This cake is a classic citrus cake with a little ginger spice kick. It would make a wonderful afternoon
tea treat and the crème fraîche frosting is a fantastic contrast to the sweet-tartness of the cake.
The Cake Slice Bakers are a group of dedicated bakers who all love cake. Each year we choose a new cake-centric cookbook and bake our way through it. Every month we are given 3 choices and on the 20th day of each month we reveal what we have chosen on our blogs. This month's choices were Ginger-Lime Tea Cake with Crème Fraîche Frosting, Thicc Mint Cookie Cake, and Buffalo Milk Swiss Roll. I do love a cook loaf cake and a frosting that is not excessively sweet, so I chose the Ginger Lime Tea Cake.
Although there are three components to this cake it comes together fairly quickly. Prepare the cake batter first and while it is baking you can make the soak, and then while the cake is cooling you can make the frosting. I am definitely a baker who prefers to bake with butter, so I am still pushing myself to make the recipe as stated in the book and I did use olive oil as instructed. The cake was light and moist and the ginger-lime soak adds that little extra punch, but for me the best part of the cake was the frosting. I am not a big fan of buttercream as I find it way too sweet and over the top. However, the addition of crème fraîche (which is a somewhat thick, cultured cream similar to sour cream but with a little less tang) into this frosting gave it a slightly savory taste which I loved. Also, I am a big fan of ginger, so I chopped up some crystallized candied ginger (about 3/4 cup) and added about half a cup to the cake batter and used the other 1/4 cup on the top of the cake, along with some extra lime juice. This cake would be great with any type of citrus - grapefruit, lemon, tangerine to name a few.
Ginger-Lime Tea Cake with Crème Fraîche Frosting
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Ingredients
Ginger-Lime Soak ~
- 60g (¼ cup) fresh lime juice
- 50g (¼ cup) sugar
- 6g (1 tablespoon) fresh ginger, finely minced or grated
Cake ~
- 150g (¾ cups) sugar
- 8g (¼ cup) lime zest
- 6g (1 tablespoon) fresh ginger, finely minced or grated
- 110g (good-quality extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 240 ml whole milk, room temperature
- 8g (1½ teaspoons) baking powder
- 5g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
- 6g (1 teaspoon) sea salt
- 290g (2 cups + 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
Crème Fraîche Frosting ~
- 60g (2 ounces) crème fraîche, room temperature
- 60g (2 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
- 30g (2 tablespoons) butter, room temperature
- 210g (1¾ cups) powdered sugar, sifted
- 30 ml heavy whipping cream
- 4g (2 tablespoons) lime zest
Preparation
Ginger-Lime Soak ~
- Combine the lime juice, sugar, and ginger in a small saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved: set aside to cool.
Cake ~
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ (350℉).
- Grease a 23 x 13cm (9 x 5 inch) loaf pan and line with parchment paper, letting some excess to hang over the sides so that it's easy so it's easy to remove the cake from the pan once baked.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the sugar, lime zest, and ginger and mix on low speed to release the essential oils and infuse the sugar.
- Add in the oil and eggs and whisk together until light and frothy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the milk, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk for 1 minute more or until fully incorporated.
- Stir the flour into the batter and mix until just combined; the mixture will be lumpy, similar to a muffin batter.
- Pour into the prepared pan and tap several times on the countertop to release any trapped air bubbles.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until puffed and bronzed, and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then use the parchment overhang to remove the cake from the pan and finish cooling on a rack.
- Once cool, place the cake back in the pan.
- Strain the ginger-lime soak and discard the solids.
- Brush the soak over the top of the cake (if you don't have a pastry brush, just slowly pour it all over the top) and give it time to absorb into the cake.
Crème Fraîche Frosting ~
- In a medium bowl, mix together the crème fraîche, cream cheese, and butter until smooth and well combined,
- Add in the powdered sugar, cream, and zest and vigorously mix until light, fluffy, and smooth.
- Smear over the top of the cooled cake.
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 links 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 Cake Book: Beautiful Sweet Treats for Every Craving - and our choices for February 2024 were ~
Ginger Lime Tea Cake
Thicc Mint Cookie Cake
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