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Gingerbread Traybake
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Gingerbread Traybake

A spiced traybake cake with ginger buttercream and mini gingerbread men biscuits
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Keyword Traybake
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 644kcal
Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 150 g Butter or baking spread
  • 165 g Golden syrup
  • 150 g Light brown sugar
  • 55 g Black treacle
  • 3 Eggs large
  • 185 ml Milk
  • 300 g Self raising flour
  • 1 ½ tbsp Ground ginger
  • 1 ½ tsp Mixed spice

For the buttercream

  • 160 g Butter softened
  • 320 g Icing sugar
  • 1 tsp Ground ginger
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract

For the gingerbread men biscuits

  • 150 g Plain flour
  • ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
  • 50 g Butter
  • 1 tsp Ground ginger
  • ½ tsp Mixed spice
  • 75 g Light brown sugar
  • 50 g Golden syrup
  • 25 ml Milk
  • 50 g Icing sugar
  • Splash of water to make a thick icing

Instructions

For the gingerbread biscuits

  • In a pan gently heat the golden syrup, set it aside to cool for 5 minutes
  • Put the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, and butter into a bowl and rub the mixture together with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs and there are no big lumps of butter
  • Add the ground ginger, mixed spice, and light brown sugar and stir them in
  • Pour the milk and golden syrup into the flour mixture, then mix until a dough forms. Wrap it in cling film and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge
  • Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, and line a baking tray with baking paper
  • Roll the dough out onto a mat or your work surface, dusted with flour, and cut out the mini gingerbread men shapes (I used a cutter that is 2" tall and 1.5" wide)
  • Place your cut out pieces onto the lined baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes and golden brown all over
  • Let them cool on the tray for at least 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack as the biscuit will be very delicate when hot, then let them cool fully on cooling racks
  • Mix the icing sugar with a splash of water and stir to create a thick paste. Put into a piping bag and decorate the gingerbread men with little faces and buttons if you like
  • If you make any extra that don't make it onto the cake, store them in an airtight container and eat within 5 days

To make the gingerbread cake

  • Pre-heat your oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, and grease and line a 12" x 9" traybake tin
  • Melt the butter, golden syrup, light brown sugar and black treacle together in a pan on a low heat. Once it is all melted and combined, leave to cool for 10 minutes
  • Whisk the eggs and milk together in a mixing bowl
  • Slowly pour the butter and syrup mixture into the eggs, whisking as you pour, until everything is combined
  • In another bowl, stir together the self raising flour, ground ginger and mixed spice
  • Slowly pour the egg and butter mixture into the flour, whisking as your pour, until everything is combined
  • Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool fully

To make the buttercream

  • Use an electric hand whisk to mix together the butter, ground ginger and icing sugar, when they start to come together, add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth. You can also add a splash of milk if it is too thick
  • Spread the frosting on top of the sponge
  • The buttercream will make the biscuits go soft, so add the biscuits right before serving, or serve alongside the cake
  • Store any leftovers in an airtight container in a cool place, and eat within 3 days

Notes

If you'd like to make this in a 8" or 9" square tin, here are the ingredients:

For the cake

  • 100g Butter or baking spread
  • 110g Golden syrup
  • 100g Light brown sugar
  • 35g Black treacle
  • 2 Eggs, large
  • 125ml Milk
  • 200g Self raising flour
  • 1 tbsp Ground ginger
  • 1 tsp Mixed spice

For the buttercream

  • 105g Butter
  • 210g Icing sugar
  • ¾ tsp Ground ginger
  • ½ tsp Vanilla extract
Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing Cinnamon, Coriander Seed, Nutmeg, Clove, Pimento, Ginger. If you can’t get hold of it, use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 644kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 291mg | Potassium: 194mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 67g | Vitamin A: 839IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 2mg