Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Published December 11, 2014. Updated March 6, 2020

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Isn’t gingerbread just one of the best Christmas flavors? I love this time of year and all the seasonal flavors that come with it! Gingerbread, eggnog, peppermint, pomegranate, orange – some of the best! This moist cake is laced with all the best spices and it’s brimming with robust flavor! And of course we couldn’t leave out the cream cheese frosting! I’m addicted to cream cheese frosting lately, if you are following and haven’t noticed. It goes on just about any kind of cake and the tang of the cream cheese just balances out all the sweetness in the frosting so it’s not overwhelming.

Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting | Cooking Classy

This cake is simply dreamy and it’s perfect for the season at hand! If you are looking for a dessert to impress those you are guests or loved ones this season then don’t pass this one up! You’ll love that it’s a single layer two so it’s much faster than preparing and assembling a layered cake.

If you’d like to decorate with the sparkling cranberries like those pictured here, just follow this link here (if you have cranberries that are too small to fit on a wire rack like mine were, just dry on a wax paper lined baking sheet).

Enjoy!

Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting | Cooking Classy

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4.75 from 4 votes

Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Decadently rich and flavorful gingerbread cake with a deep molasses flavor and lots of spices. Perfectly paired with a creamy cream cheese frosting.
Servings: 10
Prep30 minutes
Cook35 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Frosting

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan (or an 8-inch square. Or a 10-inch springform would work too just reduce baking time slightly). Line bottom with a round of parchment paper (or square if using a square dish) and butter parchment, set aside.
  • In a heat proof mixing bowl whisk together boiling water and baking soda. Stir in molasses and granulated sugar, whisking well to dissolve sugar, set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder and salt.
  • Stir vegetable oil and eggs into molasses mixture, then whisk wet mixture into dry mixture 1/3 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 - 35 minutes. Cool 5 minutes then run a knife around edge of cake to loosen and remove ring. Cool completely on a wire rack then frost top with cream cheese frosting and decorate with cranberries and mint leaves if desired.
  • For the frosting:
  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese and butter until pale and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and mix until pale and fluffy.
  • Recipe source: adapted from Cook's Illustrated via KCET
Nutrition Facts
Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Amount Per Serving
Calories 468 Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Fat 20g31%
Saturated Fat 13g81%
Cholesterol 68mg23%
Sodium 199mg9%
Potassium 417mg12%
Carbohydrates 69g23%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 52g58%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 465IU9%
Calcium 86mg9%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.