Cute Gingerbread Man Shaped Cake with Gingerbread Buttercream

Cake

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Mix cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl with a hand whisk or a stand mixer. Whisk vigorously or mix on a medium speed for approximately 2 minutes.
2. Carefully pour in the 13x9 cake pan. Bake for 23-28 minutes. Cake is ready when a toothpick inserted has a few crumbs or is clean. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Buttercream

1. In the mixer bowl with a whisk attachment, add Eggland’s Best Liquid Egg Whites, powdered sugar, and salt. Mix on low speed until sugar has disolved.
2. Once sugar is incorporated, beat for a few minutes until everything is combined.
3. Return the mixer to low speed and add softened butter, 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Once all the butter has been added, at medium speed, beat for 10 minutes while scraping down the sides as needed. Add vanilla extract, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Add 1 tsp more if you want a stronger flavor.
4. Replace with a paddle attachment and beat for 5-10 minutes if you want to get rid of air bubbles.
5. Set aside approx. 1-2 cups of buttercream for the white color.
6. Add brown gel food coloring to the buttercream and mix it well.
7. Flip the cake pan onto a baking sheet or rack. Use a gingerbread man template (which can be found on Google and resized to 8 x 11) to cut out the shape with a knife.
8. Cover with brown buttercream with an offset spatula for a crumb coat. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat the step for the second coat of buttercream, carefully paying attention to the edges. Refrigerate again.
9. Create the fondant accents. Use a medium size (2 inches or so) to cut out black circles for the eyes. Paint white spots on them with a thin paintbrush to create eyes. Create small pink circles for the cheeks. (Mix white fondant with a bit of red fondant to create pink color). Roll out a smiley smile with black fondant. Create a small bow with red fondant. Cut out little hearts with a heart cutter in green, red, and white.
10. Fill a piping bag with a piping coupler, piping tip #10, and white buttercream.
11. Pipe “hair” on the top of the cake and sprinkle on the Christmas sprinkles.
12. Pipe white zigzags on the arms and legs.
13. Change the piping tip to #4 piping tip and pipe the eyebrows.
14. Place all the fondant accents on the cake.