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Hi Bold Bakers!
I’m sharing my favorite Irish Gingerbread recipe and I’ll show you how to make it into a BIG & BOLD Holiday Trifle with gorgeous layers of whipped orange cream cheese filling and cranberry orange sauce. My Holiday Gingerbread Trifle is definitely a crowd pleaser!
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Watch The Recipe Video!
Holiday Gingerbread Trifle (Irish Recipe)
Serve up a Bold & Delicious dessert with my Holiday Gingerbread Trifle recipe featuring warm Gingerbread, creamy orange filling and cranberries throughout.
Servings: 10 portions
Serve up a Bold & Delicious dessert with my Holiday Gingerbread Trifle recipe featuring warm Gingerbread, creamy orange filling and cranberries throughout.
Servings: 10 portions
Ingredients
- 1 Cup (8oz/225g)) light brown sugar
- ¾ Cup (8oz/225g) Treacle/molasses
- 2 sticks ( 8oz/225g) Butter
- 3 Cups (16oz/450g) Ap flour
- 2 tsp Ground ginger
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
- 2 Whole Eggs
- 1 ¼ cups (10floz/300ml) Whole milk
- 2 level tsp Baking soda
- Cream Cheese Orange Cream :
- 8 oz cream cheese , room temperature
- 1/4 cup (2oz/55g) sugar
- 1 orange , zested and juiced
- 2 cups heavy cream
- Cranberry and Orange Sauce :
- 2 bags (12 oz each) cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 cups (400g/14oz) sugar
- 1 orange , zested and juiced
- 2 cups (16oz/45ofloz ) water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150oC/300oF.
- Grease and line 2 loaf tins (9x5”)
- In a pot, gently heat the sugar, butter and treacle until melted. Set aside to cool once melted.
- Sift the flour and spices over the mix and stir in. Then whisk in the eggs.
- Whisk the eggs together and then pour them into the treacle mix.
- Whisk Warm the milk in the microwave or in a pot on the stove. Whisk the bicarbonate (baking soda) into the milk . You will see it bubble and activate.
- Whisk the milk straight into the treacle mix until well combined. You will notice this is a thin batter, that's ok.
- Pour the batter into your prepared tin.
- Bake at 300oF (150oC) for 45 minutes. Then gently cover the tins with aluminium foil and continue baking for a further 15 minutes. This step is very important as it creates a lovely sticky, moist gingerbread.
- Once the hour is up take them out of the oven, leaving the foil on.
- Now let them sit on a wire rack in the tins until they are totally cold. The warmth of the cakes steams the cake and you get a beautifully sticky top and a soft moist cake.
- Store your gingerbread well wrapped in parchment paper and cling wrap. The bread will stay fresh for 3-4 days. Also freezes well.
- For the Cream cheese orange filling : In the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), whisk cream cheese until smooth. Then add sugar, orange zest, juice and cream. Beat until the mix thickens and doubles in size. Store in the fridge until needed.
- Cranberry and Orange Sauce :In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar, orange zest and juice and water. Bring to a simmer over low; cook until cranberries begin to burst, 10-12 minutes until it resembles jam and is thick. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
- To build your trifle: In your presentation bowl, lay in cubes of gingerbread. Top with a thick layer of the orange cream filling. Then generously spoon over your cranberry sauce. Repeat layers again for a BIG and BOLD trifle.
I’m in Australia & have not been able to find fresh or frozen cranberries – only dried. Any suggestions or substitution?
Hi Gemma – my kitchen is smelling wonderful right now! After the bread cools should it be refrigerated? Thanks for the recipe! 🎄
In the video you mention salt but it is not in the recipe.
I am making the trifle for Christmas this year! I can’t wait. Question: how long in advance can I make the complete trifle? Will it hold without getting soggy? Thanks!
Hi Gemma, I do have another question
If I use ginger bread cookies should I dip them in left over coffee before I use them? Kinda like what you do with some of your other recipes
Hi Gemma have a another question
When do you plan on doing another challenge and an could it be a holiday recipe. I don’t cook that much but I do love watching you cook.
Instead of making it as ginger bread cake could you change the recipe and make it as ginger bread cookies.
I love ginger bread cookies
I like both
What if you don’t want to make
Home-made cranberry sauce can you skip that part and just use store-bought
Halving the ingredients I did a trial run with this recipe since I plan to take it to a Christmas party I’m going to Christmas Eve. It was fabulous! The cake is moist, the orange/cream cheese filling could be a decadent dessert all on its own and the cranberry/orange sauce is sooo yummy. Put it all together and you have nothing short of perfection! I know this will be a hit with everyone on Christmas Eve. Thanks for another super recipe to add to my repertoire. 🙂
Gemma, usually love your baked goods however this loaf , I followed directions , came out coarse in texture and rather flat in taste. I went back over receipt and notice no salt in ingredients list, may improve taste? I love molasses gingerbread receipts but not a fan of this one. It looked lovely and rose nicely….