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Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cake Recipe

This old-fashioned gingerbread recipe makes the best gingerbread cake for the holiday season. It’s perfectly moist and flavourful!

Gingerbread Cake Recipe

When I was a little girl I can still remember making this homemade gingerbread with my grandmother at Christmas time. It made the entire house smell amazing and heralded the most wonderful time of the year!

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This recipe combines all of the flavors of Christmas with warm spices and dark molasses in a classic gingerbread loaf that you will want to make in your own kitchen. It’s a good idea to stock the pantry with a few different things that I like to have on hand.

Gingerbread Cake Recipe

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Gingerbread Supplies:

Gingerbread Cake Recipe

I really like using a bundt pan as it gives the cake a fun shape and allows for easy cutting. If you don’t have a bundt pan you can use a 9×11 cake pan too.  This recipe would make nice gingerbread loaves too, simply pour the batter into two loaf pans. 

Gingerbread Cake Recipe Ingredients

Gingerbread Cake Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
  • 3/4 cup molasses
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves

For frosting:

  • 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Garnish:

  • 1/4 cup frozen cranberries
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Gingerbread Cake Process

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine applesauce, molasses, oil and eggs.

Gingerbread Cake Process

2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and spices. 

Gingerbread Cake Process

3. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed until combined.

4. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Gingerbread Cake Process

5. Spray the inside of the baking pan with non stick cooking spray.

Gingerbread Cake Process

6. Use a rubber spatula to pour batter into the prepared pan.

Gingerbread Cake Process

7. Bake 50-55 minutes. Test with a toothpick, it should come out of the cake clean.

8. Place on a wire rack to cool before removing from the pan.

Gingerbread Cake Process

9. Combine frosting ingredients and mix until creamy.

Gingerbread Cake Process

10. Spread frosting over the top half of the cake.

Gingerbread Cake Process

11. Top with cranberries that have been tossed in sugar.

This recipe easily makes 8 servings that are perfectly paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of homemade whipped cream.

Gingerbread Cake Recipe

Store in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap at room temperature for a few days, if it lasts that long!

This old-fashioned recipe is wonderful as is but you can make a few substitutions if desired.

Gingerbread Cake Recipe

Substitute ingredients:

  • I routinely use extra virgin olive oil instead of vegetable oil in the recipe.
  • Your favorite sweetener or dark brown sugar can be used in place of regular.
  • Fancy molasses, light molasses, blackstrap molasses or dark corn syrup can all be used for molasses.
  • Ground cloves may be left out if you don’t have any.
Gingerbread Cake Recipe

More gingerbread recipes:

Gingerbread Cake Recipe

TIPS FOR HOLIDAY BAKING:

Gingerbread Cake Recipe

You’ll love this gingerbread cake recipe! It’s quick, easy and tasty with a rich gingerbread flavour making it perfect for the holidays.

Gingerbread Cake Recipe

Please give this easy recipe a five star review and help me share it on Facebook or Pinterest so that others can enjoy it too!

Gingerbread Cake Recipe

Gingerbread Cake Recipe

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

This old-fashioned gingerbread recipe makes the best gingerbread cake for the holiday season. It's perfectly moist and flavourful!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
  • 3/4 cup molasses
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine applesauce, molasses, oil and eggs.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and spices. 
  3. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed until combined.
  4. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  5. Spray the inside of the baking pan with non stick cooking spray.
  6. Use a rubber spatula to pour batter into the prepared pan.
  7. Bake 50-55 minutes.
  8. Place on a wire rack to cool before removing from the pan.
  9. Top with a drizzle of icing sugar, caramel sauce or cream cheese frosting.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 526Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 562mgCarbohydrates: 101gFiber: 2gSugar: 63gProtein: 7g

All values are approximate and based on ingredients used by the recipe writer. Always calculate your own individual nutritional values for the most accurate calculation.

Did you make this recipe?

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about heather

Hello, I’m Heather!

I'm an active mom of twin boys who is always looking for opportunities to inspire creativity through fun crafts, do-it-yourself projects and delicious recipes. This blog has been an integral part of supporting my little family and I am so grateful to have you become a part of our journey! Let's create together... Read more...

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I’ll be making this! Happy Thanksgiving!

I can smell this n ow….Mmmmmmmmm!~! Will try for sure!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

this sounds sooooo good!! thanks for making me hungry! :)

Oh we have gingerbread every Christmas Eve! I’m going to try your recipe this year. Thanks for sharing it, it looks wonderful!