Hi Friends! Today I’m sharing with you how I made the gingerbread cake you saw in yesterdays Christmas Kitchen post! You guys this seriously is the best and easiest recipe to have for this holiday season! Because lets face it, we could all use a secret weapon in our back pockets for holiday entertaining. You know that fuss-free, guaranteed to be magical overtime recipe. YEP! Best part is, it’s a box mix. And I have no shame about that. I love making things from scratch, but sometimes mama just ain’t got time for that. And I need something I can grab quickly and know it will be delicious every time. So here is the easiest, most delicious gingerbread cake recipe you will every need.
Sometimes life gets busy. And around the holidays this is especially the case. Let me start by saying that this post is not sponsored. I’m sharing it with you because I honestly love it so much, and think all of us busy women need a quick, go-to holiday recipe. Whether you are a baker or not. Hosting and attending a holiday party, you now have an awe-worthy dish to bring.
It all started when I was shopping at Target one day, getting a few items. I was looking for a scone mix (another household favorite) when I stumbled upon this Gingerbread Cake + Cookie box mix. In blog land, more so for the holidays, we use food in our styled photos to make things look more festive and delicious. Whoops, I let the cat out of the bag. But it’s true, it just seems more festive when there is yummy food styled in our holiday photos as well.
I had every intention on making homemade gingerbread with my grandmothers recipe, but lets face it. I was running out of time, and sometimes you just need a good shortcut. I grabbed a box and thought “Well I’ll give it a try, at least I’ll have something for my photos”. You guys. It was AMAZING! So good in fact the first one I made didn’t even last long enough for photos, lol!
I picked up this bundt cake pan at a recent trip to HomeGoods, and also realized the first time around that only one box mix fills the pan halfway. So I headed back to Target, and grabbed to more boxes of the mix. I also love that you can use the same mix to make cookies too. It gives you instructions on the back to either make a cake or cookies, by simply changing the amount of water, eggs and oil you add.
The result. Amazing, again. I made an orange glaze to drizzle on top, which I will share the recipe for at the bottom of the post, and it complimented the cake so nicely. My husband said he really like it, because it wasn’t too spicy like other gingerbread or pumpkin spice mix’s can be. And it was very moist too, dense almost like a pound cake.
I made my glaze while the cake was baking, and just let it sit on the counter until the cake was done and had cooled. Because it had cream cheese in it, I didn’t want to put it in the fridge and have it harden. I lined a cookie sheet with wax paper, and then placed a cooling rack on top. I placed my cake on that, and once it had cooled I poured the glaze on top.
I finish it off by grading some fresh orange peel on top for some added flavor, and boy was it good! I garnished the cake with some fresh olive branches, you could use rosemary too, and some orange slices. An added touch that goes over really well at those holiday parties!
Orange Glaze
4 oz. cream cheese
zest of 1/2 an orange
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 – 2 Tbl. fresh orange juice
I did notice on the box it’s labeled as “limited edition”, so while I’m sure Target is restocking their shelves now, they won’t be for too much longer. I plan on grabbing a few more boxes to make cookies with, and of course another cake for Christmas day with our family.
Well now I hope you feel a little more relieved about what to make for your next holiday event. Even though it’s gingerbread and that’s typically related with Christmas, you could easily make it for Thanksgiving too! It’s nice and light, so even my sister who doesn’t like dessert, enjoyed having some of this cake, after I took these photos, lol!
Stay in touch!
Instagram / Pinterest / Facebook
It turned out beautiful! I love orange glaze. Love the pretty little olive leaf detail, too!
hey girl- this looks so yummy!