Lemon Gingerbread Wonderland Cake

Every year we have a work holiday party the Friday of final exam week. I usually bring one of the desserts, but never have I been as nervous about what I brought as this year!  I wasn't sure the filling was sweet enough.  I wasn't sure the balance was right.  I almost didn't bring it in at all.


In the end, I think it turned out okay. Not overly sweet, but I was hoping for a more sophisticated flavor profile anyway. 

So what is in a Lemon Gingerbread Wonderland Cake?  First, I started with Dorie Greenspan's perfect party cake from Baking from My Home to Yours.  I made her butter cream recipe as well, which is lightly lemon flavored/scented, and REAL, not powdered sugar sickly sweet.  I had run across a recipe for gingerbread latte filling in the Southern Living Pinterest, and couldn't get it out of my head.  I'm not sure the recipe is complete.  The only sugar in it is 1/3 cup molasses, and it is what had me worried!  It makes a custardy pudding type mixture that has to chill overnight (or six hours, which is all I had.)  The pictures they use are much darker, and I really do wonder if they left out the sugar ingredient.  In the end, it had enough flavor without the sweetness to balance the lemon of the outside.

Would I make this again?  Probably not.  I like ginger and lemon together but would prefer stronger flavors.  But I'm just relieved it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, and sometimes that is all you can ask for.