This moist gingerbread cake with cream cheese frosting is perfect for the holidays. Filled with ginger, cinnamon, brown sugar & molasses – it’s packed with warm, cozy flavors.

Can Gingerbread Cake be Frozen?

You can help keep freshly baked gingerbread cake fresh a little longer by storing it in the fridge, but it is not recommended because it dries out much faster there.

… For a long-term option, you can freeze your gingerbread while preserving its taste and texture if you use an air-tight freezer safe container.

Gingerbread is such a classic when it comes to holiday baking. The warm spices, molasses and caramel brown sugar create such a warm, cozy flavor that’s perfect for colder weather. And this moist gingerbread cake with cream cheese frosting is perfect for your holiday get togethers.

When it comes to the holidays, Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. Most years it’s the only time everyone in my family is in the same place. So spending time at my parents’ house means the holidays are filled with love and laughter.

Why do We Make Gingerbread Houses at Christmas?

The tradition of making decorated gingerbread houses started in Germany in the early 1800s. … German bakers began baking ornamented fairy-tale houses of lebkuchen (gingerbread). These became popular during Christmas, a tradition that came to America with Pennsylvanian German immigrants.

Christmas is also my favorite time to bake. Not only are there so many delicious holiday treats, but more importantly – I love spending time in the kitchen with my Mom and sisters. It’s the perfect place to catch up, reminisce, and maybe burn a batch of cookies….

(Am I the only one who does that????)

So for today – I’m sharing this gingerbread cake with cream cheese frosting. It’s moist, deliciously dense, and has the most delicious gingerbread flavor. The cream cheese frosting isn’t too sweet. Then I decorated mine with cranberries & mint leaves to make it a little more festive.

How to Make the Perfect Gingerbread Cake

This recipe is really straight forward to make.

1. First we stir together the molasses with hot water – if you miss this step, the molasses is too thick and won’t mix evenly into the batter.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon & cloves. The warm spices add soooo much flavor.
3. Then beat together the oil, brown sugar, vanilla extract & eggs. Using oil makes the cake extra moist, then the brown sugar gives a delicious caramel flavor.
4. Finally the dry ingredients and molasses are mixed in, and it’s time to bake.

The cake will bake for about 35 minutes, but I always start checking just a little early to be sure.

How Long Will Gingerbread Cake Keep?

The gingerbread cake will keep well in an airtight container for several days, if not longer.

In fact a ginger cake is often at its best a few days after baking!

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

Then to top it all off, the spiced gingerbread cake is slathered with tangy cream cheese frosting. For super smooth cream cheese frosting, make sure the butter and cream cheese are warmed to room temperature first. Then we beat together the butter and cream cheese – and finally the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt are mixed in.

For a little more holiday cheer, you can decorate with cranberries & mint leaves like I did in the photographs. Or a few festive sprinkles look so pretty too.

I absolutely love gingerbread – and when it comes to the holidays, this gingerbread cake with cream cheese frosting is the perfect easy recipe!

Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 15-18 pieces

Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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This moist gingerbread cake with cream cheese frosting is perfect for the holidays. Filled with ginger, cinnamon, brown sugar & molasses - it's packed with warm, cozy flavors. 

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Additional Time 55 minutes

Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cake

• 1 cup molasses (I don't recommend blackstrap because the flavor is too strong)
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp ground ginger (use 3 tsp for a stronger ginger flavor)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil (canola works too)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 8 oz brick-style cream cheese, softened
• 3 - 3.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-2 tablespoons cream, as needed
• fresh cranberries and mint leaves for decoration, optional

Instructions

Gingerbread Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large measuring cup, gently stir together the molasses & boiling water.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, baking soda and salt.
4. Using an electric mixer beat together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until evenly combined.
5. Then with the mixer on low speed, beat in about 1/3 of the flour mixture followed by about 1/3 of the hot water & molasses. Repeat until all the flour & molasses are mixed in. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 32-37 minutes, or until the top is set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In a large bowl beat together the butter and cream cheese until evenly combined.
2. Mix in the vanilla extract and salt.
3. Beat in the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time until the desired sweetness level is reached. Then beat in 1-2 tablespoons of cream as needed. If the mixture is thin, you may not need to add any cream.
4. Frost the cooled cake. Then optionally decorate with cranberries and mint leaves.

Notes

This cake is also a great recipe to make ahead. You can bake the cake and let it cool. Then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. The night before you'd like to serve, thaw the cake in the fridge. Then frost the next day.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

15-18

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 718 Total Fat: 24g Saturated Fat: 8g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 14g Cholesterol: 59mg Sodium: 356mg Carbohydrates: 124g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 102g Protein: 5g

Gingerbread Pancakes

Filled with spices, super fluffy & perfectly moist – these easy Gingerbread Pancakes are the ultimate breakfast for the holidays!

Gingerbread Brownies

Fudgy gingerbread brownies topped with white chocolate cream cheese frosting. These easy gingerbread bars are perfect for Christmas.