Warm Gingerbread Cake topped with vanilla cream sauce, bananas and whipped cream. This easy gingerbread recipe could be my favorite holiday cake recipe ever!
It’s safe to say my sweet tooth is in full gear for the holidays! A family friend introduced me to this gingerbread cake several years ago and it’s spectacular. We serve it with a scoop of fresh whipped cream, sliced bananas and a drizzle of the easiest homemade vanilla cream sauce.
Don’t you just love the smell of freshly baked gingerbread?
How to make Gingerbread Cake:
First cream the sugar and butter until smooth. Next add the eggs and molasses and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and slowly pour in the hot water.
Stir until smooth and poor the batter into a 9”x 13” pan. Bake the gingerbread cake for 20-35 minutes and serve it warm, topped with vanilla cream sauce.
This gingerbread recipe by itself is delicious (and totally acceptable to eat it as a stand-alone), but I just can’t resist the combination of fresh bananas, whipped cream and the most amazing warm vanilla cream sauce drizzled on top. It’s completely delicious!
Your family, friends and guests will RAVE over this amazing and simple gingerbread recipe. And did I mention how wonderful your house will smell 😉  Total bonus.
Consider trying some of my other favorite HOLIDAY Cakes:
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Recipe
Gingerbread Cake
Ingredients
For the Gingerbread Cake
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 1 cup unsulphered molasses
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup very hot water
- banana for topping
- fresh whipped cream , for topping
For the Vanilla Cream Sauce:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13'' pan with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl cream together the sugar and butter until smooth and light.
- Add the egg and molasses and mix well. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients together: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir to combine. Slowly pour in the hot water and stir until smooth (batter will be thin).
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.Â
- Serve warm, topped with fresh sliced bananas, whipped cream, and vanilla cream sauce.
For the Vanilla Cream Sauce:
- Add sugar, butter and cream to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter has melted.
- Bring mixture to a boil and boil, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving over cake.
Notes
Nutrition
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*I originally shared this recipe November 2015. Updated December 2018.
Love gingerbread hated this not sweat enough not spices
Somehow this recipe didn’t work out for me. My family said the molasses was overpowering.
This is super delicious! I don’t know how other users had problems with it being dry. It was so moist it fell apart as I cut into it. The gingerbread flavor was spot on. I enjoyed mine warmed up with a slab of butter.
Delicious cake. But I would consider eating it only with Apple Sauce or Cheddar Cheese.
Love it!
My first attempt at the cake was disgusting. It had way too much molasses
Here are the changes I made for a delicious 2nd attempt.
Added Two cups of applesauce this is critical for moisture.
1 cup of sugar instead of half cup
Double the ginger, cinnamon, and clove.
Added nutmeg
Added 1 tsp of FRESH grated ginger
Added 1.5 cups hot water instead of 1 cup
I’ve made this twice and it’s fantastic. I used coconut sugar instead of regular white, but other than that I followed the directions and it’s exactly what I wanted. Thanks.