This classic Gingerbread Cake is moist, light and fluffy, and made complete with brown sugar, molasses, and plenty of spices. Leave it plain or top it with your favorite frosting.. either way, this is a Christmas dessert must-have!
Have you ever made Gingerbread Cake?
It’s a very classic, old fashioned dessert. It’s not something grew up making! But, I’ve fallen in love with all things Gingerbread over the last several years (probably an obsession this year though!) and so I’ve recreated many gingerbread recipes.
Last year I made a Gingerbread Cake with oat flour and topped it with cream cheese frosting. It was super moist and delicious. But, not everyone can have oats/oat flour.
I decided this year I should make a Gingerbread Cake recipe with all purpose gluten-free flour, with a dairy-free option too! My sister is dairy-free now and I’ve cut down a lot on dairy consumption myself.
So, here is is. My modern take on the old fashioned Gingerbread Cake. Mine has less molasses and a lot more spices instead, which is just the way I like it!
Serve it with powdered sugar sprinkled on top (like freshly fallen snow!), your favorite vanilla dairy-free frosting, or cream cheese frosting would still be delicious too!
This cake is so easy and filled with Holiday flavors, making it the perfect Christmas dessert.
Let’s get to baking up some spiced goodness, shall we?
This Gingerbread Cake is just as easy to make as any other basic cake recipe. Making your own cake can sound daunting, but this one you make in a 9×9 pan, and you don’t have to decorate it fancy at all! Sounds good, right? 🙂
So let’s see, here’s a few important notes…
If you have Gingerbread Spice seasoning you can use 3 tsp of that instead of the cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. The blend of spices I use is basically a homemade Gingerbread Spice mix, but not everyone has or wants to have all of those spices!
If you do want to have all of those spices, I’d recommend using high quality spices too. I’ve recently stopped buying all the super cheap spices and I’ve spent a little more money on my spices, and it has been WELL worth it!
I’d also recommend a high quality gluten-free all purpose flour here. I would not recommend substituting it with other flours, other than regular all purpose flour. I like using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix and I’m a new fan of King Arthur’s measure for measure flour.
You can use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar if you’d like, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to switch it to something liquid like maple syrup or honey. It could change the texture of the cake, and not in a good way!
And don’t forget to have your kids join you in the fun of making some cake! I always love to have my kids baking with me. It’s definitely entertaining (not always in the best way!) but they love it and I love teaching them my passion for homemade food.
Whether you love the old fashioned Gingerbread Cake of the past, or are looking for a fun new take on gingerbread flavors, I hope you all enjoy this cake.
It’s fluffy, lightly sweet, heavily spiced, and oh so heavenly 🙂
Need other Christmas dessert ideas? Check out my gluten-free Pecan Pie, Chocolate Peppermint Cookies, and Snickerdoodle Cupcakes.
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (I use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon and ginger
- 1/2 tsp allspice, nutmeg and cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (or butter)
- 1/3 cup applesauce (sweetened or unsweetened)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup warm water
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To begin, preheat your oven to 350 and line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper.
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In a large mixing bowl, add your gluten-free flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves and salt and stir them together till well combined.
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In a medium sized mixing bowl, add your coconut oil, applesauce and brown sugar and whisk them together till well combined. Next, add your molasses, vanilla, and egg and whisk them in until well incorporated. Last, add your warm water and whisk it into your wet ingredients.
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Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and stir them together till they are well combined. Pour your cake batter into your pan.
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Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or till the cake is springy to touch or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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Let cool. Then frost with frosting of choice or sprinkle with powdered sugar. Slice, serve and devour!
Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, without frosting, this cake will last about 3 days. If you frosted your cake, store it in the fridge and it will last about a week.
Does this cake freeze so I can make ahead?
Hi Amy. I haven’t done that before, but it should work just fine. Just defrost it in the fridge.
Would I need to double this recipe to get a good sized Bundt pan version? I just don’t want it to be shallow/short cake. We want to do this for a birthday cake for 15-20 people.
Hi Jennifer. Sorry I haven’t responded sooner. I wouldn’t recommend trying to use this recipe for a bundt pan; I’m afraid the rise and texture of the cake wouldn’t be the right texture for a bundt pan. I’d recommend looking for another recipe specifically for a budnt cake.
Top this gingerbread cake with pineapple and you’ll be over the moon in love with it.
Pineapple Sauce:
1/3 c brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 cans (8 1/4 oz) crushed pineapple
2 Tbsp butter (or alternative)
Mix brown sugar and cornstarch together in a sauce pan. Add pineapple with juice, butter or alternative and heat to boiling. Boil and stir 1 minute. Cool and top your gingerbread with it. You can put a dairy-free whipped cream over the pineapple and sprinkle with chopped pecans.
A young Marines wife gave me this recipe in 1977 – I think of her every time I make it. She played the piano for our Chapel services.
I made this recipe for New Year’s Eve. It was perfect! Exactly what I had in mind!
Awesome! Thanks, Linetta, for the comment!