Gingerbread Cake

When I saw Starbucks was not bringing back their gingerbread latte this year, I died. Well, that clearly didn’t happen. I died a little inside. When November 1st shows up, you can’t find a pumpkin latte anywhere. Suddenly, it’s out of stock and redacted with tape on the holiday menu boards. How am I supposed to enjoy the holiday season without a holiday latte? This decision by Starbucks left me thirsty for gingerbread. I must have been talking about this out loud because my Instagram feed filled with gingerbread-everything. That’s when I came across this gingerbread cake.

When I’m walking down the decked-out streets of the city on a cold December day, a gingerbread latte is was the perfect companion. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with gingerbread. I love to build houses, but hate eating them. Why did someone think it was a good idea to construct a cookie house with cement gingerbread? They can be so cool to look at, but what a waste. I love soft gingerbread cookies and ones that aren’t too spicy. I’d much rather bake to eat than bake to display.

Gingerbread Cake in lieu of a house.

However, you can have the best of both worlds. Make this cake to eat and decorate it with soft gingerbread cookies to display. Create a winter wonderland scene with gingerbread trees, people, and other cookie cut out creations.

This cake was so easy to make. One bite encompasses everything I love about the holiday season. It’s spicy, but not too much, moist, and pairs really well with cream cheese frosting. I got the recipe for the cake from Liv for Cake and used a can of cream cheese frosting. I used leftover gingerbread cookies to decorate the perimeter and rosemary for the sad trees on top.

When styling this photo, I used my late grandmother’s light-up tree in the back. She made a few of these throughout her life. I was lucky enough to get this one. She loved sweets and I know she would have loved this cake.