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
- Chocolate Peppermint Cake Roll
- 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
Did You Make This Recipe?
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*I originally shared this recipe November 2015. Updated December 2018 and December 2023.
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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
This cake was so yummy! Each Christmas we choose a cake recipe and make a birthday cake for baby Jesus. My 12 yr old daughter made this independently and it was a cake worthy of the King.
Absolutely delicious recipe! I love it. We made it for our new year party! Our friends are going to love it!
I unfortunately didn’t have heavy whipping cream so I made an orange buttercream frosting instead. While I would have liked the vanilla topping on this better, the orange buttercream frosting recipe I found still tastes delicious.
But back to this recipe: This cake tastes FANTASTIC even without the frosting/topping and could be eaten on its own. It is not overly sweet nor is it bitter, it’s just perfect!
This is the only Gingerbread cake recipe I will be using from now on. So thank you very much for this recipe!
WOW! If there was an option to rate this dessert with more stars I would be all over it. It was the absolute BEST gingerbread cake I have ever eaten, let alone made. The recipe is clear and easy to follow. I followed the recipe to a “T” and would not change a single thing. It was moist, fluffy, full of gingerbread deliciousness and everything I was hoping for and more. I brought it to our family holiday get together, and it was the star of the show! The vanilla sauce and bananas were such a great addition as well. I cannot say enough good things about this recipe. We decided that it will be a new yearly tradition for our holiday get togethers from now on. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! <3
Loved this though I accidentally only added a half cup of molasses and it actually came out perfect. Because this was an accident I didn’t sub anything else in for it and it was still amazing. So if you feel 1 cup of molasses would be too strong than just cut to half a cup and make the cake as it and I can guarantee that will come out perfect!! It was a very happy mistake especially after reading all the reviews that it was too much molasses.
This cake is so good. We modified it and used Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener instead of sugar to lower the carbs a bit, and it was still REALLY good.
This cake is delish. At other reviewer suggestions I did increase to 1 tablespoon cinnamon and 2 teaspoons ginger. My cake took 26 minutes to bake. Super moist, flavorful and perfect crumb. The sauce, banana and whipped cream topping sounded like a lot on paper, but it was not and instead was crazy good.
Bland and flavorless. Should have bought a box mix…
My husband hates gingerbread and he absolutely love how this came out. Donated 2 to our church fundraiser today.
perfection
My family loves this, we want to make it a new holiday tradition! Thanks for the recipe!
One of my new favorites! It was SO good!
This was so good. I knew the vanilla sauce would be sweet so I reduced my powdered sugar in my whipped cream. I will continue to do this when making again because it was perfect. If anyone was wondering, I used unsalted butter and the flavor was spot on. Very rich cake.
Wondering if the people complaining used blackstrap molasses by accident?
That would make a huge difference…we used Fancy, and it was delicious.
My mom’s is better.
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.
Every holiday I try to surprise my group of friends with a special baked treat and came across this recipe. I was hesitant to try it but so glad I did. It was a huge hit and will definitely make it again the in future
Made a few adjustments after reading reviews: substituted granulated for dark brown sugar, did 1/2c molasses and 1/2c honey instead of full cup molasses, and 2 tbsp ground ginger instead of 1 tsp (per Mary Berry’s ginger cake recipe). Also did 2 and 1/8c flour instead of 2 and 1/4. Cake came out moist, perfectly sweet, and full of warm ginger spice.
Delicious. Our family of five polished it off in two days.
Topped with butter icing and crushed candy cane. Yummy.
The molasses is overpowering and it doesn’t taste like gingerbread at all. It’s an easy recipe to make but the taste is yucky.
This cake was awesome! I ended up putting cream cheese frosting and festive sprinkles on top and everyone loved it! Very moist.
I read the reviews about this gingerbread cake and was a little hesitant to try it because some reviewers said it was dry or dense or didn’t have enough spice. This cake was absolutely scrumptious! I didn’t change a thing and this recipe is going in my book. Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe!!
Dense and disgusting. I will have to bake something else now for Christmas dessert. I followed the recipe and it is not under or over baked but it is unsuitable for Christmas dinner or any other. Strong molasses taste. Not sweet. How disappointing
Perfect. This cake is moist. Perhaps the people who thought it was dry over baked it? Keeping this recipe for next Christmas.
We tried it plain, without the vanilla sauce, bananas and whipped cream, and it was a little dry. The flavor was perfect, and had we done the last step, I would have rated it a 5.
Yummmm, oh wow this is amazing, so tasty. Easy to make and smells double delicious!
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.
I don’t understand what I did wrong, my batter came out so dry.. I put all the ingredients you said except I used honey instead of molasses.. could that be the issue?
This was so yummy. Easy too. Thanks for this awesome recipe.
Lauren! These recipes takes me back,over 50 plus years, when I learned to cook from my mother, aunts, and grandmother! I’m from a small community, that was founded by my ancestors, called:Barrett,Station,Texas. They were freed slaves! I’m currently writing a book on my Life Story!
This recipe need a 1C of sugar as opposed to 1/2 C of sugar. It was not sweet at all. Secondly, the recipe says “45m cook time” and there is verbiage about 25m – that needs to be corrected. My cake took about 50m to be done.
If you like gingerbread like I do you will love this cake! I certainly can’t have a lot of it though because it is so rich and sweet! Especially if you add the vanilla cream sauce on top which honestly, I don’t think would be necessary. Maybe even a little whipped cream would be enough but that cream sauce just makes it so sweet! Insanely delicious though!
I weigh Al my ingredients when baking. I put in stem ginger, which you can make yourself, cut sugar to half. It is very good but needs stem ginger to give it texture and deliciousness.
This recipe is amazing! Light airy and just the right amount of molasses. I topped it with a caramel whiskey sauce. Perfect!
I did same as Karen , weighed flour and sugar, halved molasses, 2 TB each of ginger and cinnamon , 1 teaspoons crushed cloves, zest from mandarin as i has no oranges and diced up my homemade stem ginger, about 2 tablespoons. Baked for exact 22 minutes and it came out perfectly.
Wish I had read the comments before baking — as others have pointed out, the baking time is way too long. At 30 minutes this was very burnt all around the edges and on the bottom. A real shame as the texture looked amazing. I am puzzled why the recipe has not been edited with instructions to begin checking at 20 minutes.
It does say baking time is 20 to 35 minutes..ovens are all different. I check cakes at 20 minutes and work from there.
It says so because the recipe has since been edited 🙂
The original instructions were for 35-40 minutes, as corroborated by others’ comments and website archiving sites like wayback machine (yeah… I had to double-check because I thought I was losing my mind when the text changed and the recipe’s Updated Date didn’t).
Plus, if you look through the whole recipe (pictures and all) the text still reads:
“Stir until smooth and poor the batter into a 9”x 13” pan. Bake the gingerbread cake for 35-40 minutes and serve it warm, topped with vanilla cream sauce.” That probably should also be corrected.
To be clear, I am not trying to be mean to the author and I am happy that your bake turned out great, just trying to save some other person the sadness of throwing a whole pan of cake into the trash.
You’re right, I did adjust the time (because as Lexi said, all ovens vary, and it’s up to the baker to check. I give estimates based on what works for me in my testing). I didn’t feel the need to change the update date since the time span now encompasses all those who might have had it cook sooner, or later.
i made this for my high school cooking and it was amazing
Amazing recipe 💕 I wanted that wonderful classic flavor upped a notch. This did not disappoint!
1 full cup of unfiltered molasses is way too much. It overpowered the cake. Turned into a molasses cake instead of gingerbread. Might be a good cake if 1/2 the molasses is used and the ginger is doubled.
This is the best tasting and easiest gingerbread recipe that I have ever made.
Thank you for sharing, this is a definite go to recipe on a cold day with a hot cup of coffee!
Family loved this cake. However there is no way this can get close to cooking for 35 minutes. More like 20, 25 would be stretching it.
I made this recipe tonight.I thought it was very good. The cream sauce was not thick. I wish it had been.
Delicious! I was looking for a cozy comfort-food winter dessert to bring to a potluck and this recipe was it! Moist and simple to put together yet elegant.I followed all the instructions as written except I didn’t have enough molasses so I added about a 1/4 cup of golden syrup. As was previously mentioned, I also shortened the bake time by about 8 minutes. A definite winner!
This was outstanding. A perfect Christmas dessert. Easy to make, but tasted special.
Bad news is, I made this recipe at our cabin in Whistler, B.C. I’m not sure what happened but it didn’t rise while baking.
Good news is my grandsons took one look at the result, decided that they looked like brownies, ate them anyway, loved them and asked me to make them again.
I made this cake for a holiday get together and it was amazing!! I followed the recipe exactly except I baked it in one of those fancy Christmas tree bundt cake pans. It looked amazing and did not change much for the back time. I also used peppermint extract in the glaze instead of vanilla to give it a holiday taste. Yum!
That sauce is to DIE for! Wow! Takes gingerbread cake up a whole level! I served it at a party & everyone wants the recipe! (So I’m sending the here of course.) I have diary restrictions so used ghee & coconut milk (full fat) & I substituted 1/3rd cup coconut sugar. Thank you!!!
I was wanting to make gingerbread. This is perfect! I will try adding more spice next time but over all w the vanilla creme amd banana, it was awesome!
This cake was to die for with the sauce!
I did add additional Cinnamon & Ginger (1 Tbs Cinnamon & 1 Tbs Ginger instead of what was listed). I also added zest of 1 medium orange.
The flavor & texture of the cake was GREAT!!!! Everyone raved about it!!
The cake was very moist & not dry at all. Anyone who had issues with dryness or texture, probably didn’t measure flour accurately or overbaked it. Mine was done in 22 minutes with Convection Bake setting.
I weigh my ingredients for accuracy. These measurements may be helpful:
2 1/2 C Flour = 300 g Flour
1/2 C Sugar = 99 g Sugar
The sauce tastes like a “white” Caramel. It is soooo good! I let the sauce cool to luke warm and dumped it over the cake, rotating the pan to distribute than spreading with an off set spatula. I refrigerated the cake and the sauce set up and did not make the cake soggy.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!
BEST GINGERBREAD!!!!!
Great ideas and thank you for the weighed measurements, I plan to make this today for our family Christmas tomorrow.
How long would I bake in a decorative loaf pan?
I take a treat to our church every Wednesday evening. This Wednesday it will be Gingerbread.
❤️
This is a 5-star recipe by all accounts. ITS SIMPLY DELICIOUS!! Very moist and full of flavor. I made the cake according to the recipe without substations. I served it with the topping and cool whip (no need for bananas). Perfect💕💕
In general, I like lightly-sweetened deserts, but 1-cup of molasses/ 1/2 c sugar is not sweet enough for this cake without the sweet cream sauce or other sweetener.
I recommend 1/2 c molasses, 1/2 c br sugar, 1/2 c wh sugar if no topping is used.
My family loved this. I am gluten free, so made it with Outrageous Baking flour mix. It was wonderful. We used whipped cream instead of the sauce, but I will definitely be saving this recipe to use again!
Made this recipe today. I am celiac, so I used Outrageous Baking flour mix instead of regular flour.
It’s fabulous. We use wiped cream instead of the sauce, because that’s what we do with gingerbread. But, the recipe is fabulous!
I wondered about the pan size (9×13) but followed instructions. I checked at 30 minutes and it was already a bit dry. I would try it again but in an 8×10 pan.
I made this today and turned out amazing. I made cupcakes and doubled the recipe. Didn’t have any problems with doing so. I made big cupcakes, and it took almost 20 minutes to bake. I’ll use this recipe again.
Does this taste nice when cold too? Had anyone tried ?
I made the cake and had to leave…the cake cooled and when I returned, I made the vanilla creme. Poured it over the cake and it was delicious!
I attempted this recipe today, and I’m sorry to say it was awful. I trust some people have had some success with the recipe but I personally found the molasses overpowered everything and there wasn’t much flavour in the cake. The baking time wasn’t accurate either.
The cake was good I liked the texture but the molasses was WAY overpowering for me. If I make it again I’ll probably put half of the amount of molasses and another half cup of maybe maple syrup for the moisture. But this was so overpowering with molasses that you couldn’t taste any of the other spices.
I finally found a Gingerbread Cake Recipe that’s just like my mom used to bake. It’s the best…and a beautiful texture. I also added a full tsp of fresh ginger. Thanks Lauren for such a good recipe.
I used 2 3/4 cup of cake flour instead of 21/2 cups all purpose. It was moist and delicious! The vanilla sauce is like melted caramels! So delicious over the cake. I just poured it over by the slice. Thank you for posting!
Made this tonight. Relatively easy to put together. Baked it for 35 mins and toothpick inserted came out completely clean. It looked and felt like a totally normal gingerbread, but I was so surprised when I took the first bite. Even though it was light and fluffy and totally cooked, the minute it hit my mouth it collapsed and got very gummy and sticky in consistency. I’ve made a lot of gingerbread in the past 60+ years and never had this happen before. It was just so strange. The flavor was good, but I didn’t enjoy the consistency at all.
Have any suggestions for this cake baked in a Bundt pan? Time , temperature, or is it NOT advised?
I haven’t tested that in a bundt pan. For a 12 cup standard bundt pan I think it would work. I would use the same temp, keep and eye on it and it will take quite a bit longer to cook.
horrible… flat .. never again.. flavor good
This was absolutely amazing. We loved it with the Creme Anglais!!
Everyone who has tried this dessert so far can’t believe how good it tastes. Some guests had multiple servings & requested the recipe straight away. Another told me: I had no idea what was happening in my mouth – the cake, the banana, the cream, the vanilla sauce… Suffice it to say, everyone found it more than delicious. Thank you so much for this incredible recipe.
This cake is delicious! The proportions of molasses to spices is perfect as you have it. Just enough sweetness & spiciness without being too much. I had a question though. I only used 1/2 cup of water and the cake turned out fine. How would a full cup of hot water have affected the texture or taste of the cake? Thank you for this wonderful recipe! It was a wonderful dessert for Christmas!!
Loved it!Light, tasty, scrumptious! Made capcakes=12 minutes. The very small bread loaf I made might have been filled too high-it took a **long** time to bake.30 minutes at 350 degrees, and lowered the temp to 300 and baked it another 25 minutes.
Adapted this to be vegan by switching to plant butter and the Bobs Red Mill egg replacer. I also used a Bundt pan. Came out absolutely perfect. Thank you so much. I wish I could rate the recipe as it is, but the adjustments were small enough that I am confident it would be just as good as written. Thank you!
Could this recipe be used in silicone small gingerbread village houses molds?
No, for that you’ll want to use real gingerbread (not cake). https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/gingerbread-house/
My whole family loves this. We used Gluten free flour (the 1 for 1 from Bob’s Mill) and it came out amazing. The bananas are such a delicious and unexpected addition. We’re making it for the second time because the first cake disappeared quickly!
My Mom used to make gingerbread cake when I was growing up and I used to help her make it. This recipe looked very similar but I found the amount of molasses overpowered the cake. I’m not sure if I used the right kind of molasses or maybe it was a bit past it’s date.
Any suggestions?
Maybe try treacle or golden syrup instead or just use honey.
I made this for the first time yesterday and I also got the same issue with the molasses. The cake came out as dark brown. When I tasted it, I thought it was burnt, but when I looked at it, the cake was baked perfectly. Then I realised the taste was coming from the molasses- it’s a little bitter, almost like a malt /extra stout Guinness. I just Googled and turns out there are different types of Molasses so I guess that’s the the issue!
I won’t mind trying it again if I can find the right molasses in my country.
The first time I made this it was very good; probably 4 1/2 stars. The second time I did a rounded teaspoon of cinnamon (Vietnamese) and TWO teaspons of ground ginger. Fabulous! It was even better the next day, when it had sat overnight at room temperature.
I used 1 cup of red whole wheat flour, and 1 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour.
This is definitely a repeat.
I made this today using stevia, gluten-free flour, and 3/4 C. chopped walnuts. It is delicious without any topping. Next time I’ll add more nuts. Thanks for this recipe!
Smells like fall & tastes even better. This was my first attempt at making homemade gingerbread cake. I made it for my sister’s birthday because she doesn’t like icing. Im making homemade whipped topping for it and that should make it perfect for us. Thank you for the yummy recipe!
I had been craving gingerbread for a while now, and came across this recipe. It was delicious! I agree with the other comments to check on it early – mine was done at 30 minutes, as well. Super easy to put together, too – I made the sauce and whipped cream as the cake was cooling.
The recipe says to remove the sauce from the heat and add vanilla extract. Vanilla, by far the most complex flavor on earth, is composed of an estimated 500+ different flavor molecules. Some are present at a concentration of only a few parts per million, yet contribute to the amazing symphony of flavors that is vanilla.
Regardless of whether one is using vanilla extract or te scrapings of vanilla beans, these flavor molecules begin to break down when they reach a temperature of 161° Farenheit or 62° Celsius.
The vanilla sauce will taste much better if you wait a few minutes afte removing it fom the heat before adding the vanilla. Use a thermometer to make sure the sauce temperature has fallen to 160° F/61° C before adding the vanilla.
Your taste buds will thank you!
Thank you for this information! Awesome to know!
This cake was easy to make and smelled liked Christmas Day! I make this for my husband, it is one of his favorite cakes and our whole family loved it! Even our 2 year old grandchild! I serve with whip cream which is how we like it. This is definitely a keeper recipe for this family. My only critique is that I set the timer for 30 minutes and it was done then. I could tell since of course you could smell it-which is a good indicator that it is ready to come out! Thanks!
I found this cake a bit dry. Can you tell me why please? Thanks.
Mostly likely it was overbaked.
Can I make in a loaf pan?
Should I make any alterations to the baking time or temperature if I use a glass pan?
No, it should be just fine!
Does this cake last long?? Will it keep either frozen or vacuum packed??
I have made this cake twice. My husband absolutely loves it, as do I. I did paint a very thin lemon glaze on it. My husband likes the little bit of lemon with the ginger molasses.
I made this and it tasted absolutely heavenly. I stuck to the recipe but added some candied ginger bits I had lying around just because lol……..
Can I use monk fruit instead of sugar for the vanilla cream sauce?
I’ve never used monk fruit, so I can’t say for sure! Sorry.
I find molasses can be overwhelming, too. I’m going to try replacing half the molasses with an equal amount of Karo syrup. Think it will work?
did you have a favorite molasses that you recommend?
I use Grandma’s brand
Could not be easier nor tastier! I did, however, add a bit of Bourbon (taking out same amount of water) to the batter, as well as 1 Tsp. of Ground Cardamom. The aroma in the kitchen btw is heavenly! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
How much bourbon did you put in?? That sounds so good!
How much water did you use and how much bourbon did you use ? Also did you use extra cinnamon or take away some cinnamon. Thank you
I made this yesterday and served it with whipped cream and vanilla icecream. I didn’t make the vanilla sauce. Everyone liked the flavor! My one criticism is that the bake time is too, too long. I baked for 35 minutes at 350F and the bottom of the cake burned. My oven does not run hot. I am guessing a bake time of 27-30 minutes would have been enough and produce a moister cake. I regret not checking it!
I tweaked this recipe, only using 1/2 cup molasses, 1 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup Goslings Black Rum, 1/4 cup raw cane sugar,. Additionally adding 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Reduce hot water to 3/4 cup. The raw sugar gave it a nice texture. It was not overly sweet. The Black rum gave an old fashioned Caribbean flavor. If you think the molasses is overwhelming try this instead. Light and flavorful.
My apologies Bermuda. I should have said Goslings , Black Seal, 80 Proof Bermuda Black Rum lends a special Bermudian flavor, satisfying to a selective palette.
I made this gingerbread. Was disappointed! Thought 1 cup of molasses was to much…..very overwhelming!! Will try another recipe sometime. Sorry for a bad review.😔
Hi, Darla and Nella. I have seen a few peope make comments about the molasses. It is not specified in the recipe but there are 2 different kinds of molasses. One is unsulfured (which is lighter flavor) and the other is just molasses or Black Strap molasses which is VERY strong. It can overwhelm a recipe, even though black strap is very good for you nutritionally. Try the recipe again using Unsulfered molasses. It will be printed on the front of the jar. Hope this helps.
I made this recipe and was so disappointed!!! 1 cup of molasses was way too much! Very overwhelming taste!
I feel the same way- I have been searching the comments to see if anyone else felt the same. My cake came out extremely dark also
This cake reminds my of Christmas when I was a little girl- my mom used to make a similar cake with warm vanilla sauce. One thing I did is poke holes in the warm cake and pour half of the warm vanilla sauce over the cake. It soaked in and was so moist and gooey. I served it with extra sauce and real whipped cream. Thanks for the memories!
Can I make this recipe in a bundt cake pan?
Are you able to freeze the cake and frosting? I need to make it ahead of time for Christmas.
I would store the frosting in the fridge and reheat when it’s time (it will keep for a week or so). The gingerbread cake is really best fresh, but you could try freezing it (I haven’t tested it, but I’m afraid it might be a bit dry, reheated).
LOVED this! I’m planning on taking it to a Christmas dinner this year. Have you ever made the batter then waited several hours to bake it? If so, how would I adjust the baking time/temp? Thanks!
Hi Josie, sorry I wouldn’t recommend making the batter ahead of time. Hope everyone loves it on Christmas!
I have not made this yet but do you think that I could make this into a 2 layer cake and frost it with butter cream?
Yes, that should be fine 🙂
Made this last weekend. Love it so, and it’s now making me want to make it for gifts for everyone. So delicious.. I love molasses & put it on my ice cream all the time. This is truly going to be my new favorite. Thank you so much for creating and sharing!!
How long can you store Ginger cake and/or can you freeze it? Also, have you tried posting it?
Cheers, Katia
I think this is a cake that really tastes best fresh. But, you can make it one day in advance and you can freeze it for up to 2 months.
Did it without icing, too much molasses!
I used to have a similar version for the crockpot, but with a new crockpot my gingerbread has come out burnt. Your recipe is nearly the same and I can just pop it in the oven like a normal person. 🙂 My topping is different though: I whip regular whipping cream with a few scoopfuls of lemon curd. It brightens the entire cake up and I’m betting it will be perfect with your recipe, too. Thanks!
Love it! I doubled the spices… easy and loved the sauce too. Thanks for the great recipe and instructions. My new favorite.
Made it last night – delicious! Light and tasty – a perfect ending to a meal. For a topping we did a little orange/powdered sugar glaze and it was just perfect. Thank you!
How can I adjust the recipe for an 8×8 pan? There’s only my hubby and I and we don’t need that much.
Hi Lori, cut the recipe in half for an 8 inch pan. Enjoy!
Yum! I made this today. I was a little short of a cup of molasses so I added enough brown sugar to make up the difference and added an extra teaspoon of ginger because i love it. I baked mine in a bundt pan for 40 minutes and sprinkled it with powdered sugar after it cooled. My house smells like the holidays. The cake is wonderful even without the sauce!
I made this today and topped it with clotted cream. It was fantastic. The ginger flavor was perfect. This is a keeper for sure.
Thank you for this lovely recipe.
LOVE IT! I made this for my husband’s birthday. His mom used to make something similar and he’s been talking about it since we met, 14 years ago. She passed when he was young, And we don’t have her recipe. I did some Internet searching and found your version. It was an absolute hit. Delicious! And sentimental. Thank you so much for sharing this. I will definitely be making this again. The only alteration I did was adding an extra egg since I am at 5000 feet above sea level. It was perfect.
That is so sweet, thank you so much for sharing. <3
Delicious! It tastes like Christmas! The cake is sonlight and fluffy, and the sauce is perfectly sweetened. I made the recipe exactly as stated, but I made my own homemade cinnamon whipped cream. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing!
Do you bake this in a glass or metal pan?
Either would work.
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.