This cake will quieten even the most rowdy of dinner party tables. It can cause the happiest of married couples to fiercely argue over the leftovers. After eating the last remaining slice of this cake for breakfast, a dear friend messaged me to say: ‘I think I’ll just go back to bed. My day can’t get any better than that slice of cake’.

So there you have it. If you want to shut up your friends, cause marital rifts, and set impossible expectations for the day, make this cake. No, really. Make it. It’s bloody good.

Gingerbread mascarpone cream layer cake

Based on recipes by Deb Perelman & Kate Marinkovich

For the cake:

plain or gluten free flour 2 & 1/4 cups (I used brown rice flour)

brown sugar 1 & 1/4 cups

baking powder 2 teaspoons

baking soda 1 teaspoon

ground ginger 2 tablespoons

ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon

freshly ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon

ground mixed spice 1 teaspoon

sea salt 1/2 teaspoon

molasses 340g

rice bran oil 210g

free range eggs 2 large

buttermilk 1 cup

Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 23cm round loose-bottomed cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides. As this is a very liquid mixture the best way to do this is to tear off a square of baking paper that is larger than the size of the tin. Place the baking paper over the base of the tin and clamp the sides over the top so that the edges of the baking paper stick out the sides.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, spices, and salt. Warm the molasses and oil together in a small saucepan until combined (don’t bring to the boil). Beat the buttermilk and eggs together. Add the molasses and buttermilk mixtures to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine well.

Pour the cake batter into your prepared tin and place in the oven to bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from its tin and place on a cooling rack.

For the mascarpone cream:

cream 300ml

icing sugar 3 tablespoons

mascarpone 200g

Beat the cream and icing sugar together until soft peaks form. Add the mascarpone, a dollop at a time, and whisk until smooth.

To assemble:

Wait until the cake is completely cool, then use a serrated bread knife to slice the cake in half horizontally. Using a fish slice or palette knife, carefully lift off the top layer of cake and set to one side. Spread the bottom half of cake with 2/3 of the mascarpone cream. Carefully slide the top cake layer on top, gently pressing down to ensure that the cream layer can be seen and pile the remaining mascarpone cream on top.

Store the cake in the fridge; it will be much easier to slice if chilled for couple of hours before you serve it. This cake is even better the next day, however if you are planning to wait and serve it the following day, hold off on spreading the top layer of cream until closer to the time of serving as the gingerbread will stain the mascarpone cream.