Chai Spiced Gingerbread Mini Cakes
Old-fashioned British gingerbread but made into a warming chai spiced batter for mini acorn cakes, jack-o-lantern cakes & snowflake cakelets. Let me show you how:
Equipment
- Scales or measuring cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Small measuring jug
- Small Cooking Pot
- Medium mixing bowl
- Hand Whisk
- Baking/parchment paper
- Homemade lining paste/cake goop (make your own homemade lining paste/cake goop or use cake release spray or butter )
- Acorn, Pumpkin or Snowflake Tin (see notes)
- Sieve
- Medium bowl x 2
- Metal Spoon
- Cooling rack
- OVEN: 180°c/160°c Fan Oven/350°f/Gas Mark 4
Ingredients
- 87 grams Unsalted Butter (3 oz, ⅓ cup - no need to soften)
- 115 grams Golden Syrup (4 oz, ⅓ cup+ 2 tsp, or 5 tbsp)* see notes & before recipe for tips
- 58 grams Black Treacle (2 oz, ⅙ cup or 3 tbsp, see notes)
- 87 grams Light Brown Sugar (3 oz or scant ½ cup*)
- 1 tsp Mixed Spice (or Pumpkin Spice*)
- 1 tsp Anise (ground anise)
- ½ tsp Ground Ginger
- 5-6 Cardamom Pods (or scant tsp ground cardamom)
- 70 ml Yoghurt (2½ oz, ⅓ cup, or milk)
- 2 Medium-Large Eggs (Large or Extra Large size US)
- ¼ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda)
- 173 grams Plain Flour (6 oz, 1⅓ Cups All Purpose Flour)
- 2½ tsp Baking Powder (don't add if using UK Self-raising Flour)
For Orange Icing/Glaze (optional)
- 62 grams Icing/Powdered Sugar (2 oz or ½ cup, sieved)
- ½ tsp Mixed Spice (Pumpkin Spice*)
- Pinch Anise
- ½ tsp Ginger (scant ½ tsp)
- Milk (or water, approximate)
Instructions
Prepare The Wet Ingredients:
- Cube the butter, add to a small-medium cooking pot, & add the Golden Syrup, Black Treacle, ground anise, ginger, Mixed Spice, Bicarbonate Of Soda (Baking Soda).
- Mix together before heating on a low-medium heat till the butter has melted & the sugar dissolved. Remove from the heat & transfer to another bowl to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the cardamom by using a small knife to remove the skin from the pods. Then use a mortar & pestle, small blender or spice grinder to grind the cardamom pods. (Alternatively use a scant ½ tsp ground cardamom). Then add to the cooling mixture & mix through.
Mixing Wet & Dry Ingredients:
- Pre-heat the oven to:180°c/160°c Fan Oven/350°f/Gas Mark 4. (**If using a larger air fryer/combi oven, only pre-heat if your particular air fryer requires this)
- Add the eggs to a mixing bowl or stand-mixer, whisk to break up, before adding in the yoghurt & beating to combine (Alternatively use milk).
- After at least 10 minutes of cooling, add the wet mixture to the egg/yoghurt mixture & mix together.
- Sieve in the flour & baking powder (omit the baking powder if using UK Self-raising flour). Stir by hand to begin & then use a hand-mixer or stand-mixer to mix only till combined and all dry patches are gone.
Baking The Mini Cakes:
- Grease the cake pans/tins well. I used homemade lining paste (cake goop) - 1 tbsp of the paste to ¼ tsp cocoa powder to make a beige paste). Alternatively use cake release spray, or butter & flour.
- Add the batter - I needed 3 tbsp for one acorn, 6 tbsp for one snowflake and 5 tbsp for 1 pumpkin. Smooth to level the batter as best as you can, tap on the counter/worktop a few times, before popping in the centre of the oven to bake. (See notes below for how many the batter can make of each type of cake).
- Bake until golden, risen & set, and a wooden cocktail stick, inserted in the centre comes out clean of crumbs. The acorns took just 8 minutes for me in a larger air fryer, with no pre-heating. 14 minutes for the snowflakes (with foil on top after 10 minutes), and the same with the pumpkin in the silicone tray, that took longer at 20 minutes.
- Leave to cool over a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Then flip over onto the rack, so that they are now upside-down (helping them flatten on the bottom. Leave the baking tray/pan on top for another 5 minutes before removing. Leave to cool completely before decorating
Prepare The Icing/Glaze:
- Making a spiced glaze is highly recommended. Begin by sieving the icing/powdered sugar together with the Mixed Spice, anise & ginger.
- Gradually add milk till a thick paste is formed. Then add very small amounts (⅛ tsp at a time), until a thick but pourable consistency is achieved.
Decorating The Mini Cakes:
- For the pumpkins you can first add glaze to the underside of the cake and leave to set before adding tiny orange ball shaped bright orange sprinkles into the grooves of the pumpkin's facial features. (See Photo).
- Dip the top of the cooled acorn cake in the glaze or use a small spoon to coat. Top the snowflakes with glaze, or only add to the underside, like with the pumpkins.
- After coating in glaze, decorate the acorns with some coconut, chopped nuts, sprinkles, coloured fine sugar, or even ginger sugar from a jar of crystalized ginger. Then leave to set on paper. You can also add coconut to the snowflakes or glitter.
Serving, Storing & Freezing:
- Serve the mini cakes with your favourite Autumn/Fall hot drink.
- Best stored in metal cookie or cake tin for up to 7 days. Cakes with no glaze can also be stored before decorating. **Note Gingerbread cake will improve with taste after the first day or 2.
- Freeze gingerbread mini cakes without the glaze. Wrap in baking/parchment paper & then cling film/plastic wrap or foil on top before placing in a labelled bag or airtight container. Place at the back of the freezer and these will be good for up to 3 months1.
- Defrost overnight in the fridge & leave out to come to room temperature before serving. Alternatively, warm a little, wrapped in paper & foil in the oven or air fryer, @180°c/160°c Fan Oven/350°f , for about 5 – 10 minutes.
Video
Notes
**Toggle the photos or notes, on or off, when opting to print this recipe card. And select the 'Cook Mode' to stop the screen going blank if following along while baking.
Black Treacle, Golden Syrup & Corn Syrup Debate - Read more about Black Treacle & Golden Syrup, before this recipe card. As well as an experiment & why it does not taste as good with substitutes like light & dark corn syrup. Also included is where you can buy these British products if you are in the US/Canada.
Any milk is fine & dark brown sugar or coconut sugar would also work. Artificial sweeteners are not recommended. When using Plain (All Purpose) flour in replace of UK Self-raising, make sure to add the baking powder, as well as the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda).
Glazing Day After -You can wait to glaze the cake, a day later, if stored in the tin. Leave out at room temperature to cool completely, before closing in a tin. Don't put in the fridge, as condensation will occur & wet the cake.
Recipe Yield - batter can make either 19 acorns, or 9 snowflakes, or 11 pumpkins.
Different Cakes/Quantities - Recipe makes approximately 57 tbsp batter, and 1 acorn requires 3 tbsp, 1 snowflake 6 tbsp & 1 pumpkin 5 tbsp of batter. To make 12 snowflakes, multiply the ingredients by 1.2 and for 12 pumpkins increase by multiplying by 1.1.
Variations On The Recipe -See my original Gingerbread loaf cake, mini gingerbread bundt cakes, gingerbread traybake/squares, or latest - Butterscotch Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt cake.
For more information of process photos, please see before this recipe card.
More cakes on my Cake Recipes Page, or try my Christmas Recipes Page
Get some ideas & recipes for Food Gifting your homemade treats.
Fan of GBBO (Great British Baking Show)? Learn more about differences in UK & US baking ingredients, or view, save & print my common baking ingredients conversion table. Includes gram, ounce & cup measurements. (Note all are hand measured by myself during recipe development & testing).
Occasionally I accept new members to Facebook group 'Great British Bake Off Fans'. Or join my Facebook group 'Easy Online Baking Lessons' to accompany this lesson website.
Reference - Freezing old fashioned gingerbread cake information, taken from Delia Smith @ deliaonline/freezing-gingerbread/
***I am not a qualified nutritionist, and all nutritional values are approximate & based on a serving of 1 acorn cake, from a yield of 19 acorn cakes & assumes all of the above ingredients (including fat free Greek-style yoghurt) are used. Bigger or smaller cakes and these values will change. All values calculated via website MyFitnessPal.com.
Any milk is fine & dark brown sugar or coconut sugar would also work. Artificial sweeteners are not recommended. When using Plain (All Purpose) flour in replace of UK Self-raising, make sure to add the baking powder, as well as the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda).
Glazing Day After -You can wait to glaze the cake, a day later, if stored in the tin. Leave out at room temperature to cool completely, before closing in a tin. Don't put in the fridge, as condensation will occur & wet the cake.
Recipe Yield - batter can make either 19 acorns, or 9 snowflakes, or 11 pumpkins.
Different Cakes/Quantities - Recipe makes approximately 57 tbsp batter, and 1 acorn requires 3 tbsp, 1 snowflake 6 tbsp & 1 pumpkin 5 tbsp of batter. To make 12 snowflakes, multiply the ingredients by 1.2 and for 12 pumpkins increase by multiplying by 1.1.
Variations On The Recipe -See my original Gingerbread loaf cake, mini gingerbread bundt cakes, gingerbread traybake/squares, or latest - Butterscotch Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt cake.
For more information of process photos, please see before this recipe card.
More cakes on my Cake Recipes Page, or try my Christmas Recipes Page
Get some ideas & recipes for Food Gifting your homemade treats.
Fan of GBBO (Great British Baking Show)? Learn more about differences in UK & US baking ingredients, or view, save & print my common baking ingredients conversion table. Includes gram, ounce & cup measurements. (Note all are hand measured by myself during recipe development & testing).
Occasionally I accept new members to Facebook group 'Great British Bake Off Fans'. Or join my Facebook group 'Easy Online Baking Lessons' to accompany this lesson website.
________________________________________________________________
***I am not a qualified nutritionist, and all nutritional values are approximate & based on a serving of 1 acorn cake, from a yield of 19 acorn cakes & assumes all of the above ingredients (including fat free Greek-style yoghurt) are used. Bigger or smaller cakes and these values will change. All values calculated via website MyFitnessPal.com.
Nutrition Facts
Chai Spiced Gingerbread Mini Cakes
Serving Size
1 acorn
Amount per Serving
Calories
132
% Daily Value*
Saturated Fat
3
g
19
%
Monounsaturated Fat
1
g
Cholesterol
29
mg
10
%
Sodium
262
mg
11
%
Potassium
73
mg
2
%
Carbohydrates
22
g
7
%
Sugar
15
g
17
%
Protein
2
g
4
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.