Sticky Ginger Cake with Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

New Year - New Cake Cookbook!

The Cake Slice Bakers are excited to announce the new cake-centric cookbook they will bake through in 2020 - The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. Benjamina was a contestant on The Great British Bake Off, and her cookbook draws inspiration from her Nigerian background and her experiences on the show and beyond. The cakes in this book are deceptively simple and really let the ingredients shine, and minimal finishing touches compliment the flavor combinations of fruits, toasted nuts, fragrant herbs, and alluring spices.

The Cake Slice Bakers are a group of dedicated bakers who all love cake. Each year we bake our way through a cake-inspired cookbook. Each month we are given 3 choices and on the 20th reveal what we have chosen on our blogs.  I will be the first to admit that I do love a good slice of cake, but what I truly love about being part of this group is the women that I bake with.  They are such talented bakers, supportive and giving of their knowledge, and genuinely nice people. 

Our choices for January 2020 were Blood Orange & Olive Oil Upside-Down Cake, Spiced Sweet Potato Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Sticky Ginger Cake with Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream.  All excellent choices, and as usual I had trouble choosing, but in the end I went with the warm spices of the Sticky Ginger Cake.

This cake is perfect for this time of the year.  It is an easy cake to put together with a big reward in the flavor it packs into one slice.  If you are a fan of ginger then you will really enjoy this cake. I did have trouble finding white chocolate that had the right amount of cocoa solids, and rather than waste money on an inferior brand I chose to make the buttercream with a little golden syrup mixed in to it instead and it was delicious.  I know I will be making this cake again, so I will continue my search for the right white chocolate.

Sticky Ginger Cake with Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream
Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients
Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream ~

• 250g (2½ cups) white chocolate (30-35% cocoa solids), roughly chopped
• pinch of flaky sea salt

Cake ~

• 200g (¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 40g molasses or treacle (2 tablespoons)
• 180ml (¾ cup) golden syrup or corn syrup
• 45ml (3 tablespoons) stem ginger syrup
• 10ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
• 220g (1 cups) dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 240ml (1 cup) milk
• 350g (2¾ cups) all-purpose flour
• 10g (2 teaspoons) baking soda
• 20g (¼ cup) ground ginger
• 5g (½ teaspoon) ground cinnamon
• pinch of cloves

Buttercream ~

• 150g (⅔ cup) butter
• 200g (1½ cups) powdered sugar
• 13-30ml (1-2 tablespoons) milk, if needed

Preparation
Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream ~

1. Preheat the oven to 140℃ (275℉).
2. Place the white chocolate onto a large baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until melted.
3. Remove from the oven, and give it a stir with an offset spatula and spread it out evenly.
4. Return the chocolate back to the oven and continue to bake for at least 1 hour, removing and stirring every 10 minutes until it turns a dark amber color (halfway through, the chocolate may look grainy and clumped but don't worry, just keep stirring and spreading thoroughly every 10 minutes until it liquifies).
5. Once caramelized, divide the chocolate between two bowls, with one containing about two-thirds (for the buttercream) and the other containing about one-third (for drizzling over the completed cake).
6. Stir in a pinch of flaky sea salt to each bowl and let cool. 

Cake ~

1. Preheat the oven to 180℃ (350℉).
2. Spray a 21cm x 31cm (8 x 12-inch)deep baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a few inches overhang on each side.
3. Melt the butter, molasses, golden syrup (or corn syrup), stem ginger syrup, and vanilla extract In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
4. Once the butter has melted, remove from the heat and stir in brown sugar to dissolve; let cool slightly for a few minutes.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk and pour this into the butter/sugar mixture.
6. Sift the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves into the batter and beat briefly to fully combine.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is well risen and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan.

Buttercream ~

1. Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat for 3 minutes, or until pale and creamy.
2. Add the powdered sugar and beat for 5 minutes, or until the buttercream is thick and fluffy.
3. If the white chocolate has solidified, add it back to the oven for a few minutes to melt again.
4. Take the bowl that has the two-thirds of the melted chocolate and pour this into the buttercream, beating for 1 minute or until combined.
5. If the buttercream looks too stiff, stir in 15-30ml (1 to 2 tablespoons) of milk to loosen.
6. When the cake is completely cool, spread the buttercream evenly on top going all the way to the edge.
7. Drizzle the rest of the melted chocolate in a random fashion over the top of the cake before serving.

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The New Way To Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the thumbnail pictures below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

It is a new year and a new book - The New Way To Cake - and our choices for January 2020 were ~

Blood Orange & Olive Oil Upside Down Cake

• My Recipe Reviews
• A Little Bit of All Right
• Sweet Sensations
• A Day in the Life on the Farm

Spiced Sweet Potato Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting

• Camille Cooks
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Making Miracles 
• Oven Delights

Sticky Ginger Cake with Caramelized White Chocolate Buttercream

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Amandie Bakes