½ cup sugar
½ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup finely grated lime peel (from about 12 limes)
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh gingerPinch of salt
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
Cake
5 cups sifted cake flour (sifted, then measured)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
8 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
Frosting
1½ cups sugar
2 large egg whites
⅓ cup water
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 7-ounce package sweetened flaked coconut
GINGER-LIME CURD: Whisk eggs, egg yolks, sugar, lime juice, lime peel, ginger, and salt in large metal bowl to blend. Place bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water and whisk constantly until curd thickens, about 8 minutes. Remove bowl from over water; whisk butter into hot curd. Strain curd through fine strainer set over bowl; discard solids in strainer. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of curd; chill overnight.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.
CAKE: Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter four 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1½-inch-high sides. Line pan bottoms with parchment paper. Butter parchment; dust with flour. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in another large bowl until smooth. Gradually add sugar and beat until well blended, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, scraping down sides of bowl often. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Divide batter among prepared pans.
Place 2 cake pans on upper rack of oven and 2 pans on lower rack. Bake cakes until golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, reversing pans after 15 minutes, about 30 minutes total. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; peel off parchment. Cool cakes completely.
Place 3 cake layers on work surface. Spread ⅓ of ginger-lime curd (about ½ cup) over each, leaving ½-inch plain border at edge. Let cake layers stand 10 minutes. Stack cake layers, curd side up, on platter. Top with fourth cake layer. Insert 3 or 4 bamboo skewers from top to bottom into cake to hold stacked layers in place while preparing frosting.
FROSTING: Whisk sugar, egg whites, ⅓ cup water, corn syrup, and cream of tartar in large metal bowl to blend. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water. Using handheld electric mixer, beat at medium speed until mixture resembles soft marshmallow fluff, about 4 minutes. Increase mixer speed to high and beat until mixture is very thick, about 3 minutes longer. Remove bowl from over water. Add vanilla and continue beating until marshmallow frosting is completely cool, about 5 minutes.
Spread marshmallow frosting thinly over top and sides of cake. Remove bamboo skewers. Press flaked coconut into marshmallow frosting on top and sides of cake.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours before serving.
Cola in gingerbread cake? Absolutely—the warm caramel flavors in cola actually complement the molasses and brown sugar in this triple-layer cake. Use a cola made the good old-fashioned way, with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. You’ll have some candied kumquats left over; they’re delicious served with vanilla ice cream or creamy Greek-style yogurt.
12 servings
Cake
1 cup cola
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
¾ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
Candied Kumquats
1 cup water
¾ cup honey
¼ cup sugar
15 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
22 ounces kumquats, cut into ¼-inch-thick rounds, seeded
Frosting
1⅓ cups (packed) dark brown sugar
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon whipping cream
2 8-ounce packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, toasted, chopped
⅓ cup chopped crystallized ginger
CAKE: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 3 nonstick 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1½-inch-high sides. Bring cola to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat; whisk in baking soda, then molasses. Transfer to large bowl; cool to room temperature. Whisk flour, ginger, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar, oil, and eggs into molasses mixture. Whisk in flour mixture. Divide batter among prepared pans (about 1⅔ cups batter for each).
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely.
CANDIED KUMQUATS: Bring 1 cup water, honey, sugar, cloves, and cinnamon to boil in heavy large skillet, stirring to dissolve sugar. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Add kumquats; reduce heat to medium and simmer until almost tender, stirring often, about 6 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer kumquats to plate. Boil syrup until reduced to ⅔ cup, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Strain syrup and cool.
FROSTING: Stir sugar and cream in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves; cool caramel completely. Transfer ¼ cup caramel to small bowl and reserve. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Beat remaining caramel into frosting until well blended.
Chop enough candied kumquats to measure ⅓ cup; mix in small bowl with 1 tablespoon kumquat syrup. Place 1 cake layer on platter; spread ¾ cup frosting over. Dot with half of chopped kumquat mixture. Drizzle with half of reserved caramel. Top with second cake layer; spread ¾ cup frosting over. Dot with remaining chopped kumquat mixture. Drizzle with remaining reserved caramel. Top with third cake layer; spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Arrange enough sliced kumquats in single layer atop cake just to cover. Mix pecans and ginger in small bowl. Press nut mixture halfway up sides of cake. Chill 1 hour.
DO AHEAD: Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and chill overnight. Cover remaining kumquat syrup; let stand at room temperature.