Classic Gingerbread Cake

12 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Classic Gingerbread Cake with a rich molasses, cinnamon and ginger flavor is fuss free and the perfect holiday breakfast. Also works great as part of your dessert table.

Classic Gingerbread Cake with a rich molasses, cinnamon and ginger flavor is fuss free and the perfect holiday breakfast. Also works great as part of your dessert table.Classic Gingerbread Cake is the epitome of the Christmas season and the perfect breakfast cake with your morning cup of coffee. When I was younger and loved getting holiday drinks from Starbucks I used to love the gingerbread loaf they would sell and I would buy a slice without fail.

This Classic Gingerbread Cake is like the Gingerbread loaf from Starbucks without the icing and it is the perfect slice of cake for your morning coffee or for easy holiday office treats. The flavors are strong, sweet, slightly spicy from the ginger and scream holidays. Classic Gingerbread Cake with a rich molasses, cinnamon and ginger flavor is fuss free and the perfect holiday breakfast. Also works great as part of your dessert table.This post is going to be the last one until after Christmas but I will be back next week with more delicious recipes, so I hope you all have a happy, family filled weekend whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or whether you’re just enjoying a quiet long weekend at home (hopefully with an extra day off work!).

We’re celebrating Chrismakkuh here, so the kids are going to be swimming in presents, latkes, all things Christmas and lots of Gingerbread Cookies and Gingerbread Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup. If you’d like to learn the history of Chrismakkuh look at this Seth Cohen video from the OC. Classic Gingerbread Cake with a rich molasses, cinnamon and ginger flavor is fuss free and the perfect holiday breakfast. Also works great as part of your dessert table.My family is a huge fan of all things Gingerbread, so along with the Award Winning Cookies recipe I was given, this recipe is an old family recipe over 50 years old that I’d never actually tried before. Go figure the treasures you find when you ask for it, I made the cake immediately and it was heaven on earth.

My original recipe shows the whole recipe written out and an added footnote to the bottom that looks like applesauce was added in at a later date. So hey, recipe testing over the years! This Classic Gingerbread Cake has been recipe tested over the years and is ready for your holiday table. Classic Gingerbread Cake with a rich molasses, cinnamon and ginger flavor is fuss free and the perfect holiday breakfast. Also works great as part of your dessert table.Happy Holidays everyone, thank you for an AWESOME year and next week will have a couple of recipes and some of the year end superlatives I love to revisit.

Classic Gingerbread Cake with a rich molasses, cinnamon and ginger flavor is fuss free and the perfect holiday breakfast. Also works great as part of your dessert table.

Tools used in this Classic Gingerbread Cake Recipe:
Baking Pan: Love this baking pan for the perfectly angled sides that allow the cake to cook and rise evenly and high against the sides of the pan.
Unsulphured Molasses: There are many kinds of molasses, the kind used in this recipe is unsulphured which is my molasses recommendation in all gingerbread baking. I use Grandma’s because it is most widely available, but I also love Brer Rabbit brand in the mild flavor when I can find it.
Applesauce: Any applesauce will work here, but we all love Musselman’s because its a brand that has been around over 60 years, all the apples are grown in the US and the only added ingredient is absorbic acid and the flavor is fantastic. That being said… I have definitely used one of the kids applesauce pouches in a pinch too, haha.

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Classic Gingerbread Cake

Classic Gingerbread Cake with a rich molasses, cinnamon and ginger flavor is fuss free and the perfect holiday breakfast. Also works great as part of your dessert table.
Yield 12 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup unsulphured molasses
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup applesauce (optional, but will add to moistness of cake)
  • 1 cup hot water

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Butter and flour or use baking spray with a 9 inch square pan.
  • In a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until lightened in color and fluffy.
  • Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses until fully combined.
  • Add in the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves until just combined.
  • With a whisk, add in the hot water and applesauce (using the stand mixer would make a mess with the water and pouring in the water slowly would cause the flour to over-mix).
  • Bake for 40-45 minutes in the preheated oven until the cake springs back up when touched or a knife comes out clean

Nutrition

Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 318mg | Potassium: 455mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 255IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 2.7mg
Keyword: Christmas gingerbread cake, Classic Gingerbread Cake, holiday gingerbread cake

Classic Gingerbread Cake with a rich molasses, cinnamon and ginger flavor is fuss free and the perfect holiday breakfast. Also works great as part of your dessert table.

Classic Gingerbread Cake with a rich molasses, cinnamon and ginger flavor is fuss free and the perfect holiday breakfast. Also works great as part of your dessert table.
Classic Gingerbread Cake with a rich molasses, cinnamon and ginger flavor is fuss free and the perfect holiday breakfast. Also works great as part of your dessert table.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I made this yesterday in a loaf pan it rose lovely and was clear when ckd with cake tester. However it sunk in middle while cooling. It was cake like spongy but I could have used more ginger. I used applesauce and could taste that over the ginger
    Tasted ok when i make again will use less applesauce more ginger.

  2. Am I able to adjust this recipe for individual loaf pans? Or would the ingredients and cooking time stay the same. Looking forward to making this gingerbread cake.

    1. Here’s a table to substitute pans!
      9×2 inch round pan holds 8 cups of batter, the same as an 8×2 inch square pan and a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

  3. Delicious and very easy; thanks for the detailed recipe and pointers. I did add the applesauce! A recipe approved by my two littlest gingerbread grand boys!

    1. Yes you can double the cake. Simply hover over the word “Yield” in the recipe card and use the bar to increase to the number of desired servings. The recipe will automatically change to reflect your choice.

      If you don’t want to use molasses you may mix 3/4 cup granulated sugar with 1/4 cup water and use in place of 1 cup molasses. The sugar will add sweetness and the water will add moisture.

  4. wonderful. I used light brown sugar instead of white. perfect. moist. the spice is spot on. Hadn’t made gingerbread in years. this was the bomb.

  5. Hi …
    I love your recipe! And I saved it for Christmas baking I only save and rate the really good recipes !! ” my kitchen, my rules “!!

  6. While this recipe is good, I can’t believe the cake pictured was made with unsulphered molasses. I just made this today, with Grandma’s brand unsulphered molasses, and my cake came out much darker than the blogger’s. I have to believe light molasses was used for the pictures. No way using unsulphered molasses would result in a medium creamy brown. I also thought 1 cup of molasses was too much going in, but unless the recipe is so far off the mark for my brain to consider, I like to make a recipe as written the first time. I should have cut it back a little and added a bit more applesauce. But it was good, with a nice gingery flavor. I’ll play with the recipe the next time.

  7. While this recipe is good, I can’t believe the cake pictured was made with unsulphered molasses. I just made this today, with Grandma’s brand unsulphered molasses, and my cake came out much darker than the blogger’s. I have to believe light molasses was used for the pictures. No way using unsulphered molasses would result in a medium creamy brown.

    I also thought 1 cup of molasses was too much going in, but unless the recipe is so far off the mark for my brain to consider, I like to make a recipe as written the first time. I should have cut it back a little and added a bit more applesauce.

    But it was good, with a nice gingery flavor. I’ll play with the recipe the next time.

  8. I always read comments to see how others’ tries at a recipe came out. After doing so, I decided (for personal taste reasons) to reduce the molasses by 1/4 cup and increase the sugar by 1/4th cup. Everything else I left as is. WOW! I grew up eating a box mix gingerbread during the holidays which was extremely good. I wanted to try from scratch for a more homemade taste and this definitely worked. I topped it with organic whipped cream (from a can – Whole Foods brand)… I had two large helpings and my mom and brother (who are picky) loved it! This is a keeper and brings me back to fall and winter holidays when I was a kid. Just excellent! Thank you for this recipe. 😉

  9. Very good and easy to make. I found the first cake moist but not very sweet. Made a second and used 1 cup sugar. Will make again. Had friends ask for recipe. Topped with homemade whipped cream and caramel sauce. Loved it.

  10. This ginger cake recipe is just what I need! Unfortunately, I don’t have an oven. Can you make it in a 6 qt. crockpot?

    1. I’ve not tested it before so I’m not sure. You might be able to find a crockpot cake recipe online and use that as a guideline. Good luck!

    1. To reheat it in the oven, place the cake on a foil-lined baking sheet in a cold oven and turn the oven to 250 degrees. Bake just until the cake is moist and warm-not hot, about 8 to 15 minutes or you can pop it in the microwave. Hope this helps!

    1. Sorry I didn’t see this earlier. You can, but you’ll want to cook for less time, depending on your oven. I would recommend increasing the ingredients by 50% more so that it’s not too flat.

  11. This cake is really good. I wanted something to welcome in fall. This fit the bill. It was moist and very flavorful. I like melting down lemon icing and pouring over the cake slices, before serving . Lemon and Gingerbread are a great couple. There was not a crumb left in the pan. This recipe is a definitely a keeper.

  12. I followed the directions exactly and the molasses flavour is way too overpowering. Yuck! I’m disappointed and it irks me when I feel that I’ve wasted ingredients and my time. Also, my cake turned out a lot darker than the picture that’s shown here so something doesn’t match up. Next time I’ll put less than half the molasses that is called for and I’ll up the apple sauce because I love the apple flavour and I dislike detectable amounts of molasses in my baked goods.

    1. Followed the directions exactly (using apple sauce) and it turned out great! Just the right amount of spice – not too strong. Thank you for sharing this, I will be making it again for a pot luck this weekend.

    2. Sounds like you used ‘blackstrap’ molasses. Check the label, that will give a stronger bitter taste and a very dark cake. Look for just ”molasses” or ”light and mild unsulfured molasses”

  13. Hi the cake smells really good, after 43 minutes it’s still kinda wet in the middle, I’m going to bake it for 10 minutes and see what happens!!

    1. I have cut around the edges and inverted out, it would depend on the non-stick nature of your pan. If you want to invert out be sure to grease and flour your pan well.

  14. Hi Sabrina!
    I tried your “Classic Gingerbread Cake” and absolutely love it!!! I did NOT use the applesauce and it is so light and fluffy! The flavor of the spices is perfect!
    Thank you!
    Dianne
    Colchester, CT
    I wish I lived in Sacramento!

  15. Well, I just had some of this cake. It is AMAZING. I modified it only slightly: added 1/4Cup chopped candied ginger and 2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger. In place of applesauce I used 1/2 cup of brandied dried mincemeat. The mincemeat has been marinating in brandy for about 3 days. But I followed the recipe for ratios of flour, butter molasses (what a lot!) and rest of the spices, and water exactly. This has the most amazing delicate crumb. Featherlight, etherial, delectable. Thank you so much. Happy holidays!

  16. I thought this cake had a heavy molasses taste, mellowed on day 2. Others really liked it.Don’t know if I would make it again.

  17. I just finally got around to trying this tonight and not only was it super easy, but it was so delicious and exactly what I wanted in a gingerbread!

  18. Do you have any feedback if I want double the recipe and cook in a 9×13 pan? Same baking time or increase it? Thanks!

    1. That’ll work perfectly. You may need 5-10 more minutes of bake time but just check it 40 minutes and then every 5 minutes from there to be sure. Enjoy!

  19. Just wondering if you made this in the cupcake tin that is shown when you click on “baking pan”, or in a loaf pan or square pan as shown in the slice pictured?? (Baking times would be different). The baking time stated sounds more like a loaf pan or 8″ square pan? The picture looks like it was from the latter. Can’t wait to try it though!

      1. So this recipe only makes one small pan? I need to make (3) 8″ layers with mascarpone cheese icing. So I would just double or what?

        1. I don’t think this would be a good recipe for that. This is a much firmer cake and I’m not sure if layering would work. Sorry

  20. I made this recipe and it turned out really good! I just sprinkled Cinnamon sugar on top. The cake is flavorful, moist and dense but not a sign dense as pound cake.

  21. We went to the Pomona Fair last September, looking SO forward to the gingerbread house that makes THE best gingerbread. As a lot of things from my childhood, it was no longer a part of the county fair! 🙁 I have been thinking about that darn cake since then and it is now almost Christmas!
    Going through Pinterest and this recipe is exactly like my mom’s recipe that she always used, but I had been unable to find. 
    This is just lovely…..I have it baking right now and am SO excited to present it for dessert tonight!
    Hugs, from California!

  22. A family recipe, over 50 years old?!? Oh my gosh – that’s awesome! And I can see why it’s such a treasure, and why you’re so thrilled to finally try it … and (lucky us!) to share it! Just looking at your gorgeous pics, it’s easy to see how light and fluffy yet rich and comforting it is! So wonderful! Just perfect for Chrismakkuh!! 😀