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Gingerbread Cake with a light cream cheese frosting (gluten-free, whole grain, low sugar, high altitude option)

Nov 15, 2018 · 13 Comments

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A piece of cake on a plate

Enjoy the warm, deep spices of gingerbread in a gluten-free, whole grain cake that’s low in sugar AND comes with high altitude adjustments! Complete with a light cream cheese frosting on top, that’s tangy and sweet, this cake will quickly become an easy holiday favorite among family members and guests alike.

Gingerbread Cake with a light cream cheese frosting (gluten-free, whole grain, low sugar, high altitude option)

It can be hard to find a moist, gluten-free cake recipe that isn’t insanely unhealthy.

This Gingerbread Cake changes all of that. Using oat flour creates an insanely moist cake, that’s also easy to whip up since it’s made with only ONE gluten-free flour! This Gingerbread Cake recipe will be the bestย Holiday dessert you’ll make this year, that is, without chocolate involved at least ๐Ÿ˜‰

Usually I’m not the biggest fan of desserts without chocolate.

However, I’m always trying to make fun and new desserts with different flavors, in an effort to not just eat chocolate for dessert 24/7. (That wouldn’t be a bad thing necessarily though…)

Christmas and Thanksgiving scream to have some sort of spiced recipe involved.

I LOVE spices.ย So, why not a spiced cake? Not surprisingly, growing up my family didn’t really make cake for the Holidays. You see, my Mom has her own side hustle making cakes for birthdays, weddings, etc. so she makes cakes pretty often, which means when it comes to Holiday desserts she wants to make something different.

I’m not the worlds biggest cake fan either.. I’d rather have a cookie or brownie. If you throw the word “cream cheese frosting” around though, then you can count me in!

Gingerbread Cake with a light cream cheese frosting (gluten-free, whole grain, low sugar, high altitude option)

Enter in, this beautifully spiced Gingerbread Cake with a light cream cheese frosting.

Divine. Like taking the classic, old-fashioned flavors of gingerbread cookies and putting them into a moist, gluten-free cake, complete with a tangy, sweet cream cheese frosting on top. This reached “you’ve got to be kidding me” status.. it was so good.

The cake itself is made healthier with:

  • Oat flour, certified gluten-free (whole grain, high fiber)
  • Less sugar (only 1/4 cup) with the addition of applesauce
  • Only 1/4 cup coconut oil

The light cream cheese frosting is simply made with less powdered sugar. Turns out, you don’t really need 4 cups of powdered sugar to make cream cheese frosting taste delicious. Sure, it’s good that way, I won’t argue with you there, but it’s good like this too and much better for you ๐Ÿ™‚

This Gingerbread Cake is easy to make ahead as well.

Reaching the status of “you’ve got to be kidding me this is the perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert!” It’s as simple as mixing together your dry ingredients, wet ingredients separately, then combining the two. After about 30 minutes in the oven you have a beautifully spiced, Gingerbread Cake.

The light cream cheese frosting is as simple as beating all your ingredients together too. Ta-da!

Gingerbread Cake with a light cream cheese frosting (gluten-free, whole grain, low sugar, high altitude option)

After your Gingerbread Cake has cooled, spread your cream cheese frosting on thick.

Cut into 16 pieces. Feeling a little.. hungry? You could cut these into 12 really big pieces instead. I won’t tell ๐Ÿ˜‰

Sprinkle a few chopped pecans on top and your cake is done. Such a classic, simple, beautiful and healthier Holiday dessert. Don’t forget to say “with cream cheese frosting!” too when you tell your friends what type of cake it is, because if they are anything like me then you’ll be mopping drool off your floor after you tell them that ๐Ÿ˜‰

Looking for more easy, healthier, gluten-free Holiday desserts? Check out my Skinny Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes or Apple Cider Cupcakes.

4.34 from 3 votes
A piece of cake on a plate
Print
Gingerbread Cake with light cream cheese frosting (gluten-free, whole grain, low sugar)
Servings: 16 pieces
Calories: 191 kcal
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake
  • 1 1/2 cup oat flour (certified gluten-free)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp cloves
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted (or butter)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 2/3 cup molasses
  • 2/3 cup warm water
  • 1 egg
Light Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 8 oz reduced fat cream cheese
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
*High Altitude Adjustment (for 6,000-8,000 ft): Use only 1/2 tsp of baking soda.
Instructions
To make the Gingerbread Cake:
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 and line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper. 

  2. In a small mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients (oat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves and salt) and stir together.

  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine your coconut oil, brown sugar, and applesauce and blend together well. Add in your molasses and water, and whisk together. Lastly, whisk your egg in.

  4. Pour your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and stir together till all is well incorporated. Let your cake batter rest for a few minutes for the oat flour to soak up some of the wet ingredients, and your batter will thicken a bit.

  5. Pour your batter into your lined 9x9 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or till the top is set and springy, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

To make the Light Cream Cheese Frosting:
  1. In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat your cream cheese for a minute, or till it's creamy. Add in your vanilla and beat together again.

  2. Add your powdered sugar and beat for a couple minutes, till the frosting is smooth and creamy. 

This recipe was inspired by this Gingerbread Cake and this Low Fat Cream Cheese Frosting.

All Recipes, Desserts, Fall Desserts, Gingerbread, High Altitude, Holiday Desserts

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mani says

    December 15, 2020 at 4:25 pm

    Wow this did not work out well for me it was a little gummy. I let it rest a bit b4 baking but it seemed quite runny. Not sure what happened.

    Reply
  2. Jeanie McCoy says

    October 21, 2020 at 1:52 am

    I have made this twice and itโ€™s wonderful
    I just served with whipped cream/topping
    Did add 1/2 teas cardamom but is great without it too
    Thanks so much!!

    Reply
    • Chelsea Green says

      October 22, 2020 at 1:58 am

      Great to hear, thanks Jeanie!

      Reply
  3. Cindy says

    December 24, 2019 at 5:57 pm

    Great recipe. Turned out wonderful! Used truvia brown sugar in place of regular and ground my own oat flour out of oatmeal. Delicious

    Reply
    • Chelsea Green says

      December 26, 2019 at 10:26 pm

      So great to hear that! Thanks for leaving the comment, Cindy!

      Reply
  4. Suzanne says

    December 19, 2019 at 12:06 am

    This looks absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Chelsea Green says

      December 19, 2019 at 2:33 am

      Thanks Suzanne!

      Reply
  5. Christina says

    September 26, 2019 at 5:27 am

    Could I use regular white flour instead?

    Reply
    • Chelsea Green says

      September 28, 2019 at 2:36 am

      Hi Christina. Regular white flour would not work instead, because this recipe is based off of oat flour, which takes up more liquid than white flour would, so I wouldn’t recommend it, sorry!

      Reply
  6. Ariana says

    December 19, 2018 at 10:10 pm

    Really delicious cake! Made it for the extended family at Thanksgiving and they all loved it! Almost didn’t have any leftovers. Would make this again and again ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Chelsea Green says

      December 19, 2018 at 10:21 pm

      Great to hear, thank you Ariana!! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  7. Cindy says

    December 15, 2018 at 1:55 pm

    Would it be possible to do a keto version? Almond flour, monk fruit sweetener, etc? I suppose the applesauce would have to be left out…..

    Reply
    • Chelsea Green says

      December 15, 2018 at 3:43 pm

      Hi Cindy – I haven’t ever tried to do a keto version, of any of my recipes actually, so I wouldn’t know if that would work or not, I’m sorry! If you do give it a shot and try and make it keto I’d love to know if it works, or not ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply

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ABOUT ME

Hey, Iโ€™m Chelsea! I'm a Colorado Mom baking up simple, gluten-free recipes at over a mile high above sea level. Here you'll find healthy breakfasts and snacks, decadent desserts, and fun drinks. Join me, whether you bake in the mountains or not! Read Moreโ€ฆ

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