour mix (that comprises some starches) and add some flax to maintain these from crumbling.

PLANT MILK: I like utilizing protein wealthy soy milk in baking however, any plant milk will do on this recipe.

BAKING SODA: Baking soda is what helps these gingerbread sheets rise just a little and stops them from being too dense.

SPICES: I used the next mixture of traditional gingerbread spices to flavour these gingerbread sheets: ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves. You possibly can alter the quantities and perhaps swap out some spices to your liking. All spice, coriander and black pepper are sometimes additionally used.

FLOUR: all goal (also called plain) flour is what I used to make these and this GF flour mix to make gluten-free model.

CRANBERRY LAYER

CRANBERRIES: I cooked down unsweetened contemporary (frozen work nicely too) cranberries to create a tangy layer of filling, which supplies a pleasant distinction with the candy custard buttercream and gingerbread. You would additionally use a prepared made jam or protect should you desire – my mum makes use of her selfmade bitter cherry jam, which works a deal with. Plum jam additionally works nicely. In case your jam isn’t very bitter, be sure you lower the quantity of sugar added to the buttercream to make sure the dessert isn’t overly candy.

CUSTARD BUTTERCREAM

VEGAN SINGLE CREAM: vegan cream supplies the bottom for the custard element. I used Oatly single cream however my mum additionally made it for me as soon as utilizing full fats coconut milk and it was simply as good, albeit with an added flavour of coconut. I’ve not had the prospect to check, however I’m fairly positive that thick plant milk may also render good outcomes (Oatly barista, for instance) as my mum’s non-vegan recipe is solely based mostly on full fats dairy milk.

FLOUR: all goal (also called plain) flour is among the two flours I used to thicken the custard. Within the absence of egg yolks – which my mum’s non-vegan recipe doesn’t use both btw – we’re utilizing what could appear to be a good bit of flour. You you wish to maintain this dessert gluten-free, use GF flour mix or enhance the quantity of starch by weight.

POTATO STARCH: potato starch is what my mum makes use of, at the side of plain flour, to agency up the custard base. I’ve additionally tried utilizing cornflour (generally known as cornstarch within the US) and it work simply as nicely. Use the identical quantity by weight.

SUGAR: I used caster sugar to sweeten the custard and though you could possibly use any sugar you want, concentrate on the truth that non white sugar will flip the color of the buttercream darker. This buttercream is kind of candy, which you’ll alter to your liking, however I personally like the way it sweetness shines towards lip puckering unsweetened cranberries.

VANILLA: glug of vanilla makes this custard buttercream actually scrumptious so I like to recommend utilizing as a lot as 1 tbsp for this quantity of cream. Orange zest can be a pleasant addition, however I needed to maintain this already concerned recipe so simple as I can.

VEGAN BUTTER: as we’re making a kind of buttercream for this cake, we’ll want vegan butter to stiffen the filling and provides it a whipped texture. I used vegan butter block (Violife).

HOW TO MAKE THE BUTTERCREAM

Begin off with making a easy custard in a pot, permit it to go chilly. Whip softened vegan butter in a meals processor till clean and lump-free, use a spatula to assist the method.

As soon as the butter is clean, add chilly custard to the meals processor – tablespoon by tablespoon – incorporating nicely after every addition. By the top of this course of, you need to find yourself with a secure and fluffy custard buttercream.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE

Initially, ensure that all of the elements are chilly. Place a sheet of gingerbread on a floor (tray, plate) that may comfortably slot in your fridge. Brush every successive gingerbread – don’t brush upfront as this can make gingerbread fragile and straightforward to interrupt – with 2 tbsp of soaking liquid of selection and permit that liquid to soak in earlier than topping with a layer of custard buttercream (or cranberry jelly).

Though this quantity of dough can provide you as many as 7 layers of gingebread base, don’t be tempted to stack this cake too excessive – I might say that 5 layers is the higher restrict – as in any other case the cake turns into too heavy, which signifies that the underside layers get squashed and the filling begins to be pushed out as an alternative of staying in between layers.