High Altitude Ginger Cake
This soft and fluffy ginger cake is spiced with plenty of ground ginger, frosted with vanilla buttercream, and covered in sweet and spicy ginger sugar.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 ¼ cups cake flour, spooned and leveled, then sifted
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups whole milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted, and then cooled for 10 minutes
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder (optional)
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 tbsp milk or cream, only if needed for consistency
Ginger Sugar
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp coarse sparkling sugar (decorator's sugar)
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F, position a rack in the center of the oven, and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray. If making half the recipe, prep three 6-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ground ginger. Use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients well.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, melted butter, oil and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk until combined, about 10-15 seconds. A few lumps in the batter are okay; take care not to over mix. Divide the batter between the cake pans. Tap a few times against the counter to pop any large air bubbles.
- Bake 8-inch cakes for about 21-25 minutes (bake 6-inch cakes for about 18-20 minutes), or until a cake tester or a toothpick comes out clean, and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
- Set the pans on a wire rack, cover them loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting. When ready to frost and assemble the cake, remove the cakes from the pans.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the salt, mixing until thick and combined.
- Add the vanilla; increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. Add the milk only if needed for desired consistency. Note that in warmer weather, when the butter is softer, you'll rarely need to add the milk.
- Fill and frost the cooled cakes with the buttercream. If you like, use any leftover buttercream to pipe the swirls on top of the cake with tip 1M.
Ginger Sugar
- In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar, sparkling sugar, ginger and cinnamon.
- Before the buttercream crusts over, scatter the sugar all over the top and sides of the cake.
Notes
Leftover cake should be stored in an airtight container or cake carrier, at room temperature, for up to 3 days.
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