This deeply spiced and moist gingerbread cake is fantastic any time of day, whether or not served plain or dressed up with spiced cream cheese frosting. You can also make it as a single layer spherical or sq. cake, or attempt the layer cake model detailed within the Notes. Irrespective of the way you bake and serve it, it is a basic gingerbread recipe the entire household will love throughout the vacation season!
Reader MK commented: āSoooo scrumptious! My grandma used to make gingerbread yearly and by no means used a written recipe. That is the closest factor Iāve tasted to it in years. ā ā ā ā ā ā
Nothing tastes extra like the vacations than the nice and cozy, cozy flavors of gingerbread. The scent of ginger, cloves, and molasses can immediately transport anybodyās mindset to December.
Each vacation season, I make my favourite gingerbread cookies, and gingerbread waffles are quick turning into a favourite winter weekend custom in my home, too. However what about simply, merely, gingerbread? A candy, spiced stick-to-your-fork-moist cake that may do double-duty as Christmas morning breakfast and dessertā¦ welcome to my quintessential gingerbread recipe!
Whereas including a layer of cream cheese frosting makes it a beautiful vacation dessert, this cake could be simply as welcome as a particular vacation breakfast, snack, or late-night last-minute gift-wrapping gas.
Gingerbread has no time-of-day limitations. š
Why You Will Love This Gingerbread Snack Cake
- A 1-layer cake, excellent for once you arenāt feeding an enormous crowd
- You may even make it as an the other way up pear gingerbread cake
- Heat, comforting vacation flavors of molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves
- Moist cake crumb, not dry or dense in any respect
- High with spiced cream cheese frosting, take pleasure in it plain, with whipped cream, or with a dusting of confectionersā sugar
- Adaptable to different pan sizesāsee beneath
- Fast and straightforward prep makes for a low-maintenance vacation dessert
Substances You Want:
- Flour: The bottom of the gingerbread cake recipe.
- Baking Soda: As you could have learn in my baking powder vs. baking soda put up, molasses and brown sugar are each acids. So we want baking soda to present the cake its carry!
- Spices: Floor ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and saltāthe gingerbread mainstays.
- Molasses: Along with the spices, molasses is the opposite signature taste in most gingerbread recipes. I like to recommend utilizing unsulphured or darkish molasses, not blackstrap, which has a extra intense taste thatās a bit an excessive amount of in baked items. (I at all times use Grandmaās model molasses.)
- Sizzling Water: As youāll examine beneath, whisking the thick, sticky molasses with sizzling water earlier than including it to the batter makes all the pieces come collectively simply. The water additionally provides supreme moisture to each chew.
- Butter: You simply canāt beat the flavour of this baking staple!
- Brown Sugar: Sweetening with brown sugar offers further moisture + further molasses taste.
- Egg: 1 egg serves to bind the substances collectively, and provides richness.
- Vanilla Extract: As a result of, you realize, cake. š
The best way to Combine Sticky Molasses Into Cake Batter
Whisk the molasses with sizzling water earlier than including it to the batter. Why? As you realize, molasses could be very thick. The thick goop, for lack of higher phrases, doesnāt combine simply into cake batter. Itās superb for cookie doughs corresponding to iced gingerbread oatmeal cookies and gingerbread cookie bars, however sizzling water helps loosen the viscous consistency of molasses, which helps incorporate it right into a thinner cake batter.
The ensuing cake is dense, but delicate. Buttery andĀ tender. Completely spiced and impeccably flavored.
The remainder of the prep work is fairly easy, too. Youāll cream the butter and brown sugar collectively, so an electrical mixer is undoubtedly useful (youāll want it in the event you make the frosting, too). Because the recipe instructs beneath, add the dry substances and water/molasses combination to the moist substances in separate additions.
The batter is slightly thick, and a few small lumps are OK:
Completely different Pan Dimension Choices
It is a versatile gingerbread cake recipe. It may be made a mess of how: as a 1-layer spherical, sq., or 11Ć7-inch rectangle cake; as a gingerbread loaf cake; or as a layer cake. I initially printed this recipe in 2015, and when testing this recipe once more this yr, we tried all of those variations so we might let you know which pans do and donāt work. We went by way of a LOT of molasses, and had a LOT of cake to present away.
Right hereās what we all know: The recipe as written makes about 3 cups of batter, and weighs about 850ā890g. A 9-inch springform pan is greatest as a result of this gingerbread cake rises fairly excessive. It doesn’t matter what measurement pan you utilize, bake the cake at 350Ā°F (177Ā°C). Insert a toothpick within the heart of the cake to check for doneness. If it comes out clear, the cake is finished.
Listed below are the most effective pans to make use of (about 35 minutes bake time for every):
Listed below are the pans that receivedāt work:
- There may be an excessive amount of batter for a 9-inch spherical cake pan.
- There may be not sufficient batter for a 9Ć13-inch pan or a Bundt pan.
Sure! I counsel making the batter twice, and decreasing the molasses (see Notice beneath). This will likely be loads of batter (about 6 cups or 1745g) and is the right quantity for a 3-layer cake. Grease three 9-inch spherical cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Fill the cake pans midway (about 575g batter in every). Bake for 22ā25 minutes. Should you donāt need to make the batter twice, you can also make it as soon as and bake it in three 6-inch spherical cake pans, to make a 3-layer 6-inch cake.
Sure! For about 14 cupcakes, fill liners midway and bake for 20-22 minutes. Or attempt my barely completely different recipe for gingerbread cupcakes.
Topping Gingerbread Cake
This gingerbread snack cake isĀ completely improbable by itselfāyou donāt even want frosting! However if you wish to make it slightly extra particular, slather on some candy and tangy spiced cream cheese frosting. (Included within the recipe card beneath.) Itās like absolute heaven on this not-too-sweet cake.
You too can give it a easy dusting of confectionersā sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, or attempt the lemon glaze I pair with these just-as-tasty gingerbread muffins.
I additionally like to garnish it with contemporary cranberries for shade. Sugared cranberries are particularly festive, and see my notes in that tutorial for sugared rosemary. Right hereās a slice from my 9-inch springform pan:
And right hereās the gingerbread cake baked in a 9-inch sq. pan with festive Christmas sprinkles. The little holly decorations are by the model Wilton, and I canāt appear to seek out them on-line anymore. These Christmas timber are related, although!
Should you love smaller-scale cake recipes like this, do that small chocolate cake or my straightforward 1-layer sprinkle cake.
Extra Gingerbread Recipes
Spiced Gingerbread Cake
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook dinner Time: 35 minutes
Whole Time: 3 hours, 55 minutes (contains cooling)
Yield: serves 8-10
Class: Cake
Technique: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
That is my timeless basic gingerbread. You may take pleasure in it plain or with a dusting of confectionersā sugar or dollop of whipped cream. You too can prime it with spiced cream cheese frosting (recipe included beneath). You can also make it as a single layer spherical or sq. cake, or attempt the layer cake variations detailed within the Notes.
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting (optionally available)
Directions
- Alter the oven rack to the decrease third place and preheat oven to 350Ā°F (177Ā°C). GreaseĀ a 9-inch springform pan, 9-inch sq. pan, or 11Ć7-inch rectangle pan. Put aside.
- In a mediumĀ bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt collectively till mixed. Put aside.
- In a separate bowl or in a liquid measuring cup, whisk the molasses and sizzling water collectively.
- In a big bowl utilizing a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on excessive velocity till easy and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on excessive velocity for 1 minute till creamed collectively pretty properly. Scrape down the perimeters and up the underside of the bowl with a silicone spatula as wanted. On medium-high velocity, beat within the egg and vanilla till mixed. Scrape down the perimeters and up the underside of the bowl with a silicone spatula as wanted. With the mixer on low velocity, add the dry substances in three additions alternating with the new water/molasses, starting and ending with the dry substances, and mixing every addition simply till integrated. Keep away from over-mixing. Give it a whisk by hand on the finish to verify there are not any massive lumps (a couple of small lumps are OK). Batter is barely thick.
- Pour batter into ready pan. Bake for round 35 minutes, or till the cake is baked by way of. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clear with solely a pair moist (not moist) crumbs, itās accomplished.
- Permit cake to chill fully within the pan set on a wire rack. The cake should be fully cool earlier than frosting.
- Make the frosting: In a big bowl utilizing a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter collectively on medium-high velocity till creamy and no lumps stay, about 2 minutes. Add confectionersā sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and pinches of spices. (Notice that the video doesn't embrace the spices within the frosting, however the footage do!) Beat on low velocity for 20 seconds, then enhance to excessive velocity till all the pieces is totally mixed and the frosting is creamy. Style. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is simply too candy. Unfold on prime of cake. Unfold across the sides if in case you have further frosting.
- Slice and serve.
- Cowl leftover cake tightly and retailer within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
Notes
- Make Forward & Freezing Directions: Put together cake by way of step 6. Wrap the baked and cooled cake tightly and preserve at room temperature for 1 day or freeze as much as 3 months. Carry to room temperature (if frozen) then proceed with step 7. Frosting can be made 1 day forward of time. Cowl tightly and refrigerate in a single day. Beat the frosting on medium velocity for a couple of seconds so itās creamy once more, if wanted. Frosted cake freezes properly, as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge, then convey to room temperature or serve chilly. See The best way to Freeze Muffins.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): 9-inch Springform Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Offset Icing Spatula
- Completely different Dimension Pans: It doesn't matter what measurement pan you utilize, bake the cake at 350Ā°F (177Ā°C). A 9-inch springform pan or 10-inch springform pan is greatest as a result of this gingerbread cake rises fairly excessive. 9-inch cake pans are too brief. You too can use a 9-inch sq. pan or 11Ć7-inch rectangle pan. For all of those pans, the bake time will likely be about 35 minutes. Insert a toothpick within the heart of the cake to check for doneness. If it comes out clear, the cake is finished. There may be not sufficient batter for a 9Ć13-inch cake pan or a Bundt pan.
- Gingerbread Cupcakes: For about 14 cupcakes, fill liners midway and bake for 20ā22 minutes. Or attempt my barely completely different recipe for gingerbread cupcakes.
- 9-Inch Layer Cake: You can also make this as a 3-layer 9-inch cake. I counsel making the batter twice, and decreasing the molasses to 1/2 cup (150g) in every (for 1 cup (300g) complete within the layer cake). Donāt double itāmake it twice after which mix the batters; the batter is simply too heavy to double all of sudden. You'll have about 6 cups or 1745g of batter. Grease three 9-inch spherical cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Fill the cake pans midway (about 575g batter in every). Bake the layers for 22ā25 minutes. The most effective quantities/ratio of substances to make use of for the frosting could be the identical cream cheese frosting from this carrot cake recipe. Be happy to nonetheless add a pinch of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to it if desired.
- 6-inch Layer Cake: You can also make the batter as written above and divide it between 3 6-inch spherical cake pans, to make a 3-layer 6-inch cake. The cream cheese frosting written above is sufficient for the 3-layer 6-inch cake.
- Tailored from Gingerbread Muffins.
Key phrases: gingerbread cake
