Cranberry Sauce Gingerbread Poke Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook Time: 45 mins | Course: Dessert | Serves: 18 

Gingerbread cake with nice spice poked with holes to absorb cranberry sauce spiked with grand marnier, then topped with orange cream cheese frosting swirls. This cake tastes just like Christmas!!! Inspired by the Christmas Season and for the cake by Sally McKenney of Sally’s Baking Addiction. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/gingerbread-cake-recipe/#tasty-recipes-70949  

3 cups flour 

1 ½ tsp baking soda 

2 tsp ground ginger 

2 tsp cinnamon

⅓ tsp allspice 

⅓ tsp ground cloves 

⅓ tsp salt 

¾ cup butter, melted 

½ cup brown sugar 

1 cup + 2 Tbsp molasses 

1 cup + 2 Tbsp hot water (about 100°F) 

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Cranberry Sauce:

2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen

2 cups sugar

1 orange, zested and juiced

Water

2 oz grand marnier

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter

3 ½ cups powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

1 Tbsp orange zest

1 Tbsp orange juice

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*. In a stand mixer, whisk flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and salt together. Add the butter, and brown sugar on top. Measure molasses and hot water in a glass measurer together and pour into the bowl, mixing on low speed briefly. Add the eggs and vanilla; mix until the batter just comes together. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out batter-free. My favorite way to check for doneness is with an insta-thermometer, it should read a minimum of 200* for cake. Make cranberry sauce while the cake is baking. Using the handle end of a wooden spoon, poke 3 rows, about 18 holes in the cake for the cranberry sauce to fill.  

In a medium-sized saucepan, stir the cranberries, sugar, and orange zest together. Add orange juice and enough water to measure 1 cup together, and stir into the berries. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the cranberries stop popping, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat, stir in the grand marnier, and pour over the poked cake, allowing the sauce to fill the cavities. Cool cake completely.

In a stand mixer, mix cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, salt, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla together until creamy and smooth. Spread in swirls over the cooled cake.