lemon cake with ginger

I spend more time than you would suspect on the Martha Stewart website, browsing through recipes and craft ideas. There's something so soothing about everything on that site; it makes you feel like you feel like you could do anything as long as you follow all the step-by step instructions and pretty pictures. Maybe that's just me. Anyway, one thing I noticed while looking through a cake gallery (yes, there are galleries of cakes and cupcakes. How did you think I got sucked in?) is that a bunch of layer cakes just had icing on top. Or no icing at all, just some powdered sugar or fruit. Icing is always my least favorite part of the cake, so to me, this technique is the perfect cake decoration! I find it quite elegant, and very simple.

For an example of elegance combined with deliciousness, here is a Lemon Cake with Ginger that I made on Monday.

For the cake, I used the vanilla cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, with the lemon variation. I made a double batch so I could make layers.

The icing is a variation on basic buttercream (also from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World), using a touch of powdered ginger and ginger juice instead of vanilla extract. And the filling is something new my mother gave me:

Ginger Spread! Have you heard of this? The only ingredients are ginger and sugar. It's like a thin jelly. So far I've only used it for this cake and to put on an otherwise-savory sandwich; it's very warming and delicious. I still have half a jar; what else should I do with it?