If there is one cake which I always look forward to making and eating at Christmas, it would have to be gingerbread. Whether it is gingerbread in the form of beautifully iced and spicy biscuits, or the more sticky and moist sponge cake, I love them all. Anything which is heady with the aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger is something I would be happy to sit down to with a big mug of tea.

For something a bit different this year, and given my recent experimental phase in the kitchen, I tried my hand at making gingerbread in little cake forms. I bought a set of brioche moulds one year, convinced that I would use them regularly to make brioche for my weekend breakfasts, but I have used them very seldomly and, on each occasion, for something other than brioche itself. They are a bit more fiddly to use than your standard cupcake or muffin moulds, but the results are, as you can see, so cute that it’s worth the extra effort 🙂

gingerbread-cakes-2

Of course, you could use any cake mould you like – mini muffin tins would work perfectly here, or even a madeleine tin for a French twist on your gingerbread.

The resting period in the fridge allows the batter to swell and thicken, thus making the resulting cake much lighter than if you were to bake it right away. The advantage of this resting period means that you can make the batter ahead of time (even a few days), and bake them just before serving if you wish to eat them warm. Otherwise, the cakes keep well for a few days under a covered dish. For some contrast in taste, the lemon icing is very simple to prepare and provides a lovely tang against the spicy gingerbread.

If you can’t find golden syrup, you can substitute with honey or corn syrup.

Despite the gentle spiciness of these cakes, to my surprise, I found these gingerbread cakes to be quite popular with our friend’s 18 month old son. He gobbled up quite a few many cakes which was very endearing to watch and made me very happy that I had a little fan of this recipe 🙂