Best Gingerbread Man Party Cake Recipes

"GINGERBREAD BOY" CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan, or spray with baking spray with flour. Generously grease 5-inch round ovenproof bowl (that holds at least 1 cup), or spray with baking spray with flour.
• Make cake batter as directed on box. Pour 1/2 cup batter into greased bowl; pour remaining batter into pan.
• Bake bowl 19 to 24 minutes and pan 26 to 33 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool cakes 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto cooling rack to remove cakes. Cool completely, about 60 minutes. Chill cakes in refrigerator or freezer 30 to 60 minutes before cutting to reduce crumbs. Place bottom side up on serving tray.
• Spoon 1/2 cup of the vanilla frosting into resealable food-storage plastic bag. Seal bag; set aside. In medium bowl, stir together remaining vanilla frosting and the chocolate frosting.
• Using serrated knife, cut cake into gingerbread boy shape (see diagram). Spread cut edge of neck with frosting; attach round piece for head. To seal crumbs, frost cake with a thin layer of frosting. Refrigerate or freeze 30 to 60 minutes to set frosting. Spread remaining frosting evenly over cake. Cut off small corner of bag containing vanilla frosting. Pipe frosting onto cake to decorate as shown in photo. Store loosely covered.

GINGERBREAD MAN PARTY CAKE

Steps:

• Make sure your cake is completely cooled, remove from its tin and peel off the baking parchment. Spread a little icing over a cake board or cake stand, then invert your cake onto it, so the bottom now becomes the top.
• On a clean surface lightly dusted with a little icing sugar, roll out the marzipan to a circle large enough to cover the cake - use a piece of kitchen string to help you check. Melt the apricot jam in a small pan with 1 tbsp water, then sieve and brush a little all over your cake. Cover the cake with the marzipan, smoothing it over the surface. Trim the edges.
• Brush the marzipan all over with the remaining apricot jam, then roll out 1kg of the fondant icing and, using the same method as for the marzipan, cover your cake with the icing. Trim the edges. (See our step-by-step guide on how to cover your cake, above.)
• Split the remaining icing into 3 equal lumps. Dye 1 ball of icing bright red and another gingerbread brown. Cover the icing tightly with cling film until needed. Roll out the brown icing and, using your cutter, stamp out 5 gingerbread men. Use a little of your runny icing to glue the gingerbread men to the top of the cake in a circle.
• Roll your red icing and white icing into 20cm sausage shapes, squeeze them together, then continue rolling, twisting the sausage as you roll to give you a candy-cane effect. Use a piece of string to measure around the base of the cake, then cut a candy cane-coloured strip long enough to run around the base and stick it with a little runny icing. Roll the remaining candy cane-coloured icing out a little thinner, then cut into 5 short pieces and bend the ends over to make candy canes. Stick 1 of these between each gingerbread man.
• Pour the remaining icing into a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle, or a sandwich bag and snip off the end - if the icing is a little runny, thicken it with extra icing sugar first. Use the icing to pipe a smiley face, eyes and 2 dots in the middle of each gingerbread man - stick edible gold balls on the dots to make buttons.