It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Well…not quite, but almost and truth be told, I am here for it. Halloween decorations are down and I’m itching to get my Christmas stuff up. While I count down the days until December and I can officially “deck the halls” you can find me eating all the yummy Christmas treats. Case and point: this banging Cranberry Gingerbread cake.

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Fun fact about this cake: it’s not just dairy-free but it’s also gluten-free too! I saw a box of Kinnikinnick gluten-free gingersnap cookies the other day when inspiration hit. Snagged that box of cookies and their gluten-free flour blend and practically ran home to get baking. Now, I’m certainly no gluten-free baking expert, but with the experience I do have, I knew that I had to make a few simple changes to my basic go-to cake recipe.

An extra egg and some added liquid help keep this gluten-free cake moist and oh so totally delicious. I made this cake for Sunday Family Cake and didn’t tell a soul that it was gluten-free. Sliced, served, and devoured. Not a single person knew that it was gluten-free. Not even my husband who is notorious for wrinkling his nose at anything labeled “gluten-free.”

So I’m calling this a double win: 1. for all that Christmassy flavour feel and 2. gluten-free cake that is just as yummy as “regular” cake. Bake this up and see if you too can trick your friends and family.

Cranberry Gingerbread Cake

Author: Katie
Prep Time: 2 Hrs
Cook Time: 30 Min
Total Time: 2 Hrs 30 Min
Yield: 10 Slices 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Four delicious layers of gluten-free and dairy-free gingerbread cake covered with sweet whipped cranberry buttercream.

Scale

Ingredients

GINGERBREAD CAKE

½ cup dairy-free salted butter
⅓ cup all-vegetable oil
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
⅓ cup dairy-free yogurt
¼ cup egg whites
1 egg, large
½ cup fancy molasses
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 ½ cups Kinnikinnick gluten-free flour, sifted
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. fine sea salt
1 ½ tsp. ginger
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. clove
½ cup dairy-free milk

CRANBERRY BUTTERCREAM

1 cup dairy-free salted butter, room temperature
1 cup all-vegetable shortening
8 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp. sea salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup canned cranberry sauce
optional: Kinnikinnick Gingersnaps for decor

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE DRIP

½ cup dairy-free white chocolate
1 ½ tbsp. dairy-free milk

Instructions

CRANBERRY CAKE INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare four 6-inch round cake pans.
In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter, oil, and sugars on high for 2 minutes with the whisk attachment.
Add egg and egg whites and mix on high for 2 minutes.
Add the molasses, yogurt, and vanilla extract and mix on high for 2 minutes.
Combine all the dry ingredients into the mixer and mix on low.
While the mixer is on low slowly pour in the milk and mix until combined. Be careful to not overmix the batter.
Divide batter between pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then invert on a cooling rack to fully cool.

CRANBERRY BUTTERCREAM INSTRUCTIONS:

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter and shortening on high speed with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
Add the icing sugar, cranberry sauce, vanilla extract, and salt and mix on low until combined.
Turn the mixer up to high and let mix for 5 minutes until smooth and creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl when necessary.

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE DRIP INSTRUCTIONS:

In a microwave-safe bowl heat the white chocolate and milk in 30-second intervals until fully melted and smooth stirring between each interval.
Depending on the kind of milk, the drip may require a touch more milk to thin or a bit more white chocolate to thicken. *I always test my ganache drips over the edge of the kitchen sink before applying to a cake to check the consistency.

CAKE ASSEMBLY:

Place one leveled layer of gluten-free gingerbread cake on a cake board or plate. Top with approximately 1 cup of buttercream.
Repeat with remaining layers and apply a thin coat of buttercream all over the cake. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Cover the cake with another layer of buttercream and smooth sides using the Wilton Cake Comb. Make sure to clean the comb after each pass.
On a well-chilled cake, with a spoon or a piping bag, drip the warm white chocolate ganache over the edges of the cake and put back in the refrigerator to chill.
Decorate as you please. I used a Wilton 1M tip and piped buttercream ruffles with a Kinnikinnick Gingersnap in between each ruffle. Enjoy!