Make your holidays extra festive with this easy gingerbread cake recipe! There are loads of warming flavours like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and rich molasses. The whole gingerbread 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!
Ha! The things we do, am I right?
All the testing was worth it, though, because this gingerbread cake is really good. As my sister-in-law said, it has all the warming flavours of the holidays, but it’s totally suitable for year-round eating. 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 it to bake and 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:
- In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients together and set aside.
- 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, combined and fluffy.
- Add molasses and vanilla extract and blend.
- Next, add eggs (one at a time), blending in.
- Mix in reserved dry ingredients.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake. Once done, allow the cake to cool for a bit, then invert it onto a cooling rack to completely cool before icing.
- In a bowl or large measuring cup, mix the ingredients together for the icing sugar glaze.
- Pour the icing sugar glazed over the cooled gingerbread cake and add some festive sprinkles.
Icing Sugar Glaze for Cake
For this gingerbread cake recipe, I kept the icing simple.
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:
- 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 liking)
- 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.
Tips for Making This Recipe
- Make sure your butter and cream cheese are softened before making this 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 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 (or 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.
More Easy Holiday Baking Recipes
- Baked Eggnog Donuts With Eggnog Icing Sugar Glaze
- Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- Fruit Cake Bread Pudding
If you want to be extra indulgent, serve a big hunk of this gingerbread cake with some vanilla ice-cream and an eggnog latte. So good!
If you make this homemade gingerbread cake recipe, be sure to leave a comment below!
Easy Gingerbread Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake
- Baking spray, or butter (to grease pan)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into a measuring cup and leveled off with a butter knife
- 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
- 1 (8-ounce) package light cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup fancy molasses
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- Festive sprinkles, garnish to taste (optional)
Icing Sugar Glaze
- 1.5 cup icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons orange juice, less if you want thicker consistency or more if you want a thinner consistency
Instructions
Gingerbread Cake
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously spray a 10-inch fluted cake pan with baking spray and set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a bowl with a hand mixer), blend (on medium-high speed) cream cheese, butter and sugar until combined, smooth and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes (stop as necessary to scrape sides of bowl with a rubber spatula).
- Add molasses and vanilla extract and blend for another 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed and add eggs, one at a time, blending about 15 to 30 seconds with each egg addition.
- Add reserved flour mixture and blend until just combined
- Pour or scoop batter into the prepared pan (batter will be thick). Tap the pan down on a hard surface a few times to settle the batter and remove any air bubbles. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden skewer or cake tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.Note: Because pans and ovens can vary, check on at the 40-minute mark).
- Once baked, let the cake cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Then carefully invert the cake onto a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before icing.
Icing Sugar Glaze
- Add icing sugar to a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of orange juice and whisk. A teaspoon at a time, add more juice and whisk until smooth and creamy. Drizzle over cooled gingerbread cake. Note: If you want the glaze thicker, add a little more icing sugar. Conversely, if you want a thinner glaze, add more juice (a little goes a long way).
Glaze the Gingerbread Cake
- Drizzle the icing sugar glaze over the cooled gingerbread cake, then add sprinkles (if desired). You can wait a few minutes for the icing to set or slice right away. Enjoy!
Notes
- Cooling time may vary. To speed up cooling time, place the cake in the fridge for a little while.
- When measuring the molasses, grease a measuring cup with baking spray before pouring in the molasses. It helps it to come out more easily.
- Ensure that the gingerbread cake is fully cooled before icing. Otherwise, the icing sugar glaze will just melt (or 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.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
© Girl Heart Food Inc. Photographs and content are copyright protected.
Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
SHASHI AT SAVORYSPIN
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! 🙂
Girl Heart Food
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
Elaine
Gingerbread is always welcome at this time of year and this bundt cake is great for feeding a crowd! Love all those warm spices!
Girl Heart Food
Totally! Thank you Elaine 🙂
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
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!
Girl Heart Food
Haha – me too, Kathy 😉 Thanks so much!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
So pretty and festive and gingerbread is such a great flavour, especially this time of year. Loving the sprinkles 🙂
Girl Heart Food
Thank you Jennifer…gotta have those sprinkles 😉
Natalie
I love gingerbread anything! This cake looks so delicious and moist. The perfect treat next to a cup of coffee.
Girl Heart Food
It sure it 🙂 Thank you Natalie!
Kankana Saxena
Those rainbow sprinkles are so festive on the cake! Love this time of the year and all the baking indulgence.
Girl Heart Food
Thank you so much! Me too 🙂
Kelly | Foodtasia
Such a lovely cake, Dawn! So pretty and festive with the sprinkles!
Girl Heart Food
Thank you Kelly 🙂 Love sprinkles!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen
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!
Girl Heart Food
Yay! Thanks Mary Ann! Right there with ya 😉
Kevin
Such a festive cake! Definitely a great recipes to start with for the holiday baking season!
Girl Heart Food
For sure! Thanks Kevin 🙂
Laura
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!
Girl Heart Food
Thanks so much, Laura!! Appreciate that 🙂
Milena
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:)
Girl Heart Food
Lol!!! I hear ya, girl!!! The holidays, am I right 😉 ?!
annie@ciaochowbambina
‘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
Girl Heart Food
Totally! Thanks, my friend! Wish I could share with ya 🙂 XOXO
David @ Spiced
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??
Girl Heart Food
Mine too! Yes, saved ya a slice 😉 Thanks David!
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking
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!
Girl Heart Food
Thank you so much, Leanne! Hope you’re having a great week too 🙂
Sarah
Ooooo this made me super hungry!!! That cake looks perfectly baked… and YES it would be so good with an eggnog latte! Love love!
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
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 🙂