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This gingerbread cake is the one I make on a Tuesday in December for no reason at all. It’s a small, easy snacking cake, deeply spiced with molasses, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and it stays moist for days.
You can top it with fluffy gingerbread buttercream, and it’s beautiful that way. But I’ll be honest, I usually prefer it plain. The flavor is good enough to stand on its own, and a bare square of it with coffee in the morning is one of my favorite things about this season.
It’s lovely for a holiday party, a Christmas brunch, or a Sunday night when you want something warm. And without frosting, it’s very good for breakfast alongside a gingerbread latte.
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Pin ItHere’s What You Need to Know
This is a snacking cake, which means it’s baked in one square pan, it’s not fussy, and it doesn’t need to be beautiful to be good. One bowl, one pan, forty minutes start to finish.
The texture comes from beating the wet ingredients for a full five minutes before the flour goes in. That’s the whole trick. It whips air into the batter and it’s why this bakes up fluffy rather than dense the way a lot of gingerbread does.
Use unsulphured molasses, not blackstrap. More on that below, but it’s the one ingredient decision that can ruin this.
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“This gingerbread cake was perfection. So well-flavored and has the perfect texture. I cannot wait to make it again.”
— Andrea
Gingerbread Cake Ingredients
Light brown sugar. Deep, caramel sweetness that white sugar can’t give you.
Eggs. Structure and lift.
Buttermilk. This is what makes the crumb tender. If you don’t have it, stir 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice into 1/2 cup of milk and let it sit five minutes.
Unsalted butter, softened. Flavor and moisture both. Let it sit out until it gives easily when you press it.
Molasses. The heart of the whole cake. Use unsulphured, and Grandma’s is what I buy. If you’re out, here are some molasses substitutions that work, and a fuller explanation of what molasses actually is.
Vanilla extract. Pure, not imitation.
Ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. This is a generously spiced cake and that’s on purpose. The same blend goes into my gingerbread cookies, so if you’ve made those you know the smell.
All-purpose flour. I use King Arthur.
Baking powder and baking soda. Both, because this batter is heavy with molasses and buttermilk and needs the help.
Salt. A full teaspoon. Spice cakes fall flat without it.
A Note on Molasses
This is the one place people go wrong, so it’s worth thirty seconds.
Unsulphured molasses is what you want. It’s mild, sweet, and it gives you that classic gingerbread flavor. Grandma’s is the easiest to find, and it’s the same jar I reach for when I’m making gingerbread syrup or a batch of gingersnaps.
Blackstrap molasses is a completely different thing. It’s bitter, intensely dark, and it will make this cake taste medicinal. If blackstrap is all you have, cut it half and half with honey.
How to Make Gingerbread Cake
Prep the pan. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8×8 or 9×9 square pan and lay a piece of parchment in the bottom.
Beat the sugar and eggs for at least three minutes with an electric mixer.
Add the liquids. Buttermilk, molasses, softened butter, and vanilla.
Beat five full minutes. This is the step that makes the cake fluffy, so don’t cut it short. The batter should look noticeably lighter. Scrape the bowl.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add them on low speed, slowly. You’re just combining now, not beating.
Fold it together with a spatula, scraping the bottom and sides so nothing hides down there.
Bake 30 minutes. Start checking at 25.
Cool completely before frosting, or eat it warm from the pan with a fork like I do.
Pan Sizes and Variations
The recipe as written makes one 9×9 square cake, about nine servings. Here’s how to change it.
8×8 pan. Same recipe, slightly thicker cake. Add about five minutes.
Loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes. Tent with foil if the top browns before the center sets.
Cupcakes. Fill liners two thirds full and bake 18 to 20 minutes. Makes about a dozen. If you want something fancier for a party, my Santa hat gingerbread cupcakes are the showstopper version.
9×13 sheet cake. Double the recipe. Bake 35 to 40 minutes.
A layer cake. Double the recipe and divide between two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans. Bake 28 to 32 minutes, cool completely, and frost with gingerbread buttercream between the layers and over the top. This is the version to make for a winter birthday.
Whatever pan you use, start checking ten minutes before you think it’s done. A toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs, not clean and not wet.
Eden’s Tips
Set the butter and buttermilk out together. Both should be at room temperature before you start. Cold buttermilk hitting soft butter makes it seize, and you’ll spend the next ten minutes chasing little lumps around the bowl.
Measure your flour by spooning it into the cup. Scooping the cup straight into the bag packs in far too much and it’s the single most common reason a cake comes out dry. Spoon it in, then level the top with a knife.
Beat the wet ingredients the full five minutes. I know it feels long. It’s the difference between fluffy and dense.
Then stop beating. Once the flour goes in, low speed and a light hand. Overworking makes it tough.
Check at 25 minutes. Ovens vary more than recipes admit. Thirty is my number but yours might be twenty-seven.
Fresh spices matter. If your ground ginger has been in the cabinet since two Christmases ago, buy new. It’s a spice cake and the spices are the whole point.
Ways to Top It
Plain is my favorite, with maybe a dusting of powdered sugar. But if you want to dress it up:
A thick swoop of gingerbread buttercream is the classic, and it’s beautiful with a few gingerbread cookies tucked on top. Warm caramel sauce poured over a still-warm square is the one I make when people are coming over. Whipped cream and a grating of fresh nutmeg is the easy answer. And candied ginger, crushed pecans, orange zest, or a simple citrus glaze all work beautifully.
If you’re building a whole dessert table, this cake sits beautifully next to a Christmas dessert charcuterie board.
How to Store It
On the counter. Covered tightly or in an airtight container, three to four days. It actually tastes better on day two.
In the fridge. Only if you’ve frosted it or the weather is warm. It dries out faster in there, so bring slices to room temperature before serving.
In the freezer. Wrap the unfrosted cake well and freeze up to three months. Thaw on the counter overnight.
Gingerbread Cake FAQs
Ginger cake is any cake flavored with ginger. Gingerbread cake specifically means molasses plus the full spice blend, which is what gives it that dark color and deeper flavor.
I wouldn’t. It’s bitter and it overwhelms everything else. Use unsulphured molasses instead. If blackstrap is all you have, cut it half and half with honey.
Dark corn syrup, maple syrup, or honey all work in a pinch, though you’ll lose some depth. Here’s my full guide to molasses substitutions.
Almost always too much flour. Spoon it into the measuring cup instead of scooping, and level it off. Overbaking is the other culprit, so start checking at 25 minutes.
Yes, and it’s lovely as one. Double the recipe, bake it in two 8-inch or 9-inch rounds for 28 to 32 minutes, and fill and frost with gingerbread buttercream.
No, as long as it’s unfrosted or the frosting is buttercream. The counter is better since the fridge dries it out.
Absolutely. Bake it a day early and it’s even better. Frost it the day you serve.
Not at all. I usually eat it plain. The flavor carries it.
Stir 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar into 1/2 cup of milk and let it sit for five minutes. It’ll curdle slightly, which is exactly what you want. Use it just like buttermilk.
More Christmas Recipes
If you’re baking your way through December, there’s my gingerbread cookie recipe, gingersnap cookies, and chewy ginger cookies for the cookie tin.
And if you’re making a whole gingerbread afternoon of it, here’s my gingerbread house recipe, the icing that holds it together, mini gingerbread houses for the tops of mugs, and a gingerbread tree for the center of the table. I host a gingerbread house party every December and this cake is always on the counter.
Made this gingerbread cake? Please leave a 5-star rating and a comment below. I love hearing how it turned out.
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Moist Gingerbread Cake
Equipment
- 8×8 or 9×9 square cake pan
- Electric Mixer
- mixing bowls
- Parchment Paper
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (12 tbsp)
- 1/2 cup molasses, unsulphured
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare an 8×8 or 9×9 cake pan, either size will work. Grease the bottom and sides with butter and cut a piece of parchment paper to lay inside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the brown sugar and eggs for at least 3 minutes.
- Add in the buttermilk, molasses, softened butter, and vanilla extract.
- Beat for 5 minutes until all of the ingredients are combined and the mixture looks lighter and fluffier. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Combine the flour, ground spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients.
- Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and, using a spatula, fold it all together.
- Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes, checking at 25 minutes. A toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cake cool and then add a fluffy layer of gingerbread frosting over the top, or leave it without and it's just as good!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How would you recommend turning this into a bigger birthday cake?
My kids really loved this cake! Such an amazing dessert!
So did you put the eggs at step 2 or 3? How about the molasses?
Yes, that was a typo! Step two is molasses, buttermilk and melted butter. That step shouldn’t mess the cake up though, as long as all of the ingredients are in there!
This gingerbread cake was perfection. So well-flavored and has the perfect texture. I cannot wait to make it again.
We loved this so much, my family loved this so much. My youngest asked for me to make it again!