I normally post on Sundays or Mondays but didn't manage to get this finished yesterday, so am posting today instead. :)
As with previous years, I'm doing a double post, sharing what I baked for Christmas and my last quarterly update of the year (autumn-winter). (Last year I didn't bake anything for Christmas, so shared what I baked for New Year instead). Scroll down if you just want to read the update. :)
Christmas Spiced Gingerbread Cake
For Christmas (2025) I baked a spiced gingerbread cake. The recipe is from Sally's Baking Addiction: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/gingerbread-cake-recipe/
It can be made as a single layer cake or a 3 layer cake and in various sizes. I made the single version. I used treacle instead of molasses, which I often do with ginger things, since it's more accessible in the UK. I also used mixed spice instead of cloves becauase I didn't have any and mixed spice has cloves in it.
The recipe has a cream cheese frosting which is one of my favourite icings/frostings, especially with ginger cakes! This frosting has spices in it, so I used ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice again.
The cake was quite nice. It goes well with evaporated milk too. One of the suggestions for decorating it is festive Christmas sprinkles. I couldn't get any red and green sprinkles, so I used some multicoloured ones instead. Here's a pic:
