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For the gingerbread cake:
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sifted cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and spices.
- Heat the milk and butter until hot but not boiling.
- Meanwhile, whip together the sugar, molasses, salt, and eggs until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture in three batches. Slowly pour the steaming milk and butter into the batter and fold in well.
- Line a jelly-roll pan with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Pour in the batter and bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Loosen cake from around the edges with a knife and invert onto foil. When cool, remove parchment paper or Silpat mat, invert again, and remove foil along with the top. This may remove some of the top, browned later of cake, which is fine.
For the cream filling:
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- Spread a quarter-inch layer of whipped cream on the cooled cake. Roll tightly, wrap in foil, and keep it in freezer for at least three hours or up to one month.
For the ganache frosting:
Ingredients
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (or chopped bar)
- 4 ounces heavy cream
- Using either a glass measuring cup in the microwave or a saucepan, heat cream almost to boiling and pour over chocolate in a bowl. Stir together as chips melt.
- Spread the mixture over rolled cake and let it set in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes before decorating.
Decorate your cake with candy, pine cones, sprigs of pine or holly, toy forest animals, and whatever else your child chooses. Dust with sanded sugar or powdered sugar for "snow." You may want to place the nonfood items on a plate surrounding the cake rather than placing them directly on the cake.
Marzipan mushrooms are a traditional part of the Bûche de Noël and can be easily molded by hand with store-bought marzipan paste, just like soft dough.
Where to get marzipan:
German Deli
Oma's Pantry
Nuts Online
Kitchen Clique
