Recipe

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This gingerbread cake is everything you want out of the classic holiday treat with rich and warm flavors from molasses, ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

On top of its heavenly flavor and impressively moist texture, this Gingerbread Cake recipe is super easy to get right, even on your first try.

gingerbread cake sliced into 16 squares on a dish

Holiday Gingerbread Cake

The first time I brought this gingerbread cake to the holiday table, everyone asked me for the recipe. The following year, I introduced my gluten-free gingerbread cake with oat flour: another hit!

Unlike some gingerbread recipes, this cake gets just enough spice so both adults and kids can enjoy its warm flavors, just like my chewy ginger molasses cookies! So get ready to cook because you won't try any other recipe after you bake this one!

Ingredients

The dry ingredients for this recipe are all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, and salt. The wet ingredients needed are a little melted butter, molasses, maple syrup (to balance the molasses), eggs (to bind the ingredients), vanilla extract, and warm water (a must to thin out the molasses). For an exciting holiday touch, I like to dust this cake with powdered sugar.

How to Make Gingerbread Cake

Below, you’ll find a video recipe, but first, check out the steps and tips to make this gingerbread cake:

While the oven preheats, grease a square pan, and sift the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix the wet ingredients (except the eggs) using a hand mixer or whisk. Let the mixture reach room temperature before adding the eggs. If you add eggs to scalding hot water, they will scramble.
Make the batter by adding the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir to combine. The batter will be thin, but that's okay!
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.
Allow the cake to cool down to room temperature before removing it from the pan; otherwise, it could break apart. Dust with powdered sugar.

Keeping It Moist

Below are a few simple tips so your gingerbread cake turns out moist every single time.

Use both baking soda and powder
Molasses is an acid, and too much acid with too little baking soda can make a cake flat and dense. This is where the baking powder comes in. It works with the baking powder to make the cake’s texture lighter.

Room temperature ingredients
Ingredients such as eggs and butter should be at room temperature, and in this recipe’s case, the butter is melted. This makes it easier to incorporate them and prevents overmixing, which can make cakes dense.

Don’t overbake
An overbaked cake is the biggest culprit to dry cakes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

top view of four plates with a square of gingerbread cake

How to Freeze Gingerbread Cake

Wrap each piece (or the whole gingerbread cake) with plastic wrap, transfer inside a freezer zip bag, and freeze for up to 2 months. To have it later, let it thaw on the counter for 30 minutes, or warm it up for 30 seconds in the microwave.

If you froze the entire cake, I recommend thawing it out slowly in the fridge, which will take about 4 hours or overnight. Once it's thawed out, remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Gingerbread Cake Toppings

Some toppings you can spread, drizzle, or sprinkle over this cake, and whoa everyone into a slice are powdered sugar and cranberries, cream cheese frosting, a drizzle of caramel sauce, and whipped cream.

Best Gingerbread Cake

cut squares of gingerbread cake topped with powdered sugar

Servings: 16 squares

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 25

This gingerbread cake is everything you want out of the classic holiday treat with rich and warm flavors from molasses, ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

5 from 8 votes

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Ingredients

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour*
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup melted butter*
½ cup molasses
½ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup warm water
2 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons powdered sugar for dusting, optional

Instructions

Prep the oven:

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9 x 9-inch square pan with cooking spray or butter.

Make the batter:

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, and salt.
In a separate large bowl, whisk the butter with the molasses, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and warm water until smooth. Let the mixture reach room temperature before adding the eggs and whisking until fully incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Bake:

Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.

Serve:

Remove the cake from the oven and cool down to room temperature before dusting with powdered sugar. Slice into 16 squares and serve.

Store:

Store leftover cake in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Notes

For a gluten-free gingerbread cake, swap the flour for a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour or check my recipe to make gingerbread with oat flour.
Make this recipe dairy-free by swapping the butter for ¼ cup of canola oil.