Gingerbread Cake is a classic holiday dessert known for its warm, spicy flavor. The combination of molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves gives gingerbread cake its signature flavor. The rich and creamy molasses frosting perfectly complements the moist and delicious cake.
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You’re going to love my take on the classic gingerbread with the added touch of a rich, sweet molasses cream cheese frosting that elevates the original while still keeping it true to its classic roots.
This delicious recipe starts with a moist, tender gingerbread cake filled with the classic flavors of pumpkin pie spice, ginger, and cinnamon. I add molasses for extra sweetness and depth of flavor and corn syrup for even more moist tenderness.
When it’s all said and done, you will have a delicious dessert for the holidays that’s true to its roots but with just a little something extra to make it uniquely tasty. Love the flavors of molasses and gingerbread? If so you’re going to love my mini-sized gingerbread cupcakes and these soft molasses cookies.
Why You’ll Love This Moist Gingerbread Cake Recipe
- Great Flavor: The cake is moist, flavorful, and the perfect balance of molasses, spices, and sweetness.
- Unique Frosting: It’s frosted with a creamy, delicious, and smooth frosting with a hint of molasses that complements the cake perfectly.
- Easy Baking Recipe: This easy to make cake is perfect for bakers at all levels!
- Customizable: You can easily make some simple adjustments to make the cake with the flavors you love and even use it with different flavors of frosting.
Ingredients
This recipe uses simple baking ingredients, and most if not all of them are probably in your house right now. Anything you don’t have can be found quickly and easily at your local grocery store.
- All purpose flour: Provides structure and helps the cake hold its shape.
- Baking soda: The leavening agent that gives the cake it’s nice lift.
- Spices: We use a blend of ground ginger, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. The ground ginger gives the cake its characteristic flavor while the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice add depth, complexity, and warmth.
- Butter: Provides moisture and richness to the cake and creamy consistency for the frosting. Make sure you have cold butter for the cake and softened butter for the frosting.
- Molasses: A classic gingerbread ingredient that gives the cake its dark, molasses flavor, and lends the frosting its delicious flavor.
- Corn syrup: Sweetens and adds moisture to the cake.
- Dark brown sugar: For more sweetness as well as enhances the depth of flavor with more hints of molasses.
- Whole milk: Adds moisture to the cake batter bringing all the ingredients together.
- Large egg: Helps to bind the ingredients together and adds richness.
- Cream cheese: Gives the frosting its smoothness and richness with a slight tang.
- Vanilla extract: Provides natural sweetness and warmth to the frosting.
- Powdered sugar: Best sweetener for the frosting. It dissolves more easily when mixed with the butter and cream cheese making the frosting ultra creamy.
Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredient list with the quantities of each one.
Variations
Lemon, white chocolate, caramel, and chocolate pair wonderfully with gingerbread so use those for inspiration when considering customizing the flavors of the cake.
- Classic Cream Cheese Frosting. If you prefer a classic frosting for gingerbread cake, simply leave out the molasses. You will need to increase the powdered sugar slightly for additional sweetness.
- Chocolate Gingerbread. Add chocolate chips or white chocolate chips to the cake batter for some chocolate chip gingerbread cake.
- Skip the Frosting. Serve it up as a gingerbread snack cake and drizzle with caramel sauce.
- Adjusting the Spices. You can adjust the measurements of the ginger, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice to create the gingerbread flavor you love.
How to Make Gingerbread Cake with Cinnamon Molasses Frosting
Making this delicious classic is just as simple as the ingredients that you’ll be using. It only takes a few minutes and a few simple steps! To get started, gather all your ingredients, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and spray an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Step 1: Combine the Dry Ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice in a medium bowl.
- Step 2: Heat the Liquid Ingredients. Heat the milk and brown sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar is melted and the mixture is lukewarm. Heat the molasses and corn syrup in another saucepan until lukewarm. Set both pans of liquid aside to cool.
- Step 3: Cut in the Butter. Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is crumbly.
- Step 4: Make the Batter. Mix the cooled milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until blended. Then, stir in the cooled molasses mixture until blended. Whisk the egg into the mixture until well combined.
- Step 5: Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely.
- Step 6: Make the Molasses Frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy in a medium bowl. Then, add the vanilla and cinnamon and mix well. Next, gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Finally, mix in the molasses and blend well.
- Step 7: Frost. When the cake is fully cooled frost the top. Cut into slices and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Avoid overmixing. Mix your cake batter until combined and no further. Overmixing will make a tough cake.
- Soften ahead of time. Fully soften your cream cheese and butter to avoid a lumpy frosting. Pull it out about 30 minutes before your ready to start mixing.
- Cool the cake. Fully cool your cake before frosting to ensure the frosting doesn’t melt.
- Decorating ideas. For a festive flair, top the frosted cake with gingerbread men or sugared cranberries. Chopped nuts and sprinkle are simple upgrades that don’t require any extra work.
- Storing tips. Refrigerate this cake in an airtight container for up to 4 days. For longer storage, wrap it in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, and freeze it for up to a month if it’s been frosted or two months without the frosting.
Serving Suggestions
This delicious cake is perfect with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea for an evening snack or after dinner treat.
You can also add it to a larger holiday dessert spread with all of your classic favorites like pies, cookies, and candy like some Christmas Toffee and these Peppermint Cookies.
Enjoy a slice after a dinner of Crock Pot chuck roast, mashed potatoes, and cinnamon roasted butternut squash.
Try This Gingerbread Cake Recipe Today
This delicious gingerbread cake recipe brings all the flavors of the holiday with a fun twist. The molasses is in the frosting and the cake! It’s an easy recipe that even beginners can make, and it’s always the star of the holiday dessert table. Give this recipe a try, and I know it will become your new Christmas favorite!
More Delicious Holiday Recipes You’ll Enjoy
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Gingerbread Cake with Molasses Frosting
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup butter cold and cut into small pieces
- ½ cup molasses
- ½ cup corn syrup
- ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 9 ounce milk
- 1 large egg
Molasses Frosting
- 4 ounce cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon molasses
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Gingerbread Cake
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat milk and brown sugar together just until sugar is melted and mixture is lukewarm.
- In another small saucepan, heat molasses and corn syrup until lukewarm.
- While both pans are cooling, cut cold butter into flour mixture using a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.
- Once both pans have cooled a bit, add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir until blended. Then add molasses mixture and stir.
- Add egg and whisk until well combined.
- Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely in pan.
Molasses Frosting
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together until creamy.
- Add vanilla and cinnamon, mix well.
- Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
- Mix molasses into mixture and blend well.
- Once cake has completely cooled, frost top of cake.
Notes
- Avoid overmixing. Mix your cake batter until combined and no further. Overmixing will make a tough cake.
- Soften ahead of time. Fully soften your cream cheese and butter to avoid a lumpy frosting. Pull it out about 30 minutes before your ready to start mixing.
- Cool the cake. Fully cool your cake before frosting to ensure the frosting doesn’t melt.
- Decorating ideas. For a festive flair, top the frosted cake with gingerbread men or sugared cranberries. Chopped nuts and sprinkle are simple upgrades that don’t require any extra work.
- Storing tips. Refrigerate this cake in an airtight container for up to 4 days. For longer storage, wrap it in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, and freeze it for up to a month if it’s been frosted or two months without the frosting.
