Sharing a simple homemade gingerbread cake today! It’s just the right sweet, spicy, iced and perfect for holiday baking!
Gingerbread Cake
Baking season is here! If you haven’t made homemade gingerbread before, I’ve got just the recipe for you! My homemade gingerbread recipe is simple to make and has just the right spice and perfectly sweet.
Be sure to try my Soft Gingerbread Bars too! Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration.
What You’ll Need
- salted butter– In my of my recipes I use salted butter, but unsalted works fine too.
- dark brown sugar– Dark brown sugar is found near the light brown sugar in the baking section of the grocery store. You’ll notice it’s darker in color, it has more molasses.
- molasses– Grandma’s brand is what I use. Find it in the baking section of the grocery store.
- hot water– Hot water is added to the wet ingredients.
- large egg– For consistency, I use large eggs in my recipes.
- all-purpose flour– Flour is the main dry ingredient in the cake.
- ground cinnamon– Ground cinnamon is a popular spice and is key for gingerbread recipes.
- ground ginger– Ground ginger is also key in making gingerbread flavored recipes.
- baking soda– Baking soda helps rise the cake during baking.
- kosher salt– Kosher salt is a coarse salt commonly used in cooking and baking.
- powdered sugar– Also referred to as confectioners sugar. This fine sugar is used to make the icing.
- heavy cream– The heavy cream is used to make the icing.
How To Make Gingerbread Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a 8 x 8 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Place melted butter and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. Add molasses and hot water, stirring until combined. Beat egg in a small bowl then add to wet ingredients, stirring to combine. Add flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt and baking soda, stirring until combined. Transfer the cake batter to a baking dish. Bake for 30-32 minutes, until cake is baked through. Use a toothpick to check center of cake. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- To prepare icing, place powdered sugar into a large bowl. Slowly stir in heavy cream until icing is creamy and smooth for drizzling. Add more heavy cream as needed to thin icing. Drizzle icing over cake and cut into squares to serve.
Once wet ingredients are combined, add dry ingredients and gently stir to combine.
Transfer gingerbread cake batter to parchment lined 8 x 8 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30-32 minutes, until baked through. It’s nice to check center with a toothpick to assure it’s baked. Remove and let cool completely.
Prepare sweet icing and drizzle over gingerbread cake before serving.
You can drizzle icing over the cake before cutting into squares or drizzle each square individually before serving.
How To Serve Gingerbread Cake
Serve cake drizzled with sweet icing. Serve room temperature or chilled. Fresh fruit is a nice side to offer.
How To Store Gingerbread
Place any leftover squares in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
Homemade Gingerbread Cake
Equipment
- Oven
- 8 x 8 baking dish
- parchment paper
- mixing bowl
- Microwave
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- mixing spoon
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2/3 cup molasses I use Grandma's Original
- 2/3 cup hot water microwaved until hot to the touch
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Sweet Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a 8 x 8 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Place melted butter and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. Add molasses and hot water, stirring until combined. Beat egg in a small bowl then add to wet ingredients, stirring to combine. Add flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt and baking soda, stirring until combined. Transfer cake batter to baking dish and bake for 30-32 minutes, until cake is baked through. Use a toothpick to check center of cake. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- To prepare icing, place powdered sugar into a large bowl. Slowly stir in heavy cream until icing is creamy and smooth for drizzling. Add more heavy cream as needed to thin icing. Drizzle icing over cake and cut into squares to serve.
Nutrition
Pin Homemade Gingerbread
Welcome to my online kitchen! Picky Palate is where you’ll find family friendly recipes along with the best Disney eats, tips and copycat recipes! 
Forgot the stars!
I really liked this cake. Its easy and great for the holidays. Its also good any time of day. I had some cream cheese to use up so I used a half recipe of cream cheese frosting from your Soft Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Bars. It was perfect.