Indulge in the delightful combination of chocolate-gingerbread sponge cake, forest fruit cream, and chocolate topping with this festive cake recipe.
Ingredients
Chocolate-Gingerbread Sponge Cake
- Sugar: 100 g
- Eggs: 6
- Butter: 120 g
- Baking powder: 1 tsp
- Gingerbread spice: 2 tsp
- Wheat flour (type 650): 120 g
- Forest fruit jam: 20 g
- Dark chocolate (>70% cocoa): 100 g
Forest Fruit Cream
- Sugar: 100 g
- Blueberry jam: 220 g
- Egg: 1
- Egg yolk: 1
- Butter: 400 g
- Vanilla: 6 g
- Water: 50 ml
Punch for Soaking
- Sugar: 70 g
- Vanilla liqueur: 70 ml
- Water: 70 ml
Additional
- Powdered sugar: a pinch
Chocolate Topping
- Butter: 20 g
- Gingerbread spice: 0.5 tsp
- Heavy cream (30% fat): 100 ml
- Dark chocolate: 100 g
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Whisk eggs until fluffy, gradually adding sugar. Melt chocolate with butter, add forest fruit jam, and let it cool. Sift flour with baking powder and gingerbread spice, then add to the beaten eggs. Gently mix. Combine the mixture with melted chocolate. Transfer the batter to a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake the sponge cake in the preheated oven at 170°C for 45-50 minutes.
Boil water with sugar. Allow the syrup to cool slightly, then add vanilla liqueur. Mix well.
Boil water with sugar. Split vanilla pods lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add them to softened butter (at room temperature), then beat. Meanwhile, whisk egg and egg yolk, gradually pouring in the prepared syrup of sugar and water. When the mixture is well aerated, add it to the butter and continue beating. Add forest fruit jam (the jam should be at room temperature) and mix everything together.
Divide the cooled sponge cake into four equal parts. Assemble the cake, starting with the bottom part of the sponge cake—soak each layer with the syrup and spread forest fruit cream. Spread the cream very thinly on the top layer of the sponge cake. Refrigerate the cake for about 1 hour.
Bring the heavy cream to a boil with gingerbread spice. Add crushed chocolate and softened butter. Mix everything together. Transfer the cooled topping to a pastry bag and apply it to the chilled cake so that it flows down the sides. Cover the entire top surface of the cake with the topping and decorate it with chocolate decorations and gingerbread stars. Gently sprinkle with powdered sugar.
