Gingerbread Cranberry Cake

5 from 5 votes

Gingerbread cake layers with cranberry compote and white chocolate buttercream.

Servings 3-layer, 6-inch cake

2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter, slightly cold
6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar, measured then sifted
6 ounces white chocolate
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon (4.2 g) vanilla
generous pinch of salt
*This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch pans with nonstick spray, line the bottoms with parchment and spray again. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add in the brown sugar and beat together on medium speed for another 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
On medium-low, gradually add in the eggs and molasses until incorporated. Turn the mixer to medium-high and mix until smooth and nearly double in volume, about 3 minutes.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
Once mixed, evenly divide all of the batter into the prepared pans (about 16 ounces in each 8-inch pan).
Bake 25 to 30 minutes, checking around 25 minutes. When you insert a toothpick into the center of the cake, a few moist crumbs should come out on it. Remember, the cake continues to bake for 5 minutes as it cools in the pans.
Cool on a wire rack before de-panning.

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter on medium-high for 3 to 5 minutes.
Melt white chocolate and cream together until smooth consistency and then add to butter.
On low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the vanilla, and salt.
Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for another 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Bring the 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a simmer in a saucepan. Simmer until sugar is completely dissolved.
Pour the simple syrup into a heatproof bowl and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
Add cranberries and stir to coat. Refrigerate cranberries during the day or overnight, stirring occasionally to coat with syrup.
Remove cranberries from syrup and roll in remaining ½ cup sugar. You’ll need to roll them a few times to get a couple of layers of sugar on them.
Set cranberries aside to dry for an hour or so.

In a saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar and water over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar and then cover to allow the cranberries to cook and soften.
When the cranberries have softened and begin to pop, slowly add the sifted corn starch and stir until it is incorporated. (If you don’t sift the cornstarch, you’ll likely get white clumps in the compote that are hard to dissolve.) You can use a fork or potato masher to help break up the cranberries as well.
Allow the cranberries to simmer for another 5 minutes. The mixture will become thick and somewhat jelly-like. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and let cool to room temperature or store, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Place the first cake layer (top side up) on a cake board. Spread about 1/2 cup of the buttercream evenly over the cake layer. Pipe a rim of buttercream around the edge of the cake.
Spread half of the cranberry compote across the buttercream.
Repeat these steps for the second layer and then place the third cake layer, top side down.
Apply a thin coat of frosting around the entire cake to lock in the crumbs. This coat of frosting does not need to look pretty, it's simply to lock in the crumbs so they don't get into the final coat of frosting. Freeze the cake for 10 minutes.
After the crumb coat is set, continue to frost and decorate the cake with the remaining buttercream and candied cranberries.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Cake

Keyword: Cranberry Compote, Gingerbread Cake, gingerbread cranberry cake, Gingersnap, white chocolate buttercream