Woodland animal ginger cake - this impressive vegan ginger cake with lemon curd, cream cheese frosting and whimsical gingerbread woodland animals is a real festive showstopper for Christmas!
I can't believe how close to Christmas we are already - I am so not prepared! I've got a few more festive recipes that I want to post before the big day, as well as some work to finish up, so things are busy, busy, busy at the moment!
I managed to make time to bake this vegan woodland animal ginger cake however and it is a real showstopper! It also won the Christmas bake off at my bouldering gym!
It consists of three layers of soft, moist vegan ginger cake which is filled with cream cheese frosting and a generous dollop of lemon curd for good measure.
It is topped with cute vegan gingerbread animals and trees, with a scattering of sugared cranberries, nuts, seeds and rosemary sprigs to complete the woodland scene. It looks especially effective if you serve it on a wooden board! (Mine is from TK Maxx.)
It is a bit of a labour of love to make, but all of the elements are easy to do, it just takes a bit of time to make everything and assemble the cake.
Both the cake layers and biscuits can be made a day or two in advance, as can the vegan lemon curd. The frosting needs to be used straight away however so don't make that until you are ready to assemble the cake - it only takes five minutes to make.
Once assembled, the cake is best eaten that same day as the biscuits will soak up moisture from the cake over time and become soft.
The lemon curd is really delicious and works wonderfully with the ginger cake, but it does make the cake a little less stable, so if it needs to travel then I recommend omitting the lemon curd. If you do decide to use it then you will need half a batch of this recipe.
The animal cutters I used are all from Ikea, apart from the leaping fox one which is from Rex London, though I don't think that they sell it any more. You will also need some tree shaped cutters.
How To Make Woodland Animal Ginger Cake:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*
Gingerbread Biscuits:
Start by making the gingerbread biscuits; place golden syrup, treacle, brown sugar, coconut oil or margarine* and some water in a pan.
*(I have tested these biscuits with both coconut oil and dairy free margarine and both work well. The dough may feel a little oily if you use coconut oil but just make sure you use enough flour when you roll it out and it will be fine. I actually like them best made with half coconut oil and half margarine.)
Heat gently while stirring until the coconut oil/margarine has melted. Whisk in cinnamon, ginger, cloves and bicarbonate of soda then stir in plain flour.
Allow to cool a little then bring the mixture together into a ball (it will still be very soft), wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for about an hour until it is firm enough to roll out.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 4mm thick and cut out animal and tree shapes with the cookie cutters of your choice.
Re-roll the trimmings and cut out more shapes then place them well spaced apart on a couple of baking trays. Pop the trays in the freezer for twenty minutes while you heat up the oven.
Bake the biscuits for 8-12 minutes, until they are just beginning to darken around the edges then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
Vegan Royal Icing:
To make the royal icing, mix a little lemon juice and some aquafaba into sifted icing sugar until it forms a thick but pourable consistency. Spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a small writing nozzle.
Ice the ginger biscuits as you like then leave them to dry. Once they are dry you can add a bit of detailing with a fine paintbrush dipped in black gel food colouring if you like.
Vegan Ginger Cakes:
To make the vegan ginger cake layers, whisk together sifted plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, mixed spice, caster sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Add golden syrup, treacle, sunflower oil and boiling water to the bowl and whisk until no lumps of flour remain.
Divide the batter between three greased and lined 20cm/8in round cake tins and bake for about 25 minutes.
Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting:
Don't make the frosting until you are ready to assemble the cake.
Whisk together vegetable shortening and dairy free cream cheese (full fat varieties only! I used Asda's own brand one) until smooth.
Add sifted icing sugar, fresh lemon juice and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Transfer a third of the buttercream to a disposable piping bag and snip off the tip, or place it in a regular piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle.
Assembly:
Trim the tops of the cake layers to level them then place one layer on a serving platter or board. Spread over a thin layer of the buttercream then pipe a wide ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake - make it twice as wide as pictured as my cake wasn't very sturdy!
You can also add a dollop of buttercream in the middle to help make the cake sturdier - I totally forgot to do it.
Spread a couple of spoonfuls of lemon curd inside the ring of buttercream, making sure not to overfill it. Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the bottom of one of the remaining cake layers and place it on top. Repeat the same steps as before.
Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the TOP of the final cake layer and place it on the cake upside down to give you a flat surface.
Spread a layer of buttercream over the top and sides of the cake then top with the gingerbread animals and trees, some chopped nuts, sprigs of rosemary, pumpkin seeds and sugared cranberries. You will need to use some wooden skewers to prop the trees on top of the cake up.
How To Make Sugared Cranberries:
To make sugared cranberries if you want to use them, place 50g granulated sugar and 50ml water in a small pan. heat gently, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves and it comes up to the boil.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Dip fresh cranberries in the sugar syrup, shake off the excess then roll them in granulated sugar and transfer to a baking parchment lined tray to set.
Once they are set they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4 days.
More Vegan Christmas Recipes:
Vegan steamed chocolate pudding
No-bake vegan chocolate ginger tart
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Woodland Animal Ginger Cake Recipe:
Vegan Woodland Animal Ginger Cake
Ingredients
Vegan Gingerbread Animal Biscuits:
- 100 g (3.5 oz) coconut oil or dairy free margarine (I like to use half of each)
- 80 g (⅓ + ⅛ cup) light brown soft sugar
- 50 g (2 Tbsp) golden syrup
- 25 g (1 Tbsp) treacle or molasses
- 1 Tbsp water
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 240 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
Vegan Royal Icing:
- 235 g (2 + ⅓ cups) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp aquafaba
- black gel food colouring optional
Vegan Ginger Cakes:
- 450 g (3 + ¾ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour sifted
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 4 ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp mixed spice (pumpkin spice)
- 160 g (¾ cup) caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 160 ml (⅔ cup) sunflower oil
- 200 g (7oz) golden syrup
- 200 g (7oz) treacle
- 360 ml (1 ½ cups) boiling water
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 125 g (4.5 oz) vegetable shortening (I use Trex)
- 125 g (4.5 oz) dairy free cream cheese (full fat - I use Asda's own brand)
- 575 g (5 + ¾ cups) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
To Decorate:
- ½ batch vegan lemon curd https://domesticgothess.com/blog/2017/09/12/vegan-lemon-curd/ optional
- sugared cranberries (see above for instructions)
- rosemary sprigs
- hazelnuts, pecans and pumpkin seeds
- wooden skewers
Instructions
Vegan Gingerbread Animals:
- Place the golden syrup, treacle, light brown sugar, coconut oil or margarine and water in a pan.
- Heat gently while stirring until the coconut oil/margarine has melted. Whisk in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves and bicarbonate of soda then stir in the plain flour until it forms a soft dough and no pockets of flour remain.
- Allow to cool a little then bring the mixture together into a ball (it will still be very soft), wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for about an hour until it is firm enough to roll out.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 4mm thick and cut out animal and tree shapes with the cookie cutters of your choice.
- Re-roll the trimmings and cut out more shapes then place them well spaced apart on a couple of baking trays. Pop the trays in the freezer for twenty minutes while you heat up the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
- Bake the biscuits for 8-12 minutes, until they are just beginning to darken around the edges then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
Vegan Royal Icing:
- To make the royal icing, mix the little lemon juice and aquafaba into the sifted icing sugar until it forms a thick but pourable consistency. If you drizzle some back into the bowl the pattern should disappear after about 8-10 seconds. If it is too thick then stir in a little more aquafaba or lemon juice, and if it is too runny then mix in some more sifted icing sugar.
- Spoon it into a piping bag fitted with a small writing nozzle. Ice the ginger biscuits as you like then leave them to dry. Once they are dry you can add a bit of detailing with a fine paintbrush dipped in black gel food colouring if you like.
- Once the icing is dry the biscuits can be stored in an airtight container for at least a week.
Vegan Ginger Cakes:
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease three 20cm/8in round cake tins and line the bases with baking parchment.
- Whisk together the sifted plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, mixed spice, caster sugar and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the golden syrup, treacle, sunflower oil and boiling water to the bowl and whisk until no lumps of flour remain.
- Divide the batter between the prepared tins and bake for about 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Don't make the buttercream until you are ready to assemble the cake. Whisk together the vegetable shortening and dairy free cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the sifted icing sugar, fresh lemon juice and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. If the frosting is too soft then you can whisk in some more sifted icing sugar; and if it is too stiff then you can add a drop more lemon juice or a little non-dairy milk.
- Transfer a third of the buttercream to a disposable piping bag and snip off the tip, or place it in a regular piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle.
Assembly:
- Trim the tops of the cake layers to level them (a cake wire is best for this) then place one layer on a serving platter or board.
- Spread over a thin layer of the buttercream then pipe a wide ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake. You can also add a blob in the middle to help make the cake more sturdy (I didn't do this but in hindsight I should have done!).
- Spread a couple of spoonfuls of lemon curd inside the ring of buttercream, making sure not to overfill it.
- Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the bottom of one of the remaining cake layers and place it on top. Repeat the same steps as before.
- Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the TOP of the final cake layer and place it on the cake upside down to give you a flat surface.
- Spread a layer of buttercream over the top and sides of the cake, use a bench scraper or palette knife to get the sides smooth but leave the top rough so it looks snowy.
- Cut a slit in the top of the cake where you want each of the trees to go and press a tree trunk into each one. Insert a wooden skewer into the cake close behind each tree to hold them up. (You will probably need to trim the skewers a bit to get the right height but make sure that they will go all the way through the cake and leave enough sticking out to hold the trees up.)
- Use blobs of any leftover frosting to stick animal biscuits around the cake and place one on top of the cake (I just leant my fox against one of the trees).
- Add sugared cranberries, sprigs of rosemary, hazelnuts, pecans and pumpkin seeds to complete the look.
- Best served the day it is assembled but any leftovers will keep in an airtight container for up to five days.
Notes
- You will need ½ batch of my vegan lemon curd (optional) - if you need the cake to travel then don't use it as it makes the cake less stable. It is very delicious though!
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
Sally
Hannah that’s amazing, I can see it’s a real labour of love but so impressive. Well done
Dominika
Hi Hannahn! The cake looks absolutely awesome I would love to make it for Christmas! I am not able to use Asda's vegan cheese (I don't live in the UK). What should I use instead of this ingredient?
hannahhossack
Hi Dominika, Thank you! Are you able to get hold of any other brands of vegan cream cheese? I've only tested it with Asda's one but I think most other varieties should work too as long as they aren't 'light' versions. Otherwise you can just use more vegetable shortening in it's place, or use vegan butter. You might want to add a little more lemon juice to replace the tang from the cream cheese in that case. I hope you enjoy it!
Kelly Peloza
This is so so cute!