Old Fashioned Gingerbread with Cream Cheese Frosting
There’s nothing like a batch of old-fashioned gingerbread with cream cheese frosting during the Christmas season. Soft and fluffy, this spiced gingerbread is made with molasses, giving it such a rich flavor and texture.
The Best Gingerbread Recipe
We are T-minus 1 week away from Christmas Eve, and I cannot believe how fast the season has come and gone. Each year I find myself surprised at how quickly December passes, and this year is no exception.
In the short time left, I’m finding myself stressing over the baking bucket list. Every year, I make a list as long as Santa’s with all of the holiday desserts I want bake. And, like clockwork each year, I barely make it down a few lines of the list.
Honestly, there’s so many Christmas cookies and desserts to bake and yet so little time. But this year, I was not about to let another Christmas season pass without baking up the most quintessential dessert: gingerbread.
Homemade gingerbread is warm and spicy with lots of sweet molasses flavor swirled with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. This gingerbread cake has an orange cream cheese icing on top, and the tangy cream cheese frosting pairs so well with the rich and spicy gingerbread.
What Makes This Gingerbread Cake So Special:
- Cocoa Powder: Did you know that cocoa powder enhances the flavors of gingerbread? Making gingerbread with cocoa powder (just a little lit) adds a huge depth of flavor to the cake. It makes the molasses and ginger pop with flavor.
- Classic: Sometimes the classic recipes are the best ones. They’re classic for a reason, right? This is an old-fashioned gingerbread made with a lot of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. The molasses is the quintessential ingredient to making gingerbread so flavorful.
- Hot Water: Hot water is an essential ingredient in a lot of cake recipes, and this gingerbread cake is no different. The hot water makes the cake “bloom,” basically meaning the cake will be extra light and fluffy.
- Spices: We’re going heavy on the spices, because it’s gingerbread and gingerbread demands the spice. We use ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom.
If you love all things spiced and molasses, try these amazing Molasses Cookies next.
Ingredients:
- Unsalted Butter: We use unsalted butter so we can control the overall salt content in the gingerbread. I find different brands of salted butter to taste saltier than others so we want to use unsalted butter so we can control the flavor.
- Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar
- Egg
- Molasses: My favorite brand is Grandmother’s. Grandma really knows her stuff.
- All Purpose Flour
- Cocoa Powder: This is a bit of a controversial ingredient, but I find the a bit of cocoa really enhances the spicy gingerbread flavor.
- Baking Soda and Salt
- Ginger, Cloves, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom
- Sour Cream
- Vanilla
- Hot Water
- Cream Cheese
- Orange Zest and Juice
- Powdered Sugar
How To Make Homemade Gingerbread:
- Step 1: Sift the dry ingredients together: flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, salt, and baking soda.
- Step 2: With a stand mixer or a hand mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add in the brown sugar and the granulated sugar, and mix until well combined. Next, add in the egg and mix. Finally, add in the molasses and mix until combined.
- Step 3: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and mix until all the ingredients are combined (the batter will be thick).
- Step 4: Pour in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- Step 5: Finally, pour in the hot water and mix until well combined.
- Step 6: Pour the gingerbread batter into a prepared 9×9 square pan.
- Step 7: Bake for 35 minutes, or until the center is set. Allow to cool.
- Step 8: Make the cream cheese frosting by mixing butter and cream cheese together. Add in orange zest, orange juice, and powdered sugar. Mix until combined. Spread on top of the gingerbread cake. Cut and serve.
Storage Tips:
Because of the cream cheese frosting, store leftover gingerbread in an airtight container in the fridge. It can last in the fridge up to 3-4 days.
Variations:
- If you don’t want to add any frosting on top, you can top gingerbread with powdered sugar or homemade whipped cream.
- You can also top with vanilla buttercream or a chocolate buttercream.
Other Christmas Desserts To Try Next:
Final Gingerbread Baking Tips and Tricks:
- Spices: I don’t suggest substituting pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice for gingerbread. You really need the proper amount of each individual spice.
- Molasses: Make sure you are using an unsulphered molasses (you don’t want to use blackstrap molasses). My favorite molasses is Grandmother’s molasses. Blackstrap molasses is typically very bitter, and that flavor will overpower the gingerbread once baked.
- Hot Water: Again, hot water is a key ingredient. It yields such a light and fluffy gingerbread cake texture.
- Cocoa Powder: Making gingerbread with cocoa powder really enhances the molasses and spices in the cake.
- Dry Ingredients: Yes, you do need to sift the dry ingredients. Sifting ensures a very soft and fluffy gingerbread texture.
Old Fashioned Gingerbread
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake Batter
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup unsulphered molasses*
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot water
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1-2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x9 baking dish (or line it with parchment paper). Set aside.
Gingerbread:
- In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl with a hand mixer (or with a standing mixer), beat the butter until it is light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add in the brown sugar and granulated sugar, and beat until it is light and fluffy.
- Next, add in the egg and beat until combined.
- Finally, add in the molasses. Beat until combined.
- With the mixer on low, add in the dry ingredients, a little at a time, mixing until fully combined.
- Once all of the dry ingredients have been incorporated, add in the sour cream and vanilla.
- Lastly, pour in the hot water and mix until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread into an even layer.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the center.
- Allow to cool a bit before frosting. (Gingerbread can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature.)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- With a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy. Add in the orange zest and combine.
- Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp of orange juice, and mix until combined. If the frosting is too thin, add in the remaining 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. If the frosting is too thick, add in the remaining Tbsp of orange juice.
- Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake. Cut and serve.
Notes
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Meet Michelle
I’m a self-taught baker who truly believes it’s impossible to be upset when eating dessert. It’s my life’s goal to bake everyone happy!
If I’m not baking, I’m probably reading a good book with a cup a coffee in hand.
Welcome! I’m glad you’re here!
