Christmas Recipes: Gingerbread Cake with Orange Frosting, Candied Cranberries and Caramel Sauce

I made this cake for Christmas Eve dinner with everyone. I was surprised how much they liked it. Ryan had 3 slices! It is very rich and I was good with 1 piece. I found the recipe on The Butter Half, who got it from somewhere else. So here it is with my changes:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 1/2 cups full flavor molasses - NOT blackstrap

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon lemon juice

orange zest from 1 orange

4 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cloves

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch springform pans.

Put the butter and molasses in a pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, making sure to stir it constantly. Once it is boiling, remove from heat and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Mix in the heavy cream, lemon juice, and orange zest. Add the soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Then mix in flour. The batter is very thick. Pour equal amounts into pans and spread evenly. Bake for 30-35 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5 mins and then remove from pan to a cooling rack. My cakes were a little too crumbly. I think next time I might add an egg or two to help it hold together.

While the cake bakes make the caramel sauce. The original recipe of this one is from Sally's Baking Addiction:

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (the bigger crystal kind)

Heat the cup of sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden or heat-resistant spoon. After about 5 minutes, the sugar will begin to melt and turn a golden amber color. Once it is melted, add in the butter and stir until it melts and is well-mixed. Next, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Mix thoroughly and bring to a boil for about 1 minute. Be careful not to burn it! Remove from heat, add in the salt, and allow the caramel to cool.

When cake has cooled frost bottom layer with Orange Butter cream. Put second cake on top on frost top and sides.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3-4 cups powdered sugar (maybe more)

2 teaspoons vanilla ( I may have used half orange extract instead)

Juice from one orange

Beat the butter for about 2-3 minutes until fluffy and lightened in color. Slowly add in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add in the vanilla, heavy cream, orange juice. Mix on high for about 30 more seconds to make it light and fluffy.

Top with chopped candied ginger and Vanilla Orange Candied Cranberries from A Spicy Perspective:

3 ¾ cups sugar, divided

1 ¾ cups water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons orange extract

12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries (about 3 cups)

Combine 2 ½ cups of sugar, water, vanilla, and orange extract in a sauce pan. Heat over medium until the sugar has completely dissolved, but not boiling.

Pour in the cranberries and stir. Cover the cranberries with tin foil down inside the pan to keep them mostly submerged. Then cover the pan and place it in a cool place over night. I used the basement pantry.

Place the remaining 1 ¼ cup of sugar in a rimmed dish. Strain the cranberries and place them in the sugar. Shake until they are completely coated. Carefully transfer them to a baking sheet to dry, about an hour.

Once the sugar coating is hard, place them in an air-tight container and keep in a cool spot for up to a week.