White Chocolate and Ginger Cake

 

 The title I typed for this post was "Mini Naked Layered Ginger Cakes with White Chocolate Buttercream" which I promptly realised was ridiculous. So long, so laboured. White Chocolate and Ginger Cake is so much more elegant - don't you think? Which is ironic seeing as these cakes aren't particularly elegant. They're cosy and cute, a little chubby and definitely a bit rough around the edges. But I think that adds to their charm. And their taste certainly doesn't suffer from their casual demeanour. Whilst definitely cake, the dense texture has an air of gingerbread about it, and the tangy ginger compliments the white chocolate in the icing beautifully. Have you ever had the white chocolate and ginger cheesecake from Wagamamas? That's what got me thinking about these guys. Want to try making them yourself? It couldn't be easier.

White Chocolate and Ginger Cake

Ginger Cake

225g Unsalted Butter
112 g Soft Light Brown Sugar
112g Soft Dark Brown Sugar
4 Eggs
285g Self-raising Flour
85g Stem Ginger (in syrup)
3tbsp Milk

White Chocolate Butter Cream

110g Unsalted Butter
250g Icing Sugar
150g White Chocolate

20g Crystallised Ginger (optional)

1. Combine sugars and butters. Add the eggs one by one, and fold in the flour. Chop the ginger and add to the cake mix before splashing in the milk. Pour the mix into a lined baking tray, creating a layer less than an inch thick. (I used two trays!)

2. Bake at 200°C for around 25 minutes, or until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.

3. Using cookie cutters of different sizes cut the cake into small circles and arrange into layers. You can do as many layers as you fancy although it got a bit precarious after three in my opinion...

4. To make the buttercream melt the white chocolate and mix into the butter and icing sugar until smooth. Pipe the buttercream in between the layer of cake and on top too! Decorate with chopped crystallised ginger if desired, and enjoy with a cup of tea.