This deeply spiced and moist gingerbread cake is wonderful any time of day, whether served plain or dressed up with spiced cream cheese frosting and sugared cranberries. You can make it as a single layer cake, or try the 3 layer cake versions detailed in the Notes. No matter how you bake and serve it, this is a classic gingerbread recipe the whole family will love during the holiday season!
I originally published this recipe in 2016 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and helpful information about using different cake pan sizes.
Nothing tastes more like the holidays than the warm, cozy flavors of gingerbread. The smell of ginger, cloves, and molasses can instantly transport anyone’s mindset to December.
One reader, MK, commented: “Soooo delicious! My grandma used to make gingerbread every year and never used a written recipe. This is the closest thing I’ve tasted to it in years. ★★★★★”
Every holiday season, I make my favorite gingerbread cookies, and gingerbread waffles are fast becoming a favorite winter weekend tradition in my house, too. But what about just, simply, gingerbread? A sweet, spiced stick-to-your-fork-moist cake that can do double-duty as Christmas morning breakfast and dessert… welcome to my quintessential gingerbread recipe!
While adding a layer of cream cheese frosting makes it a wonderful holiday dessert, this cake would be just as welcome as a special holiday breakfast, snack, or late-night last-minute gift-wrapping fuel.
Gingerbread has no time-of-day limitations. 😉
Why You Will Love This Gingerbread Snack Cake
- A 1-layer cake, perfect for when you aren’t feeding a big crowd
- You can even make it as an upside down pear gingerbread cake
- Warm, comforting holiday flavors of molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves
- Moist cake crumb, not dry or dense at all
- Top with spiced cream cheese frosting, enjoy it plain, with whipped cream, or with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar
- Adaptable to other pan sizes—see below
- Quick and easy prep makes for a low-maintenance holiday dessert
Ingredients You Need:
- Flour: The base of the gingerbread cake recipe.
- Baking Soda: As you may have read in my baking powder vs. baking soda post, molasses and brown sugar are both acids. So we need baking soda to give the cake its lift!
- Spices: Ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt—the gingerbread mainstays.
- Molasses: In addition to the spices, molasses is the other signature flavor in most gingerbread recipes. I recommend using unsulphured or dark molasses, not blackstrap, which has a more intense flavor that’s a bit too much in baked goods. (I always use Grandma’s brand molasses.)
- Hot Water: As you’ll read about below, whisking the thick molasses with hot water before adding it to the batter makes everything come together easily. The water also adds supreme moisture to each and every bite.
- Butter: You just can’t beat the flavor of this baking staple!
- Brown Sugar: Sweetening with brown sugar provides extra moisture + molasses flavor.
- Egg: 1 egg serves to bind the ingredients together, and adds richness.
- Vanilla Extract: Because, you know, cake. 🙂
How to Mix Sticky Molasses Into Cake Batter
Whisk the molasses with hot water before adding it to the batter. Why? As you know, molasses is very thick. The thick goop, for lack of better words, doesn’t mix easily into cake batter. It’s fine for cookie doughs such as iced gingerbread oatmeal cookies and gingerbread cookie bars, but hot water helps loosen the viscous consistency of molasses, which helps incorporate it into a thinner cake batter.
The resulting cake is dense, yet soft. Buttery, perfectly spiced, and impeccably flavored.
The rest of the prep work is pretty simple, too. You’ll cream the butter and brown sugar together, so an electric mixer is undoubtedly helpful (you’ll need it if you make the frosting, too). As the recipe instructs below, add the dry ingredients and water/molasses mixture to the wet ingredients in separate additions.
The batter is a little thick, and some small lumps are OK:
Different Pan Size Options
This is a versatile gingerbread cake recipe. It can be made a multitude of ways: as a 1-layer round, square, or 11×7-inch rectangle cake; as a gingerbread loaf cake; or as a layer cake. I originally published this recipe in 2015, and when testing this recipe again this year, we tried all of these variations so we could tell you which pans do and don’t work. We went through a LOT of molasses, and had a LOT of cake to give away.
Here’s what we know: The recipe as written makes about 3 cups of batter, and weighs about 850–890g. A 9-inch springform pan is best because this gingerbread cake rises high. No matter what size pan you use, bake the cake at 350°F (177°C). Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake to test for doneness. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.
Here are the best pans to use (about 35 minutes bake time for each):
- 9-inch springform pan or 10-inch springform pan
- 9-inch square baking pan
- 11×7-inch rectangle pan
Here are the pans that won’t work:
- There is too much batter for a 9-inch round cake pan.
- There is not enough batter for a 9×13-inch pan or a Bundt pan.
Yes! I suggest making the batter twice, and reducing the molasses (see Note below). This will be a lot of batter (about 6 cups or 1745g) and is the perfect amount for a 3-layer cake. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Fill the cake pans halfway (about 575g batter in each). Bake for 22–25 minutes. If you don’t want to make the batter twice, you can make it once and bake it in three 6-inch round cake pans, to make a 3-layer 6-inch cake.
Yes! For about 14 cupcakes, fill liners halfway and bake for 20-22 minutes. Or try my slightly different recipe for gingerbread cupcakes.
Topping Gingerbread Cake
This gingerbread snack cake is absolutely fantastic on its own—you don’t even need frosting! But if you want to make it a little more special, slather on some sweet and tangy spiced cream cheese frosting. (Included in the recipe card below.) It’s like absolute heaven on this not-too-sweet cake.
You can also give it a simple dusting of confectioners’ sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, or try the lemon glaze I pair with these just-as-tasty gingerbread muffins.
Or keep it plain so you can warm your slice up and top it with vanilla ice cream. Maybe a little salted caramel sauce on top there, too? Why not!?
I also love to garnish it with cranberries for color. Sugared cranberries are especially festive, and see my notes in that tutorial for sugared rosemary. Here’s a slice from my 9-inch springform pan:
Here’s the layered cake, detailed in the recipe Notes below:
And here’s the gingerbread cake baked in a 9-inch square pan with festive Christmas sprinkles. The little holly decorations are by the brand Wilton, and I can’t seem to find them online anymore. These Christmas trees are similar, though!
If you love smaller-scale cake recipes like this, try this small chocolate cake or my easy 1-layer sprinkle cake.
More Gingerbread Recipes
- Gingerbread Muffins
- Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread Cake
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars & Gingerbread Cookies
- Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
- Homemade Gingerbread House (with free template)
- Gingerbread Waffles
- Gingerbread Latte Cookies
Spiced Gingerbread Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 55 minutes (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 8-10
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is my timeless classic gingerbread. You can enjoy it plain or with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or dollop of whipped cream. You can also top it with spiced cream cheese frosting (recipe included below). You can make it as a single layer round or square cake, or try the layer cake versions detailed in the Notes.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (180ml or 225g) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 3/4 cup (180ml) hot water (about 100°F (38°C))
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups (210g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- small pinch each of ground cinnamon, ginger, and cloves
- optional: sprinkles and/or sugared cranberries for garnish
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9-inch springform pan, 9-inch square pan, or 11×7-inch rectangle pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl or in a liquid measuring cup, whisk the molasses and hot water together.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together fairly well. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) On medium-high speed, beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the hot water/molasses, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Avoid over-mixing. Give it a whisk by hand at the end to make sure there are no large lumps (a few small lumps are OK). Batter is slightly thick.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for around 35 minutes, or until the cake is baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean with only a couple moist (not wet) crumbs, it’s done.
- Allow cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. The cake must be completely cool before frosting.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until creamy and no lumps remain, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and pinches of spices. (Note that the video does not include the spices in the frosting, but the pictures do!) Beat on low speed for 20 seconds, then increase to high speed until everything is completely combined and the frosting is creamy. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. Spread on top of cake. Spread around the sides if you have extra frosting.
- Slice and serve.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cake through step 6. Wrap the baked and cooled cake tightly and keep at room temperature for 1 day or freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature (if frozen) then continue with step 7. Frosting can also be made 1 day ahead of time. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it’s creamy again, if needed. Frosted cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or serve cold. See How to Freeze Cakes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Springform Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Offset Icing Spatula
- Different Size Pans: No matter what size pan you use, bake the cake at 350°F (177°C). A 9-inch springform pan or 10-inch springform pan is best because this gingerbread cake rises pretty high. 9-inch cake pans are too short. You can also use a 9-inch square pan or 11×7-inch rectangle pan. For all of these pans, the bake time will be about 35 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake to test for doneness. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. There is not enough batter for a 9×13-inch cake pan or a Bundt pan.
- Gingerbread Cupcakes: For about 14 cupcakes, fill liners halfway and bake for 20–22 minutes. Or try my slightly different recipe for gingerbread cupcakes.
- 9-Inch Layer Cake: You can make this as a 3-layer 9-inch cake. I suggest making the batter twice, and reducing the molasses to 1/2 cup (150g) in each (for 1 cup (300g) total in the layer cake). You do not have to reduce the water. Don’t double this recipe—make it twice and then combine the batters; the batter is too heavy to double all at once. You will have about 6 cups or 1745g of batter. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Fill the cake pans halfway (about 575g batter in each). Bake the layers for 22–25 minutes. The best amounts/ratio of ingredients to use for the frosting would be the same cream cheese frosting from this carrot cake recipe. Feel free to still add a pinch of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to it if desired.
- 6-inch Layer Cake: You can make the batter as written above and divide it between 3 6-inch round cake pans, to make a 3-layer 6-inch cake. The cream cheese frosting written above is enough for the 3-layer 6-inch cake.
- Adapted from Gingerbread Muffins.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can I double this recipe and use a 9×13 pan?
Hi Victoria, doubling it would likely be too much batter for that size pan. I would try maybe 1.5x the recipe instead. Keep an eye on it in the oven and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Hope it turns out great!
Sally,
I made this single-layer cake this morning in a 9″ springform pan and thought I followed all directions correctly. I have not cut into it yet as I plan to serve it tomorrow, however, I think something isn’t right. How tall should a 9″ layer be? Mine is a little over 1″ at the sides and maybe a little more in the middle. I have the feeling that when I cut into it, it will be very dense and not “fluffy.” After reading other comments, I’m wondering if my water was not hot enough. Any ideas?
Hi Carrol, I haven’t measured the height of this single layer cake before, but my guess is that it’s about 1.5 inches high. The water temperature could have something to do with it. Did you by chance under-measure any ingredient, or perhaps you baking soda has expired? How did the cake taste when you cut into it?
So delicious! We love your gingerbread cookie recipe so making this was a no brainer. So easy to make and it doesn’t even need frosting!
Another wonderful cake! I’m curious about how to store the leftovers? Is it best in the fridge or counter? We had a small amount left and I put it on the counter and I thought it got a wee bit dry. What would you suggest for next time. I used powdered sugar on top of the cake. Thank you!!
Hi Emily, we recommend covering the leftover cake tightly and storing in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
I have a 9 cup Gingerbread House Bundt pan. Would this recipe (and ingredient amounts) work in this pan? if not, could you recommend a recipe for this pan?
Hi CJ, this isn’t quite enough batter for a larger Bundt pan, and we haven’t tried increasing it to know how well it would work for that size pan. We do have this chocolate gingerbread Bundt cake that you might enjoy instead. Let us know if you try it!
It’s only 120g AP in one cup so 2 cups AP = 240g not 250g
Made this cake last Christmas and it was delicious! My frosting however was quite runny..What kind of cream cheese is best to use? Is Philadelphia OK?
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Hi Athina! Yes, we usually use Philadelphia brand cream cheese. Make sure to use the block style cream cheese, not the spreadable kind that comes in a tub.
Hi Sally, is it possible to halve this recipe and bake in a 8×8 square bake pan
Hi Debbie, the cake will be quite thin, but that should work. Bake time will be a bit shorter.
A question about the choc. gingerbread cake b/c there was no place to comment on that page. I just made that recipe cutting it in half because I only wanted a very small cake and used a small Bundt pan. When I checked on it in the oven, it fell in the middle, the inner and outer edges remaining high. Why may this be? I tried to measure carefully and follow the recipe exactly with the exception of halving it. The cake is still nice – moist, soft, not overly dense, and delightful flavor, but just am puzzled on why it fell. All of your previous recipes I’ve tried have been excellent in every way. I made a white chocolate cream cheese frosting to top it.
Hi Pam, a white chocolate cream cheese frosting sounds great with that cake. I’m unsure about why the cake fell in the center, I wonder if it’s a matter of halving the ingredients, or perhaps mis-measuring when halving? I wonder, too, if it needed more time in the oven?
Loved this! Great flavor and texture. I have a few slices in the freezer for a rainy (or snowy) day! Great recipe, Sally!
Hi Sally, i have a question. The recipe says in step 2 to mix molasses with hot water. So does the molasses mixture still have to be hot when mixing it in with the dry ingredients?
Yes!
I made this easy recipe for my family we were visiting. OMG! It disappeared within minutes! Delicious! Thank you, Sally, for a perfect Spicy Gingerbread recipe!
Hi, how do you make your cream cheese icing so thick? When I made mine it didn’t have the same consistency as yours.
Hi Christopher, make sure you’re using bricks of full fat real cream cheese. If you want the frosting a little thicker, you can add some more confectioners sugar.
I plan to make this tomorrow. Out of curiosity, why do you reduce the molasses? I can’t wait to try it!!
Hi Cheryl, in the layer cake you mean? There is simply too much as a whole, and the flavor is very overpowering.
I made this recipe. I didn’t have molasses or treacle and thought golden syrup wouldn’t be strong enough. I did have pomegranate molasses. The result was amazing! Christmas in every mouthful. Baked in a rectangular pan and with christmas sprinkles on the icing, it was delicious!
Thank you, Sally! I made this cake in a 9 x 9 square pan. It came out perfectly! My family, that we are visiting, loved this cake also! It’s perfect!!
I love this recipe. I combined it with an eggnog ganche and it was to die for! My new favorite flavor combo.
I am making this cake today and was wondering if I could just make a buttercream to go with the layer cake and add the same spices? We are not huge cream cheese lovers here. Thanks so much!
Hi Sarah, of course!
Hi,
I was wondering if I could use vegetable oil instead of butter. Would it work and how much oil can I use instead of butter.
Thank you.
Hi Mari, we highly recommend sticking with butter for best results. Hope you enjoy the cake!
I love this recipe, but I have a question. I’m making it as a 3-layer cake, and you say to reduce the molasses in each of the 2 batters to 1/2 cup (instead of 3/4 cup). I’m assuming you also decrease the hot water to 1/2 cup? Getting ready to make this today. Thanks so much.
Hi Mary Beth, no, you do not need to reduce the water.
If we are doubling this recipe to make three 9-in rounds, the notes say to reduce the molasses to half a cup per batch of batter. Do we also reduce the water to half a cup, or stay at three quarters?
Hi Erica, you do not have to reduce the water.
Hi Sally, can I use this recipe with the witlon gingerbread man cake tin?
Hi Wendy, It will depend on how big your cake tin is. Read the section in this post about Different Pan Size Options. Enjoy!
Merry Christmas! Can I make the batter the night before and cover in fridge? I plan to bake tomorrow but wanted to get a head start. Thank you in advance!
Hi Jessica, you could, but the butter in the batter will begin to solidify again. It’s best to bake the batter right after making it. You could, however, mix the dry ingredients together, cover, and keep at room temperature, and mix the wet together, cover and keep in the refrigerator. The molasses and water can stay at room temperature too. Then in the morning, bring the wet ingredients to room temperature and combine them all.
Just baked this today and brought to our friends. Everyone thought it was delicious, moist, flavorful and beautiful to boot. A new holiday tradition
Would this be enough batter for two 8-inch rounds?
The cakes would be rather thin. As written, there’s 3 cups of batter (about 850–890g). So each would have 1.5 cups, which is a pretty thin cake.
HI! I accidentally used blackstrap! Didn’t notice until after I baked the cake. Should I scrap it and start a new cake?
Hi Hayley, it’s a very strong/bitter taste, but it’s worth giving it a try to see if you might enjoy it before scraping it.
I realized I only had black strap as well, I halved the amount of molasses and subbed maple syrup and honey for the rest. So far it tastes great!
Hello, thank you for another wonderful recipe idea. I wanted to make this as a layer cake and noticed you suggested to make the batter twice. If we aren’t using molasses, could we just make the batter once by doubling all the ingredients? Or would this ruin the integrity somehow and we need to actually make the batter twice separately? Thank you, appreciate your time and happy holidays!
Hi Teresa! Molasses is a necessary ingredient in this recipe. Instead, you can use our spice cake recipe, that makes enough batter for a layer cake. See recipe Notes for details.
Can you make with gluten free flour?
Hi Janice, we haven’t tested this cake with gluten free flour, so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you do give it a go!
Have you tried this as a roll cake?
Hi Mary, I actually haven’t. Let me know if you do, and the size pan you use.
Yep. It’s really packed with flavor and a really simple but special holiday flavor. This is (another) winner.
Can this be baked in a 6 cup bundt pan?
Hi Jean! I can’t see why not; that’s a Bundt pan on the smaller side so it should work. I’m unsure of the best bake time.
I used a regular sized Bundt pan and 30-35 minutes was still perfect. I started checking at 25 and took out at 35, but I think 30 could have been perfect.