I think it can be agreed that nothing quite beats the comforting aroma of ginger and spice baking their way through the prelude to Christmas.

This cake is exactly how it sounds; all the best parts of gingerbread (the spiciness and warmth) having a dance with the soft, fluffiness texture of cake… it’s bursting with holiday flavours, without the hassle of rolling out dough and cutting out perfect cookies.

Oh and as if this little party of flavours couldn’t get any more festive, I invited our little old friend eggnog along too. Paired with a dash of spiced rum, this combination can’t possibly fail to lift one’s spirits.

Enjoy with gusto,
Jaimie Eats

Gingerbread Cake with Boozy Eggnog Glaze

Ingredients

For the cake:
2 ¾ cups self-raising flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon all spice
1 cup unsalted butter
1 ½ cups brown sugar
½ cup golden syrup
1 cup buttermilk
4 eggs

For the glaze:
1 ½ cups icing sugar
¼ cup eggnog
1 tablespoon spiced rum

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Generously grease and line a 1.5kg loaf tin.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Make a well in the centre and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt together the butter, sugar and syrup; stirring well until all the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the buttermilk. Set aside to cool and once lukewarm, beat the eggs in well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients and combine well to create a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin, place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean).

Allow to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a cooling rack.

To make the glaze, whisk the eggnog and rum into the powdered sugar. Add more eggnog or sugar until the mixture is at your desired consistency.

Just before serving, generously drizzle the glaze onto the cooled cake. Decorate with sprigs of rosemary, dried cranberries, or a dusting of ground nutmeg. Enjoy!