Moist Gingerbread Layer Cake
Print Pin VideoThis super moist gingerbread layer cake is bursting with bold flavors of ginger, molasses, and cinnamon, all topped with a tangy, spiced cream cheese frosting. It's the perfect cozy dessert and an irresistible holiday treat that your family and friends will love!
IMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake
- 2¼ cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tsp ginger powder - ground ginger, can reduce to 2 tsp for a less spiced/more kid friendly cake
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (200 g) light soft brown sugar - firmly packed (see note 1)
- 1 cup (215 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- ½ cup (140 g) blackstrap molasses - see note 2 for using light molasses
- 2 large egg - room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- ¾ cup (180 g) hot milk - make sure it's hot (not just warm) and use whole milk
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- 4½ cups (570 g) powdered sugar - also known as icing/confectioners' sugar
- 1½ cups (335 g) cream cheese - cold, firm type (see note 3)
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract/essence
- 1 tbsp lemon juice - freshly squeezed (not artificial)
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Gingerbread Cake
- Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional (see note 4 if using a convection oven) and grease two 8-inch cake pans (I use my homemade cake release).
- Sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine light brown sugar, vegetable oil, blackstrap molasses, egg and vanilla. Using a whisk mix until well combined and smooth.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture, and using a whisk, mix until just combined. The batter will be very thick.
- Finish off by adding in hot milk, and using a whisk, mix until well combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
- Distribute the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Drop the cake tins lightly on the counter to release any large air bubbles and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 20 minutes, before turning them out onto a wire rack to completely cool. While cooling, prepare the frosting.
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- To a large bowl add in unsalted butter and using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine - use the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) cream for a few minutes on a medium high speed until it's light and fluffy.
- Add in the powdered sugar in 3 batches while mixing on low. Ensure that each batch of powdered sugar is mixed into the butter well before adding in the next batch.
- Next add in your cold cream cheese, vanilla, fresh lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon and mix on a medium speed, just until the frosting is smooth. Avoid over-mixing. If using a stand mixer, you may need to mix on a high speed to get everything nice and smooth (see note 5 if your frosting is lumpy).
- Once the cake layers are completely cool, assemble the cake. See blog post above or recipe video to see how I assemble mine 🙂
Video
Notes
Note 1. If using measuring cups for this recipe, then you want to firmly pack your soft brown sugar. To do this, pack your measuring cup with sugar and using the back of a spoon, press the sugar into the cup with a little bit of pressure (not too much) and then fill the remaining cup with more sugar.
Note 2. You can use light molasses for this recipe, it'll just make your cake slightly sweeter, and less deep in flavor. If you don't want an overly sweet cake, I would recommend reducing the brown sugar in the cake if using light molasses.
Note 3. To ensure that your frosting isn't too soft, you want to use a firm cream cheese, not the spreadable type. You also want to use cold cream cheese as this will help your frosting stay firmer for longer, particularly if you want to use it for piping. If you stay in a hot climate and your frosting is softening up after some time, simply place it into the fridge for 30 minutes and then rewhip it. This will bring it back to a pipeable consistency.
Note 4. If using a convection oven that has a fan function, bake at 160 °C (320°F) as the fan function bakes food faster.
Note 5. If you end up with lumpy frosting, this is most likely due to the cream cheese not mixing in properly. This is more of a problem if using a stand mixer. To remedy this, mix on the highest speed. If it doesn't help, swap the paddle attachment with the whisk attachment and mix on a high speed - this should do the trick :). Alternatively, you can whip the cream cheese first and get it smooth before adding it to the frosting.
Nutrition
Calories: 763kcal | Carbohydrates: 103g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 470mg | Potassium: 395mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 79g | Vitamin A: 543IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 226mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
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