Make your holidays extra festive with this easy Gingerbread Cake Recipe! There’s loads of warming flavours like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and rich molasses. The whole cake is topped with a simple icing sugar glaze and plenty of fun sprinkles!
Now that my American friends have had their Thanksgiving and we are on the last week of November, bring on all the holiday inspired goodies, like this gingerbread cake recipe!
I can’t tell you how excited I am to be sharing this one! I want to thank my fam jam, though, because over the past few weeks they’ve enjoyed their fair share of this cake while I was recipe testing.
Cake for you and you and you!!! Cake for everyone!
The things we do, am I right?
All the testing was worth it, though, because this gingerbread bundt cake is really good. As my sister in law said – it has all the warming flavours of the holidays, but totally suitable for year ’round eatin’. I wonder…is she trying to tell me something, lol.
This gingerbread is not too sweet and literally takes minutes to whip up. It’s made with some simple ingredients that you probably have on hand. The hardest part? Waiting for this baby to cool.
If you’re a fan of gingerbread, you may enjoy this homemade gingerbread coffee creamer!
How to Make Gingerbread Cake
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
- Mix together dry ingredients and lay to one side
- Place butter, cream cheese and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a bowl with a hand mixer)
- Blend until smooth and creamy
- Add molasses and vanilla extract and blend
- Next goes eggs (one at a time)
- Mix in dry ingredients
- Pour batter into prepared (aka greased) pan and bake
- Icing sugar glaze and sprinkles go over cooled cake
- Enjoy!
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Icing Sugar Glaze for Cake
For this gingerbread cake recipe, I kept the icing simple. The acronym I regularly use (and you may have heard me say it before) is K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid).
The cake itself is, like I said, not overly sweet so this icing sugar glaze adds some sweetness and a pretty factor (along with those sprinkles, of course).
The glaze is literally two ingredients. I used icing sugar and orange juice. While recipe testing I tried with various quantities of icing sugar and my results were…
- ½ cup of icing sugar (just enough to drizzle some lines of icing sugar along the top of the cake)
- 1 cup of icing sugar (enough to drizzle over top but not quite enough for my likin’)
- 1.5 cups (what I was happy with)
Tip: To make this easy icing sugar glaze, start with 1.5 cups of icing sugar and add 2 tablespoons of orange juice. Stir, stir, stir.
Slowly add additional orange juice, if needed (1 teaspoon at a time), to get your desired consistency. I used 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons.
A little bit of juice goes a long way and you don’t want the glaze too thin. It should be thick, almost thick like honey.
More Tips
Make sure your butter, cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature before making this gingerbread cake. The ingredients blend better and you get the most oomph out of them. To quickly soften both butter and cream cheese, cut into squares and place on a plate for 10 to 15 minutes or until softened.
When measuring the molasses, grease a measuring cup with baking spray before pouring in the molasses. It helps it to come out more easily.
Once the batter is poured into the greased bundt pan, tap it down on a hard surface a bunch of times to remove any excess air bubbles before baking.
Ensure that the gingerbread cake is fully cooled before icing. Otherwise, the icing sugar glaze will just melt (aka soak) right into the cake and it won’t ‘pop’.
I mixed the icing sugar glaze in a measuring cup (to make things easier). Just pour and let the icing sugar glaze flow naturally over the cake.
As soon as the icing sugar glaze is over the cake, decorate with sprinkles. Because this is a holiday cake, sprinkles are definitely recommended.
Other Easy Holiday Baking Recipes you May Enjoy
- Christmas Shortbread Cookies with White Chocolate and Candy Cane – Classic shortbread cookies dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with festive candy canes.
- Chocolate Shortbread Cookies with Dark Chocolate, Cranberries and Walnuts – Classic shortbread cookies dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with cranberries and walnuts.
- Eggnog Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting – Simple eggnog cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting. Such a treat with a cup of coffee or tea.
- Fruit Cake Bread Pudding – A great way to use leftover fruit cake!
If you want to be extra indulgent, serve a big hunk of this gingerbread cake with some vanilla ice-cream and an eggnog latte (from Champagne Tastes). So good!
Hope you love this homemade gingerbread cake as much as we do!
If you make this gingerbread cake recipe, be sure to leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed! Thank you!
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Easy Gingerbread Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground clove
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 250 gram package light cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
- ½ cup brown sugar (packed)
- ½ cup fancy molasses
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- baking spray or butter (to grease bundt pan)
Glaze
- 1.5 cup icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons orange juice
Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Instructions
- In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Stir to combine and lay to one side. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a stand mixer (or using a bowl with a hand mixer) blend cream cheese, butter and sugar until combined and smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add molasses and vanilla extract and mix another 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, blending about 15 to 30 seconds with each egg addition.
- Add reserved flour mixture to stand mixer and blend until just combined.
- Generously grease bundt pan (I used a standard 10-inch bundt pan) and pour/scoop batter in (batter will be thick). Bake at for 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden skewer comes out clean Note: Because pans and ovens can vary, check on at the 40 minute mark). Let cool in pan for 30 minutes.
- Remove from pan and let COOL COMPLETELY on wire rack before icing.
Glaze
- In a small bowl add icing sugar. Add 2 tablespoons of orange juice and stir. Then, a teaspoon at a time, add more juice and mix until smooth and creamy. Drizzle over COOLED gingerbread. Note: If you want the glaze thicker, add a little more icing sugar. Conversely, if you want a looser glaze, add more juice (a little goes a long way).
Notes
- Cooling time of 3 hours may vary. To speed up cooling time, place cake in fridge for a little while.
- Make sure your butter, cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature before making this gingerbread cake.
- When measuring the molasses, grease a measuring cup with baking spray before pouring in the molasses. It helps it to come out more easily.
- Once the batter is poured into the greased bundt pan, tap it down on a hard surface a bunch of times to remove any excess air bubbles before baking.
- Ensure that the gingerbread cake is fully cooled before icing. Otherwise, the icing sugar glaze will just melt (aka soak) right into the cake and it won’t ‘pop’.
- I mixed the icing sugar glaze in a measuring cup (to make things easier). Just pour and let the icing sugar glaze flow naturally over the cake.
- As soon as the icing sugar glaze is over the cake, decorate with sprinkles.
Can I replace the cream cheese with yogurt ?
Hi Asmahan! Thanks for stopping by! I haven’t tried this particular cake with yogurt so can’t say for sure if it will work, but it may! To replace some of the fat that would be in cream cheese, I’d opt for a regular yogurt (even a thick Greek yogurt) over, say, a lighter version 🙂
Gingerbread has got to be my all-time favourite dessert! Delicious!
Same here! Thanks Matt 🙂
What could you use instead of orange juice?
Hi Tracy 🙂 You could use milk or even water instead of orange juice, if you like.
Pinned this and I can’t wait to try it for the holidays! Is icing sugar the same as powdered or confectioners sugar?
Thank you Anne 🙂 Yes, it is! Hope you love this one!
What a heavenly cake, lovely gingerbread for this holiday season! It looks pretty too the way you’ve decorated it!
Thank you so much, Vanessa 🙂
Love the thought of this cake baking in the oven – the kitchen must smell heavenly with all those beautiful warming flavours. Slightly obsessed with eggnog so I have to check out your eggnog latte recipe as well. What a great combination that would be!
Totally!! The eggnog latte is from a friend of mine. It definitely would be a lovely combo 🙂 Thanks Miriam!
As soon as I saw cream cheese together with the butter in your Gingerbread Cake ingredients, I knew that this cake would be a winner, Dawn. I am excited to make it over the holidays, but I agree with your sister-in-law. Make it all year around! Thanks so much for testing until perfect for our benefit. 🙂
Thank you Denise!!! It’s a favourite for sure 🙂 Hope you love it as much as we do.
Gingerbread cake is a holiday tradition in our family. I have never made it with cream cheese, though, and it sounds amazing! Pinning to try. Thanks for sharing, Dawn!
The cream cheese really adds a richness to the cake. Hope you love it, Colleen! Thanks so much 🙂
I was craving gingerbread cake land then your cake popped up in my feed! So excited to make this. I’m craving all the holiday sweets!
Lol…it was meant to be 😉 Hope you love it, Charity!
Dawn! I listened to your interview on the Dishes with Delish podcast earlier today, it was so much fun!
(Also, gingerbread cake. Yes please.)
Thanks a million, Riz!!! I had a blast speaking with Elaine 🙂 And gingerbread? I’ll happily share 😉
I love gingerbread cake and yours sounds amazing! Love that fun drizzle with festive sprinkles! We love to cut up leftover cake into cubes to serve over vanilla ice cream like ‘crouton’. 😉 This one’s a must try!
Thank you Marissa!! That sounds divine 🙂 !
Christmas season isn’t really festive without having gingerbread (in any form!) at least once…but better six or eight times 🙂 I also noticed many people don’t like/use molasses, but this is the ingredient which makes just a ginger flavour the gingerbread; it’s so warming, hearty, and somehow nostalgic. Pass me a slice please, Dawn!
I agree!!! Love molasses, even on bread with some butter (so good). Virtually handing you a slice right now 😉 Thanks Ben!
Wow, Dawn, what a fantastic gingerbread cake recipe! I haven’t made a lot of gingerbread cakes in my time but I find myself agreeing with your sister in law – this is definitely worthy of year round eating! I’m so loving the cream cheese in the cake – I am torn between making this or cookies or David’s fudge for Christmas gifts… mini bundts of this would be so lovely to gift – and to eat! 🙂
Thank you Shashi! How about you make ’em all and then invite me over 😉 Wouldn’t that be lovely?? Hope you have a fab weekend ahead, my friend! XOXO
Gingerbread is always welcome at this time of year and this bundt cake is great for feeding a crowd! Love all those warm spices!
Totally! Thank you Elaine 🙂
I love the smell of gingerbread while it’s baking, but I really really love the taste of gingerbread! This bundt cake is perfect for the holidays!
Haha – me too, Kathy 😉 Thanks so much!
So pretty and festive and gingerbread is such a great flavour, especially this time of year. Loving the sprinkles 🙂
Thank you Jennifer…gotta have those sprinkles 😉
I love gingerbread anything! This cake looks so delicious and moist. The perfect treat next to a cup of coffee.
It sure it 🙂 Thank you Natalie!
Those rainbow sprinkles are so festive on the cake! Love this time of the year and all the baking indulgence.
Thank you so much! Me too 🙂
Such a lovely cake, Dawn! So pretty and festive with the sprinkles!
Thank you Kelly 🙂 Love sprinkles!
How festive is this cake Dawn?! And the flavor is PERFECT for the entire holiday season! I never met a bundt I didn’t LOVE!
Yay! Thanks Mary Ann! Right there with ya 😉
Such a festive cake! Definitely a great recipes to start with for the holiday baking season!
For sure! Thanks Kevin 🙂
Dawn – I am all about Gingerbread this time of year! I love this bundt cake, it looks and sounds so flavorful and tender. Perfect for the holidays! Obviously, Pinning!
Thanks so much, Laura!! Appreciate that 🙂
My poor waistline! if you keep dishing up awesomeness like this I will have to spend the entire January skiing:)
Love the idea of a gingerbread cake – I’ve never really made one before. And it looks perfectly festive, so no excuses:)
Lol!!! I hear ya, girl!!! The holidays, am I right 😉 ?!
‘Tis the season!! I love that second to last shot, especially! I want to sink my fork right into that beauty! Have a lovely Monday, Dawn! XOXO
Totally! Awww – thanks, my friend! Wish I could share with ya 🙂 XOXO
Oh, gingerbread is one of my favorite things about the holidays! And I love cake…so gingerbread cake is right up there near the top of Santa’s list! I’m down with your sister’s comment about this one being year-round eats, too. I have no shame. I’ll eat gingerbread cake in June. 🙂 But since it’s the appropriate time of year right now, I’m all in! Did you happen to save me a slice??
Mine too! Yes, saved ya a slice 😉 Thanks David!
I love all the warming flavours of gingerbread. It’s one of my favourite treats this time of year. I love that you kept this cake simple. Aren’t bundt cakes great like that!? And the icing sugar glaze with sprinkles is so pretty. I usually make an icing sugar glaze with icing sugar and almond milk. I bet the orange juice adds a nice flavour and compliments the gingerbread beautifully! Hope your week is off to a great start Dawn!
Thank you so much, Leanne! Hope you’re having a great week too 🙂
Ooooo this made me super hungry!!! That cake looks perfectly baked… and YES it would be so good with an eggnog latte! Love love!
Your sister-in-law is onto something. I haven’t even eaten a slice of this year and I know it’s something I’ll want to enjoy all year! Spices and molasses are the BEST! I can’t wait to try this one. Have a great week, Dawn 🙂