Gingerbread Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting

Gingerbread Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting is moist, flavorful and comes together easily! This simple cake consisting of typical cake ingredients along with brown sugar and molasses is perfectly spiced with a homemade gingerbread spice blend and topped with an incredible brown sugar frosting!

Yields 9 to 16 pieces - depending on how you cut it.

Course Desserts & Sweet Treats

Cuisine American

Keyword cake, Christmas, dessert, gingerbread, winter baking

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 35

COOL TIME: 1

Total Time 2

Servings servings

Calories 337

Author Laurie McNamara

Equipment

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:

nonstick baking spray with flour or grease and dust with flour tapping out the excess
2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2½ tablespoons gingerbread spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
1 cup un-sulphured molasses
1 cup boiling water

FOR THE FROSTING:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
2 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups powdered sugar sifted
1/2 tablespoon milk or more as needed

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

MAKE THE CAKE:

Preheat your oven to 325℉ (or 160℃).
Line a 9×9 square pan and line with parchment paper. Spray with a nonstick baking spray with flour.
In a mixing bowl, measure and add flour, gingerbread spice, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine and set off to the side.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, add melted (and cooled) unsalted butter, light brown sugar and egg. On low to medium-low speed, mix until combined.
Pour molasses into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Bring 1 cup of water to boil, and once boiling, pour in with the molasses until it reaches the 2-cup mark. Carefully stir to combine. With the mixer on low-speed, pour in a little of the warm molasses/water mixture at a time.
Next add in a few spoonfuls of the dry ingredients. Mix on medium-low speed, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go. Repeat until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the middle rack of your preheated oven for 35 minutes or until a cake tester (toothpick) comes out clean with only a few crumbs attached.
Allow the cake cool for 30 minutes or so before using the parchment to pull the cake out of the pan. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

MAKE THE FROSTING:

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well on medium-low speed until thoroughly combined.
Gradually add a little of the (sifted) powdered sugar at time. Once incorporated, add a small splash of milk. Repeat until you’ve reached a desired consistency. Increase the speed of your mixer to incorporate air which will make it more fluffy.
Transfer the frosting to the cooled cake. Use an offset spatula to spread it evenly.
Cut and serve.
NOTE: For an extra thick layer of frosting make 1½ to 2 times the recipe.

Notes

Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on SimplyScratch.com should only be used as a general guideline.

Nutrition