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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Delicious! We skipped the sauce and other toppings and instead served it with salted caramel ice cream. Based on the recommendations from many of the comments, I upped the spices. Made a great holiday dessert. Thanks for sharing.
I brought these as mini cupcakes for a party. They were a huge hit. They took less time in the oven – maybe 12 minutes? I drizzled the vanilla icing over each followed by a cream cheese frosting. I was worried the whipped cream and bananas wouldn’t hold up sitting out for a few hours. But I am making the recipe as is right now for another event! I am really excited to try with bananas.
Would it be weird to poke holes into the cake and drizzle the sauce on top so it soaks in like a Tres leche? I’m planning in making 6 mini cakes using your recipe and I’d hate to ruin it. Should I maybe should leave the vanilla sauce off as these will be christmas gifts?
Not weird at all! I think that sounds delicious.
Yay! Do you know about how many mini cakes this would make? I’m wondering if I need to double for 6 minis
I made this cake and it was excellent! I have never made a gingerbread cake before so I was a little nervous but the recipe was easy to follow and the results were delicious!
Could this recipe pass for cupcakes? Or will it likely stick to the cupcake liners?
You can spray the cupcake liners if you are worried about them sticking. This recipe should work well for cupcakes, enjoy!
Delicious! I’ve been looking for a moist gingerbread cake for years and they usually turn out too dry. This one is really moist and flavorful! I use lemon icing instead of the sauce in the recipe so I can’t comment on that portion. The cake itself is super tasty.
I don’t have a mixer… will it work?
Excellent, with enough cloves to make it really flavorful. Bland gingerbread is a waste of resources. I made this using King Arthur gluten free flour and the texture is perfect. I don’t see grocery stores carrying anything but the most basic cake mixes that are loaded up with chemicals and too sweet. if you want something good you have to make it yourself. This recipe is great, thank you for sharing.
THANK YOU FOR THIS INFO ON GINGERBREAD, I LOVE IT, I WAS LOOKING FOR A LEMON SAUCE INFO WITH THIS. SMILE
THANK YOU
Delicious! I added some hopped crystallized ginger at the end. Will definitely bake it again