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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.
Wow, what a great cake. Came out at 28 minutes as soft as a pillow and smelling like heaven. I saw reviews that said this cake is dry, not sweet enough, and tastes too strongly of molasses – I categorically disagree on all counts. The texture is beautiful, the balance of the spices is excellent, and is not overpowered by sweetness while still tasting very much like a sweet cake. 5 stars! Will definitely make this again!
So good! Fluffy and soft, tastes and smells like gingerbread cookies. Cream sauce really ties it together. I added 2tsp each of cinnamon and ground ginger after reading some comments and it was perfect.
I just made this and it a tasty, tender cake! Ooh-wee! The flavor is just right. This will end up in best loved cakes. Thank you!
Looks like this is a great recipe that’s just what I have been looking for. However, would it be okay to substitute coffee or coffee liqueur for the hot water?
I did not like how this recipe turned out. I agreed with many of the previous comments. The molasses dominated the flavor rather than the spices. It was dry. The vanilla sauce was a good addition and should definitely be poured over cooked bread.
This cake is delicious; it’s exactly what I wanted! It’s so easy, too! I might add just a touch more ginger next time. I also didn’t try the vanilla cream sauce, just put whipped cream on it.
Thanks you so much for this recipe…it’s a keeper!
I liked that the cake was light and not dense like a gingerbread but the spices were way too subtle for me. I would double all of the spices! I didn’t want to add the topping, I was just looking for a gingerbread cake recipe so that might be my problem with the dryness. It was too dry for my liking. Maybe it needs an addition of oil? The gingerbread I traditionally make has twice all of the spices and uses oil and honey and applesauce so it’s super moist. But I suspect with the cream topping especially as some suggested if you poke holes it might add the moisture it needs for my personal taste buds!
I followed the recipe exactly. I used the Nordic ware gingerbread loaf pan. It came out perfectly. The cake was light with a soft crumb. Beautifully spiced. I would definitely make this again.
The recipe looks awesome. I would like to covert this into a poke cake. I’m hoping/assuming the yummy vanilla sauce would sink into the holes? ?????? What do you think? Then of course top with whip cream!!
Hello! That sounds like an amazing idea: if you look through the comments another reader poked holes and poured half the vanilla sauce over. They said it was very good! Please let us know if you end up trying it.
My family loved this recipe. I did have to substitute a coue of things due food allergies and not having any dried ginger. Making it again this week for my birthday it was that good.