Gingerbread Cake

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There's just nothing better than homemade Gingerbread Cake, especially this time of year.

Now that fall has arrived, our cravings for warm spices and all things cozy are in full swing!  

Delicious Scratch Gingerbread Cake Recipe with an amazing Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting by MyCakeSchool.com

What I love about this cozy dessert is that it incorporates all of the flavors of gingerbread into fluffy cake layers. The Spiced Cream Cheese filling and frosting pair beautifully with the moist gingerbread cake layers. It's a match made in heaven.

Amazing Gingerbread Cake Recipe with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting! Recipe by MyCakeSchool.com!

How to Make Gingerbread Cake

*You can find our full, printable recipe card further down in this post, but here is a quick rundown of the steps!

  • First, preheat the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and grease and flour three 8 inch cake pans. I also like to use a circle of parchment paper at the bottom of each pan.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: all purpose flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk at least 30 seconds and set aside.
  • In another bowl, add these wet ingredients: hot water, vegetable oil and molasses. Stir and set aside.
  • With an electric mixer (using a paddle attachment if a stand mixer), beat the unsalted butter until smooth. Next, slowly add the granulated sugar (white sugar) and mix 4 to 5 minutes on medium speed until fluffy and lightened in color.
  • Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing after each just until the yolk is blended.
  • With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the wet mixture. Begin and end with the flour mixture (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of wet ingredients).
  • Mix just until blended after last addition. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. 
  • Divide the cake batter into each of the three prepared cake pans (8 inch) and bake at 350 degrees for 22 to 25 minutes. Bake times can vary slightly--the cake layers are done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean (or with just a few crumbs attached).
  • Cool the cake layers in the pans on a wire rack for ten minutes before turning our the warm gingerbread cake layers.
Amazing Gingerbread Cake from Scratch with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting! Recipe by MyCakeSchool.com. Online cake tutorials, recipes, videos, and more!

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

There are many frostings that would taste great with this recipe, but we always love the combination of tangy cream cheese frosting with spice cakes. There's just something magical about this pairing!

For our spiced cream cheese frosting recipe, we've altered one of our go-to cream cheese frosting recipes by adding a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon. The result is heavenly- you'll want to just dive right into the frosting bowl!

Keep in mind that cream cheese frostings are softer than most buttercream frostings that you may be used to working with.

If at any time the frosting becomes too soft, just pop it into the refrigerator to chill for several minutes to thicken the consistency. You can do the same with your piping bags as needed.

I also like to chill the crumb coated (thin layer of frosting) cakes in the freezer for about 15 minutes to firm everything up before applying the final coat of frosting. It is just easier to decorate cakes when they are chilled! 

Alternative Frostings

**Since cakes frosted with cream cheese frosting should be refrigerated until closer to the time of serving, you can use a less perishable frosting if you need to.

Simply add the same spices to your favorite vanilla buttercream recipe for a spiced buttercream frosting! (Our classic vanilla buttercream or fluffy vanilla buttercream recipes are good options!)

Assembling the Gingerbread Cake

  • This moist gingerbread cake couldn't be simpler to assemble! Place the first cooled cake layer on a cake plate or pedestal. Spread with a layer of spiced cream cheese frosting. Repeat for the next two cake layers.
  • Frost the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer (crumb coat) of frosting. At this point, I like to chill the cake for 10-15 minutes in the freezer until firm. This is an optional step, but helpful!
  • Next, frost the cake with the second (final) layer of frosting. We added additional texture around the sides (see our easy ridged buttercream technique tutorial)! 
  • We also added a shell border with a medium sized star tip 21. (See our tutorial on piping with a star tip for more details on borders!)
  • Decorate the cake however you like! The options are endless. Make sure to chill the frosting or piping bag for a few minutes if it becomes too soft!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake

Recipe FAQs

Yes, because of the spiced cream cheese frosting, this cake should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container or under a cake dome.

However, for best flavor and texture, it is best to remove the cake from the refrigerator 2-3 hours before serving. This will allow time for the cake and frosting to warm and soften.

Yes, just as with most of our cake recipes (from strawberry cake to almond cake, lemon cake and more) these cake layers freeze perfectly!

After baking and cooling (until warm or room temperature), wrap the cake layers individually in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. For added support, we usually place each cake layer on its own foil-wrapped cake cardboard before wrapping. Freeze for up to three months!

To thaw, move the wrapped cake layers to the kitchen counter and allow to sit for 30-45 minutes before unwrapping. Thaw to desired amount before assembling. (Some people prefer to assemble their cakes while the layers are still partially frozen.)

We have a super easy & flavorful Easy Gingerbread Cake (Doctored Cake Mix) , a Gingerbread Latte Cake Recipe from Scratch with amazing ginger and espresso flavor, and finally our Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake  which is a heavenly combination of ginger and pumpkin- so good!

In addition to layer cakes, we also have a decadent Gingerbread Pound Cake as well as a Gingerbread Bundt Cake.

Favorite Spice Cakes

In addition to this amazing spiced gingerbread cake recipes, we've made several other favorites as well! If you love spice cakes, make sure to place these on your "must-bake" list!

Some of our favorites are Spice Cake, Pumpkin Spice Cake, Applesauce Spice Cake, Orange Spice Cake (from cake mix)

Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope that you enjoy this delicious Gingerbread cake.

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You'll find baby shower cakes, elegant cakes, themed birthday cake designs and so many more. (We also cover the basics of how to make a cake!) We hope you'll find something you'd like to try!

Amazingly moist and delicious scratch Gingerbread Cake with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting! Recipe by MyCakeSchool.com!

Gingerbread Cake with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting.

You will love this amazing Gingerbread Cake with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting. It is so moist, flavorful, and perfect for fall and winter celebrations.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 23 minutes
Course: Dessert
Servings: 15
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Ingredients

For the Gingerbread Layers

  • 1 ½ cups (300g) sugar
  • 1 ½ sticks (170g) unsalted butter, slightly softened
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 3 cups (363g) all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon (4g) baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon (5g) baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
  • 2 teaspoons (4g) ground ginger
  • 3 teaspoons (6g) ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon (1g) nutmeg
  • 1 cup (236g) hot water
  • cup (65g) vegetable oil
  • ½ cup (160g) molasses

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 3 sticks (339g) unsalted butter, softened (This is the equivalent of 1 ½ cups)
  • 12 oz (339g) cream cheese, softened (This is 1 ½ of the 8 oz packages.)
  • 2 teaspoons (4g) cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon (1g) nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon (2g) ground ginger *sift if clumpy
  • 6 to 6 ½ cups (690g - 748g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted Adjust amount to your liking for consistency of frosting.

Instructions

For the Cake Layers:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease and flour three 8 inch pans, add a circle of waxed or parchment paper to the bottom of each pan.
  • In a separate bowl, combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk at least 30 seconds. Set aside.
  • In another bowl, add the hot water, oil and molasses. Stir and set aside.
  • Do not mix the ingredients above medium speed.
  • In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and mix 4 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy. 
  • Add the eggs one at a time mixing just until the yolk is blended in.
  • With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl alternately with the wet ingredients. Begin and end with the flour mixture (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of wet ingredients). Mix until just blended in, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl when needed. Do not over mix. Divide evenly between your three 8 inch pans.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.

For the Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Using your mixer beat the butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add the and spices. With the mixer on low speed gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until it is a good piping consistency.

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51 Comments

  1. Hi I am wanting to make this cake before Christmas Eve. I have a charity event I participate in on Christmas Eve Christmas Day. I have made cakes before early and freeze them before assembling them. Can I do that with this cake?

    Thanks,
    Amy