This easy Gingerbread Cake recipe is topped with homemade vanilla cream sauce, bananas, and whipped cream. It could be my favorite holiday cake ever!
Do you love gingerbread? Try our Gingerbread Waffles, Ginger Molasses Cookies, Build a Gingerbread House, or make Gingerbread Cookies!
Why I love this cake:
- Light – The texture of this easy gingerbread cake is perfectly light, fluffy, and moist. Plus, your house will smell of freshly baked gingerbread.
- The Toppings – You must add a drizzle of the vanilla cream sauce, with sliced bananas and whipped cream, to get the full experience!
- Family Favorite – My mom shared this recipe with me from one of her best friends (thanks Kristen!) and its been a highlight of our season ever since.
How to make Gingerbread Cake:
Mix Wet Ingredients: Cream the sugar and butter until smooth. Add the eggs and molasses then mix well.
Stir Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Combine the wet and dry ingredients then slowly pour in the hot water and stir until smooth.
Bake: Pour batter into a 9”x 13” pan. Bake gingerbread cake for 20-35 minutes.
Serve: This classic gingerbread cake recipe is delicious by itself (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 outstanding!
Make Ahead, Storage, and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: The vanilla cream sauce can be made a few days in advance, stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Rewarm before serving.
To Store: The ginger cake recipe keeps well at room temperature for 2 days, or in the fridge for about a week.
To Freeze: Wrap the gingerbread cake in plastic wrap then aluminum foil, and place in a freezer safe bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to 2 months. Let thaw overnight at room temperature before serving. If you'd like it warm, heat it in the microwave for a few seconds.
More Christmas Treats:
- Peppermint Brownies
- Chocolate Fudge
- Homemade Caramels
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake
- Red Velvet Bundt Cake
- Super Soft Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Raspberry Cake
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Recipe
Gingerbread Cake
Ingredients
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
- bananas for topping
- fresh whipped cream , for topping
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 9×13” pan with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter until smooth and light.
- Add the egg and molasses then 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.
- 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 then 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 and December 2023.
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Would love to try this cake, I live in australia, so would australia standard cup and spoon measurements work for this recipe?, also could I use treacle syrup instead of molasses?
Thanks
I’m sorry I am not familiar with Australian measurements. I’m sure you could find that information online somewhere.
Hope it works out for you.
Can I make this the night before and put the cream sauce on the whole cake or do I have to put it on each serving
You can make it the night before but I would wait to add the cream sauce as it will soak into the cake.
Hi I would like to make this for Easter Sunday lunch with my family. Lunch is not at my house so I won’t be able to make it in the morning. If I make this the day before, what is the best way to reheat it without drying it out? Thank you.
Hi Julie, I think it will be fine made the day before. You could warm the whole thing in the oven, covered with tinfoil, on very low heat or you could warm each individual slice in the microwave for just a few seconds.
Excellent recipe. I have used it twice.
The recipe ingredients call for 1 egg but the method says “add eggs”?
Hi Brenda,
Thanks for pointing out the typo- it’s fixed!
Oh my gosh Lauren! I grew up in a church that baked gingerbread for special events and we covered it with a lemon curd/cause. So I used your recipe and for the sauce I substituted lemon flavoring for the vanilla. It reminded me of my childhood. FABULOUS. SPOT ON!
P.S. I was feeding the Sister Missionaries last night and served it to them and they LOVED it (so did my husband) and went back for SECONDS! We ALL did!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That really makes me so happy, thanks Anne! And I love your lemon substitution! I’m so glad everyone loved it.
How many cups of batter does this recipe make?
Can you confirm the 1 tsp of grated ginger? The directions state to combine dry ingredients and list the ginger as one of them. So just to confirm, is it 1 tsp of fresh grated, or ground (dry) ginger? Thank you!
Hi Beth,
Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention. That was a typo and has been fixed. If should have said 1 tsp ground ginger, not freshly grated ginger!
This recipe is FANTASTIC! My whole family raved about it!
Thanks so much Ashley! I’m thrilled that you loved it.
How much vanilla is added to the Vanilla Cream Sauce?
It got left out of the ingredient list.
Hi Chris, sorry about that! It’s 2 tsp vanilla.