Gingerbread Biscoff Caramel Cake with Gingerbread Cookie Crust

2 cups (360 g) white chocolate (made with cocoa butter – this can be a bar chopped or chips)
2 cups (480 g) heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons (8.4 g) vanilla extract

*Start this a day before you want to assemble the cake
Place the white chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Set aside.
Pour the heavy whipping cream into a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Heat the cream, stirring frequently until it boils. Stir in the vanilla.
Turn off the heat and let sit for 1 to 2 minutes to cool ever so slightly.
Carefully pour the warm heavy cream over the white chocolate. Allow the mixture to sit for another 1 to 2 minutes before stirring.
With a spatula or whisk, begin to gently stir the mixture starting in the center and then working outward to blend. This helps to create a smooth emulsion and prevents too much air from being incorporated. Too much air means the ganache may split. You can then use a hand mixer or immersion blender to emulsify the white chocolate ganache.
Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, as the white chocolate often settles.
Once the mixture is smooth and cooled a little more, cover the ganache with plastic wrap, making sure to press it gently into the ganache to ensure a film doesn’t form.
Refrigerate the ganache overnight, or at least 6 hours. You won’t be able to whip it if it’s not cold.
Once chilled, pour the ganache into a chilled stainless steel bowl. Using medium-high speed on your mixer, beat the ganache until fluffy and thick. This will take a couple minutes.
Use immediately or cover and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch pans with nonstick spray, line the bottoms with parchment and spray again. Set aside.
In a food processor or blender, pulse the gingersnap cookies until the texture resembles sand.
Mix in the melted butter and granulated sugar.
Evenly divide the cookie crumbs between the three pans, about 5 to 6 ounces in each. Firmly press the cookie crumbs to form a crust on the bottom of the cake pan.
Bake the cookie crusts for 5 minutes.
Remove the pans from the oven and allow to cool while making the cake batter.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed for about 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
On medium-low, gradually add in the eggs and molasses until incorporated. Turn the mixer to medium-high and mix until smooth and nearly double in volume, about 3 minutes.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
Once mixed, evenly divide all of the batter onto the cookie crusts in the pans (about 15 to 16 ounces in each 8-inch pan).
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, checking around 25 minutes. When you insert a toothpick into the center of the cake, a few moist crumbs should come out on it. Remember, the cake continues to bake for 5 minutes as it cools in the pans.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Mix sugar, water and corn syrup in a small saucepan.
Bring the water and sugar mixture to boil over medium heat, but DO NOT STIR. (Stirring encourages crystallization). Let the mixture cook until it caramelizes into a golden brown color. It happens quickly, so keep an eye on it.
Remove the caramelized sugar syrup from the heat and slowly mix in the cream. Pour in just a tiny bit at a time, especially at the beginning, and mix to combine. You can start adding more and more as you go along.
Mix in salt and vanilla. Stir to combine.
Stir in the Biscoff cookie butter.
Let cool to room temperature before using in buttercream or adding in between layers.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and Biscoff cookie butter on medium-high for 3 to 5 minutes.
Turn the mixer to medium and gradually add ¼ cup caramel. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again until the caramel is incorporated.
On low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for another 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Remember to mix the frosting by hand with a wooden spoon or large spatula to push out the air to create a silky-smooth frosting.

Spread a small dollop of buttercream on a cake board or cake plate. Place the first cake layer, top side up, on the cake board.
Evenly spread about ½ cup of the buttercream over the cake layer.
Using a piping bag, pipe a rim of buttercream around the edge of the cake.
Fill the center with ½ to 2/3 cup whipped white chocolate ganache, followed by a drizzle of the caramel.
Repeat this step for the second cake layer and filling.
Place the final cake layer (top side up) on top of the filling.
Use the remaining buttercream to frost a thin layer of buttercream around the cake. This is the crumb coat, which helps to lock the crumbs in place and give the cake some stability before doing the final decorating. Freeze the cake for 10 to 15 minutes.
Using the remaining whipped white chocolate ganache, frost the sides and top of the cake. Remember: this is a whipped frosting and won’t work the same as typical buttercream. It will be “rustic” looking 🙂