Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line four 8”/20cm round cake tins with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, baking soda, spices into a small bowl along with a pinch of salt. Cream the butter and sugars together until soft and fluffy, then mix through the treacle. Slowly add the eggs, beating well after each addition then add the vanilla and chopped ginger.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk, gently folding in each addition and taking care not to over mix.
Divide evenly between the prepared cake tins and bake for 30-35 mins, until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before turning the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosted cranberries, whisk the egg whites with a fork until frothy. Drip in the cranberries, then roll in the caster sugar and transfer onto some kitchen roll to set.
To assemble, spread a spoonful of buttercream onto a cake board and place one of the cake layers onto. Brush with a little syrup from the ginger, then coat the top evenly with a few spoonfuls of buttercream, don’t worry about being too neat at this stage. Top with another layer and repeat the process, continuing until all the layers are used up. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
When almost ready to serve, spread 1/3 of the remaining buttercream on top of the cake, smoothing evenly. Continue down the sides with the rest of the frosting, using a palette knife all the way round the cake to leave a light coating of buttercream that still allows the cake layers to shine through.
Top the cake with the frosted cranberries, gingerbread biscuits and rosemary.
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