To make the vegan ginger cake layers, whisk together sifted plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, mixed spice, caster sugar and salt in a large bowl. The birthday girl wanted to help with the frosting so I piled some on top for her to spread, then I made sure to take it down the sides once she was done. Remember, since this is a rustic cake you want to make sure that the chocolate cake peeks through the sides. Press icing into the mould (select your colour depending on the animal – use the main image on this blog as a guide) to create the features for each creature.

For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.* Gingerbread Biscuits:Spread a layer of buttercream over the top and sides of the cake then top with the gingerbread animals and trees, some chopped nuts, sprigs of rosemary, pumpkin seeds and sugared cranberries. You will need to use some wooden skewers to prop the trees on top of the cake up. I think this theme would suit kids of many ages, so I figured I’d share a bit of a tutorial on how I made it in case you’re interested. I posted the process on my insta stories, and thought I would share those photos with a bit more in-depth explanation here.

Heat gently while stirring until the coconut oil/margarine has melted. Whisk in cinnamon, ginger, cloves and bicarbonate of soda then stir in plain flour. Trim the tops of the cake layers to level them then place one layer on a serving platter or board. Spread over a thin layer of the buttercream then pipe a wide ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake - make it twice as wide as pictured as my cake wasn't very sturdy! Re-roll the trimmings and cut out more shapes then place them well spaced apart on a couple of baking trays. Pop the trays in the freezer for twenty minutes while you heat up the oven.

How To Make Woodland Animal Ginger Cake:

Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the TOP of the final cake layer and place it on the cake upside down to give you a flat surface. Once they are set they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4 days. Tip: if you only have two pans, pre-measure the batter, splitting it into three. That way you know the third layer will bake up the same as the others. Select the colour of icing for your first animal and roll out to a size large enough to cover one of your mini cakes. Drape the icing over one of the sponges and cut neatly around the edge. Repeat for each cake. It consists of three layers of soft, moist vegan ginger cake which is filled with cream cheese frosting and a generous dollop of lemon curd for good measure.

I made only this one small batch of buttercream which was just enough for the whole cake, as I only used it as a dam for the filling and to thinly frost the outside. That is the bonus of naked cakes – less frosting! I know I’m not the only one who scrapes the frosting off when eating cake. This way you just scrape it off from the start. 😉 I made all of these items the day before so that I only had to assemble on the day of the party. You’ll need to refrigerate the cherry pie filling, but the cake and frosting can just be covered in plastic wrap and left at room temperature. Add golden syrup, treacle, sunflower oil and boiling water to the bowl and whisk until no lumps of flour remain. Allow to cool a little then bring the mixture together into a ball (it will still be very soft), wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for about an hour until it is firm enough to roll out.

It is topped with cute vegan gingerbread animals and trees, with a scattering of sugared cranberries, nuts, seeds and rosemary sprigs to complete the woodland scene. It looks especially effective if you serve it on a wooden board! (Mine is from TK Maxx.) To make sugared cranberries if you want to use them, place 50g granulated sugar and 50ml water in a small pan. heat gently, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves and it comes up to the boil.

Spread a couple of spoonfuls of lemon curd inside the ring of buttercream, making sure not to overfill it. Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the bottom of one of the remaining cake layers and place it on top. Repeat the same steps as before. Add sifted icing sugar, fresh lemon juice and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Transfer a third of the buttercream to a disposable piping bag and snip off the tip, or place it in a regular piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle. Cover each mini sponge with a thin layer of buttercream. You’ll find our buttercream recipe and top tips on our blog. It was a really fun cake to make and if you used toy animals instead of making them yourself, I’d say it’s got to be one of the easiest birthday cakes you could make! She loves planning and baking with me so the whole birthday planning process was a dream come true for her. I kept a few small surprises for her but I always let my kids plan with me because they come up with the most interesting ideas and in reality what I come up with always ends up being much more work. So why not keep it simple and let them plan?Lakeland Woodland Animal Mould – with a 6-cup hemisphere mould silicone tray to create your sponges and a silicone feature mould to help you create various eyes, ears and noses, etc. out of fondant icing. As well as our cute woodland animals, you can create lots of other animals with this kit too. The lemon curd is really delicious and works wonderfully with the ginger cake, but it does make the cake a little less stable, so if it needs to travel then I recommend omitting the lemon curd. If you do decide to use it then you will need half a batch of this recipe.