Gingerbread Cake

Every holiday, I bake this gingerbread cake because nothing says cozy like the scent of cinnamon, ginger, and molasses in my kitchen. This moist, spiced cake is super easy to make and tastes even better layered with creamy cream cheese frosting. Every bite is full of warm, festive flavor that makes the season feel extra special.

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I’ve made a lot of holiday desserts over the years, but this gingerbread cake is the one I keep coming back to. It’s the perfect mix of cozy and festive, with just the right amount of spice and sweetness. The batter comes together in minutes, and once you top it with that creamy frosting, it tastes like something straight from a bakery. If you make one new dessert this season, let it be this one – it never disappoints.

If you love the warm, cinnamony notes of this gingerbread layer cake, you’ll also enjoy my Pumpkin Dump Cake. Not only is this one super easy to make, your house will smell amazing.

Key Ingredients Notes

See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.

Cake

• All-purpose flour: Cake flour works for a softer crumb
• Baking powder & baking soda
• Salt & warming spices: Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves, and allspice add rich, warm, spicy flavors.
• Sour cream: Plain Greek yogurt works too
• Granulated sugar: Can swap with brown sugar for deeper flavor
• Light brown sugar: Dark brown sugar adds extra richness
• Unsalted butter
• Canola oil: Vegetable or melted coconut oil are fine alternatives
• Molasses: Use unsulfured; avoid blackstrap which is too bitter
• Large eggs
• Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor
• Very hot water: Strong brewed coffee works for deeper flavor

Frosting

• Cream cheese, block style:
• Unsalted butter
• Light brown sugar & cinnamon
• Salt
• Powdered sugar
• Heavy cream: Half-and-half or whole milk are fine alternatives
• Vanilla extract

How to Make Gingerbread Cake

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line three 8-inch round pans with parchment paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients: Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
3. Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, beat sour cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, oil, molasses, eggs, and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth.
4. Combine: Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and mix on low just until combined.
5. Add hot water: With mixer on low, slowly pour in very hot water until batter is smooth.
   
6. Bake: Divide batter evenly among prepared cake pans and bake 28–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
   
7. Cool: Let cakes cool in pans 8–10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks. Remove parchment and cool completely. Level tops if needed.
8. Make frosting: In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, then cream and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Adjust consistency with more sugar or cream if needed.
   
9. Assemble: Place first cake layer on a plate, spread frosting, repeat with remaining layers. Add a thin coat of frosting to the top and sides, chill 30–40 minutes, then frost completely. Decorate as desired.
   

Make Ahead & Storage Instructions

• Store: Keep the frosted cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let sit 10–15 minutes at room temperature before serving.
• Freeze: Wrap unfrosted layers tightly in plastic and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw overnight before frosting.
• Make Ahead: Bake layers 1–2 days in advance, wrap tightly, and store in the fridge. Frost the day of serving for best results.

More Easy Holiday Dessert Ideas

Looking for more festive treats to add to your holiday dessert spread? Try these crowd-pleasers:

• Chocolate Crinkle Cookies – Soft, festive cookies perfect for holiday gatherings
• Peanut Butter Blossoms – A holiday staple! Soft peanut butter cookies topped with a chocolate kiss, ideal for cookie trays
• Christmas Fudge – Rich, creamy, and perfectly sweet; an easy no-bake holiday favorite
• Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups – Fun, bite-sized treats that combine cookies and cocoa
• Snowball Cookies – Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookies dusted with powdered sugar, a classic holiday favorite

If you’ve tried this Gingerbread Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it turned out in the comments below.

5 from 1 vote

Gingerbread Layer Cake

Author — Jennifer Fishkind

Serves — 12

This gingerbread layer cake is moist, warmly spiced, and made with molasses and cinnamon. A simple, festive holiday dessert that’s always a family favorite.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 28 minutes mins

Chill time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 13 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

Cake

• ▢ 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ▢ 1¼ cups sour cream
• ▢ ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
• ▢ ½ cup canola oil
• ▢ ½ cup molasses
• ▢ 3 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ cup very hot water

Frosting

• ▢ 12 ounces block style cream cheese room temperature
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 7-8 cups powdered sugar sifted, start with 7 cups, adding more as needed for desired consistency
• ▢ 2-3 teaspoons heavy cream start with 2 teaspoons, add the additional 1 teaspoon if needed for smooth and fluffy consistency
• ▢ 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

 

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick baker’s spray, line with parchment paper and set aside.
• Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves and allspice in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  2¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon allspice
• To a large mixing bowl add the sour cream, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, unsalted butter, canola oil, molasses, eggs, and vanilla extract. Using a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, beat the wet ingredients together until fully combined.
  1¼ cups sour cream, ¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup canola oil, ½ cup molasses, 3 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients, mix on medium-low speed just until combined.
• With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the hot water mixing just until fully incorporated and the batter is smooth.
  ¼ cup very hot water
• Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared 8-inch cake pans.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or just a couple moist crumbs.
• Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 8-10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack. Remove the parchment paper from the bottoms of the cakes and allow them to cool completely. Once the cakes are completely cooled, use a serrated knife to level the tops if needed before frosting.

Frosting

• To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cream cheese, unsalted butter, light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and salt. Beat for 1-2 minutes or until light, fluffy and no lumps remain. Scrape down the bowl and paddle as needed to ensure all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
  12 ounces block style cream cheese, ½ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly add 7 cups powdered sugar until fully incorporated. Add 2 teaspoons of heavy cream and vanilla extract, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat for another 2-3 minutes or until the frosting is light and fluffy. If your frosting is too loose, you can add additional powdered sugar, ¼ cup at a time until thick enough to hold its shape if piped. If the frosting is too thick, you can loosen it by adding an additional 1 teaspoon of heavy cream to the mixture. Be sure to beat the frosting after each addition until smooth and fluffy, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated.
  7-8 cups powdered sugar, 2-3 teaspoons heavy cream, 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• Place the first cake layer onto a large serving plate. Add approximately ½-¾ cup frosting to the layer and smooth to the edges.
• Add the second cake layer, add approximately ½-¾ cup frosting, and smooth to the edges, then place the third cake layer on top. Add a thin coat of frosting to the top and sides of the cake.
• Refrigerate the cake for 30-40 minutes to firm up the frosting layers. Once the frosting is chilled enough to hold its place on the cake layers, frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining frosting. If adding additional piped frosting to decorate the top of the cake, you can do so prior to slicing and serving.

Jenn’s Notes

Storage:

• Store: Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let sit at room temperature 10–15 minutes before serving.
• Freeze: Wrap unfrosted layers in plastic and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw overnight before frosting.
• Make Ahead: Bake layers 1–2 days in advance, wrap tightly, and refrigerate. Frost the day of serving for best results.

Tips:

• Use unsulfured molasses for balanced flavor.
• Don’t overmix once dry ingredients are added to keep the crumb tender.
• Level cake layers with a serrated knife for neat stacking.
• Bring butter and cream cheese to room temperature for smooth frosting.
• Chill frosting if it feels too soft before decorating.

Nutrition Info

Calories: 840kcal | Carbohydrates: 133g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 476mg | Potassium: 447mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 108g | Vitamin A: 712IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 211mg | Iron: 3mg

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