The Best Gingerbread Recipe

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5 from 3 votes

Nothing screams holidays like gingerbread, and this is the ultimate gingerbread recipe!

Prep Time5

Cook Time40

Total Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: (3x3 inch) squares

Calories: 536kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

Cake:

½ cup unsalted butter softened
½ cup brown sugar packed
1 cup unsulphured molasses
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
¾ tsp nutmeg
¾ tsp cloves
1 cup boiling water

Whipped cream topping:

1½ cups heavy whipping cream very cold
3 tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350* F. Line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper, or spray with baking spray, and set aside.
In a small bowl combine the cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Stir to make a spice blend. Remove 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture and set aside to use as a garnish sprinkle for the cake pieces when serving.
In a medium mixing bowl combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and the spice blend (not the 1 teaspoon reserved). Whisk together to completely incorporate all the spices evenly into the flour. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, using a hand held mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and mix for another 30 seconds until the egg is completely incorporated.
Add the molasses and vanilla extract to the creamed butter mixture and mix to combine well.
Slowly add the flour mixture to butter and combine, on low speed, just until all the flour has been evenly incorporated.
While your mixer is on low, slowly pour the boiling water into the batter. Mix just until all the water is incorporated. Do not overmix. You can use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure that all the batter is evenly mixed.
Carefully pour your batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow your cake to cool completely, on the counter, prior to slicing and garnishing with the whipped cream topping.
While your cake is cooling you can make your whipped cream topping by adding your very cold heavy whipping cream to a large bowl and mixing on low speed, with a handheld mixer, for 1 minute.
Add the sugar and vanilla extract and continue to whip, on high speed, for an additional 2-3 minutes.
You can transfer your whipped cream to a piping bag, or a zip top plastic bag with the corner snipped, and pipe a pretty swirl to the top of each piece of your gingerbread cake.
You can use a pinch of that 1 teaspoon of spice blend you reserved to sprinkle lightly on top of the whipped cream and onto the top of your piece of gingerbread cake.

Notes

Storage:

This gingerbread cake is best served at room temperature. It can be stored, in a covered container, on the counter for 3 days or in the refrigerator for upto 5 days.

Tips:

Make sure to use unsulphured molasses. Unsulphured molasses is the finest quality molasses. It’s made using made from mature sugarcane, whereas sulphured molasses is made from sugarcane that hasn’t had as much time to mature. This is going to really affect the flavors in your gingerbread!
If you’re looking for extra strong flavor, you can choose to up the amount of cinnamon and ginger. Some recipes call for more and if you like strong gingerbread, it’s definitely a good option!
If you do not wish to make a homemade whipped cream, the squirt kind from the can works just as well.
Alternately, you can top individual pieces of gingerbread cake with a store bought, or homemade, caramel sauce drizzle.
You can eat a piece of this gingerbread cake with your morning cup of coffee or heated up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a delicious holiday dessert.

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