Gingerbread Loaf Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

FOR LOAF CAKE

• 260 g (2 cups) Plain flour/all-purpose flour 
• 100 g (1/2 cup) Vegetable oil
• 2 Eggs (UK medium-sized) weight without shell = 110g
• 100 g (1/2 cup) packed Soft Light brown sugar
• 75 g (about 1/4 cup) Golden syrup
• 75 g (about 1/4 cup) Treacle or Molasses
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 g (1 tsp) Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground clove
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) Whole milk/Full fat milk, at room temperature 

FOR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• 113 g (1/2cup) Unsalted butter softened to room temperature 
• 226 g Cold Cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract 
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 195 g (1 & 1/2 cup) Icing sugar/ powdered sugar, sifted
• A dash of ground cinnamon 

FOR DECORATION

• Gingerbread cookies

FOR LOAF CAKE

1. Preheat the Fan oven to 150C/302F (For a conventional oven: 170C/338F). Prepare a 9x5 inch loaf pan with baking paper leaving the overhangs on the larger sides of the pan for easy removal. Set aside.
2. Sift plain flour (all-purpose flour), baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk them together and set aside.
3. Combine light brown sugar, treacle (or molasses), golden syrup and vegetable oil in a saucepan. Let it melt on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. When it just starts to boil around the edges of the pan, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly (for one minute). Stir in the room-temperature milk then stir in the beaten eggs.
4. Then add the above mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix the batter after mixing the dry ingredients to get the more tender bread.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter. The batter will be thin, but don’t worry because it will bake into an amazingly moist loaf cake.
6. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre, comes out clean.
7. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes before removing it from the pan. Remove from the loaf pan using overhang baking paper. Place on the wire rack to cool completely before frosting. In the meantime, make cream cheese frosting.

FOR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1. Cream the softened butter on medium speed (with a hand mixer or stand mixer) until smooth and light in colour (about 2-3 minutes).
2. Add in the vanilla extract and 1 cup of icing sugar/powdered sugar (sifted). Mix with a spatula then beat on low speed until well combined, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Take out the COLD cream cheese straight from the fridge, shift to a small bowl, add in the lemon juice, then give it a good mix using a spoon or a hand mixer then add in the above butter mixture. Beat it until combined and fluffy. 
4. Then add the remaining icing sugar/powdered sugar, a dash of ground cinnamon and beat until fluffy and well combined. Be careful, not to overbeat the frosting as it becomes runny. Use it right away.

ASSEMBLY

1. Once the cake has cooled completely, place it over a serving tray or board. Frost the top of the cake with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting and make swirls, using an offset spatula. You can also make different designs using any nozzle of your choice as it’s a very stable and pipe-able frosting.
2. Top it off with beautiful gingerbread cookies.
3. Make 8-10 slices, using a sharp knife.
4. Serve straight away or you can microwave your slice of cake for a few seconds to enjoy a warm piece of cake.