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This delicious and moist gingerbread cake is filled with warm spices and topped with a creamy cinnamon cream cheese frosting. It all comes together in 30 minutes and is the perfect dessert or snaking cake for the holidays.
I love all things gingerbread this time of year. It’s a festive and nostalgic flavor that is extra special during Fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the holidays. When I’m craving gingerbread, I make my almond flour gingerbread men and now I’m adding this gingerbread cake to my holiday rotation.
It is a wonderful holiday snack, breakfast or dessert. The cinnamon cream cheese pairs so well with the sweet gingery cinnamony molasses flavor of the cake. Add some fresh tart cranberries on top and it is just flavor perfection.
Table of Contents
What makes this recipe great
- It is ready in 30 minutes. This is perfect for a last minute gathering, weeknight baking, or if you just love gingerbread and cream cheese frosting.
- It has classic gingerbread flavor but with a modern cream cheese addition twist.
- It is great for any holiday occasion. Whether thats a potluck, family dinner, Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving… it will be a crowd pleaser for sure.
- It is easy to make dairy-free. Just use dairy-free cream cheese, and almond milk and you are good to go.
Recipe ingredients
- Flour– unbleached all purpose flour works great here.
- Baking soda and baking powder– these help the cake rise.
- Ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves– these spices give the cake that gingerbread flavor.
- Olive oil– this is used to add great texture to the cake and is also used instead of butter.
- Blackstrap molasses– this is also one of the keys to that gingerbread flavor. SO good. It is also considered a superfood because of it’s antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, so win win.
- Brown sugar– this adds nice sweetness to the cake.
- Egg– its needed to bind the cake batter together.
- Vanilla– this is used in the cake and the frosting.
- Milk– this adds softness to the cake.
- Cream Cheese– the star of the frosting! Feel free to use any kind of cream cheese that you prefer.
- Powdered Sugar– this sweetens the frosting perfectly.
- Optional– fresh cranberries to decorate the cake with.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Additions/ Substitutions
- Instead of brown sugar, you can use coconut sugar at a 1:1 ratio.
- Instead of regular milk, you can use almond milk.
- Instead of regular cream cheese, you can use dairy-free cream cheese.
- Instead of regular flour, you can use gluten free flour at a 1:1 ratio.
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt together in a bowl.
Step 2: Add the olive oil, blackstrap molasses, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and milk to another bowl. Mix.
Step 3: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix.
Step 4: Pour the gingerbread cake batter into a lined pan.
Step 5: Bake.
Step 6: Add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon to a food processor and mix.
Step 7: Once the cake has cooled, frost with the cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Decorate with fresh cranberries if you would like.
Step 8: Then serve.
Expert tips
- Measure the olive oil in your 1/4 cup first. Then measure the blackstrap molasses. It won’t stick to the measuring cup if it has a layer of olive oil residue on it first. If you measure the blackstrap molasses first then it will be very sticky.
- I highly recommend decorating your cake with fresh cranberries. The tart pop of flavor tastes so good against the sweet cinnamon frosting and the warm gingerbread cake.
- If you don’t want to wait for your cream cheese to be room temperature, put it into the microwave for 15 seconds at a time. Don’t leave it in the microwave too long because you don’t want it to melt or to be hot.
- How to store: store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 hours ( the cream cheese can’t stay out longer than that. Or store in the fridge in an airtight container for two days.
FAQs
Yes. You can make the cake and either wrap it in seran wrap or put it in an airtight container and leave it on the counter for a day or two. Then make the cream cheese frosting before serving.
You can also make it, along with the frosting and put it into an airtight container and put it in the fridge to serve the next day. It can’t be in the fridge much longer than that or it dries out.
Make sure to use a dairy-free milk in the cake. And use a dairy-free cream cheese for the frosting.
Yes you can add allspice and nutmeg along with the cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
Other cake recipes you’ll love:
Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!
Gingerbread Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Gingerbread cake ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil, ( or avocado oil or canola oil)
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, (or coconut sugar)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk, (almond milk or regular milk)
Cinnamon cream cheese ingredients:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature (dairy-free cream cheese can also be used)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Optional: cranberries to decorate the cake with.
Instructions
- Grease a 9 inch round pan, and line with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, add 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix with a fork.
- In a large bowl, add 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/2 cup milk together.
- Pour the bowl of dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until combined. Make sure the scrape the bottom of the bowl. Don't overmix.
- Pour the gingerbread cake batter into the pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, add 4 ounces of room temperature cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon to a food processor and mix until smooth. You can also mix it using a handheld mixer and mix the frosting together in a bowl.
- Once the cake is cooled, frost it with the frosting. I highly recommend adding fresh cranberries as decorations because the flavors work so well together. It also adds a beautiful pop of color.
Notes
- Instead of brown sugar, you can use coconut sugar at a 1:1 ratio.
- Instead of regular milk, you can use almond milk.
- Instead of regular cream cheese, you can use dairy-free cream cheese.
- Instead of regular flour, you can use gluten free flour at a 1:1 ratio.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This gingerbread cake has been my family’s favorite this Fall. If you need an idea for Thanksgiving, Christmas, a party, potluck or event. Give it a try!