Scale:
Ingredients
for the cake
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 2 teaspoons cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup buttermilk
for the frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup blackberries
- 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
- 2 tablespoons candied ginger
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
- edible gold leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line three 6-inch cake pans* with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating between additions. Continue to beat until batter forms a pale yellow color. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- Alternate folding in the flour mixture and the buttermilk, mixing only until combined.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and whip to combine, about 1 minute more.
- Place the first cake on a plate, then top with a large dollop of frosting. Layer the second and third layers, frosting in between each. Finish with frosting the outside of the cake with the remaining frosting. I used a cake scraper to give my cake that unfinished, naked look!
- Last, top your cake with garnishes. I used blackberries, chopped pistachios, candied ginger, cinnamon sticks, black sesame seeds, and edible gold leaves!
Notes
*you can also use two 8-inch cake pans.
Leave a comment and rate this recipe!
Made this for my birthday and everyone loved it–a week later, I’m making it for a roommate’s birthday. I ended up infusing the buttermilk with two chai tea bags and added blackberries and pistachios in between each layer. It was fantastic. Highly recommend!!!!!
★★★★★
Can you infuse the buttermilk with chai tea if you wanted to?
I haven’t done that but I’m sure it would be DELICIOUS. What a great idea 🙂
is the ginger fresh or powdered ?
Powdered!
How can I make it eggless? What can I use as a substitute to egg and what proportion?
Hi! I’ve never tried it personally, but I think flax eggs would work!
Where is the egg quantity mentioned in ingredients?
Your recipe calls for addition of eggs but that is nowhere mentioned in ingredients.
It’s 4 eggs– it is the third ingredient 🙂