Old-Fashioned Gingerbread
This old-fashioned gingerbread cake is a great way to celebrate the season! Made in just one bowl, with plenty of molasses, ginger, & cinnamon.
Hey there! How was your Thanksgiving?
Ours was great. We had lots of friends and family, and lots of good food. Everyone left with full bellies and smiling faces. What more could you want, right?
And now here we are. It’s officially the Christmas season!
We are kicking it off with an easy recipe that’s so classic and beloved for this time of year: gingerbread!
I have lots of gingerbread inspired recipes on this site, like these gingerbread cinnamon rolls, these gingerbread spiced almonds, and these gingerbread donuts. My family loves the warm holiday flavors of brown sugar, molasses, ginger, and spice. They just scream Christmas!
So I thought it was about time I made a proper gingerbread. Just a straight up, traditional, classic gingerbread that is moist, a little sweet, and full of that iconic winter flavor.
WHAT IS GINGERBREAD?
Gingerbread is a simple cake that’s made with molasses and ginger.
I think you’ll really like this recipe because it’s all done in just one bowl, and it bakes up nice and moist, with a toasty caramel flavor and lots of warm ginger.
It’s perfect for the holiday season, and it tastes great as a dessert or afternoon snack, with a hot cup of tea.
HOW TO MAKE GINGERBREAD
This is a really easy recipe to make. You only need one bowl! Hooray for less dishes. We are already busy enough at this time of year. Am I right?
Start by combining your butter and hot water in the bowl. Allow it to sit for a few minutes, then whisk together until the butter is all melted.
Next, add your brown sugar, molasses, and egg. If you live outside of the US, you might know molasses by the name “treacle.”
Once you’ve got those ingredients whisked in, it’s time to add the dry stuff: flour, spices, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
This recipe has 2 whole teaspoons of ground ginger in it, plus a teaspoon of cinnamon, so that warm holiday flavor really comes through! If you want to bump up the gingery-ness, try mincing a few pieces of candied ginger, and add that to the mix. You’ll get little pockets of intensely spicy-sweet ginger goodness!
Once the batter is made, just pour it into a 9×9-inch pan. It’s best if you mist it with non-stick spray first, and line it with parchment. That way it will come out of the pan easy-peasy.
Bake it up and enjoy! It’s absolutely delicious warm, but I prefer to let it cool completely before slicing in. The squares just come out a little neater this way.
HOW TO SERVE GINGERBREAD
Gingerbread doesn’t need a whole lot extra, because it just has SO much flavor on its own.
But if you want to jazz it up a little, try topping it with a dollop of whipped cream. Or you could frost the whole top with this Whipped Cream Frosting. Or this cream cheese frosting would be fantastic!
Another great option is lemon curd. I absolutely LOVE it, it’s easy to make and the tart lemon flavor is the perfect complement to warm, spicy ginger. Gingerbread plus lemon curd is a classic combination!
HOW TO STORE GINGERBREAD
This gingerbread will keep nicely at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Just make sure to keep it tightly covered so it doesn’t dry out or become stale.
If you still have leftovers after a few days, wrap it up and pop it into the fridge. It should keep there for about a week.
CAN YOU FREEZE GINGERBREAD?
You can definitely freeze this gingerbread cake too! Wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap, then slip it into a zip-top bag.
It should keep in the freezer for a month or two.
When you’re ready to enjoy it, just thaw it at room temperature.
If you’d like to reheat it, just gently warm it in the microwave for 15 or 20 seconds.
I hope you enjoy this easy, moist gingerbread cake recipe this holiday season!
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Old-Fashioned Gingerbread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, (1 stick), softened
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) water, , boiling
- 1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar, , loosely packed
- 1/2 cup (168.5 ml) molasses
- 1 egg, (large)
- 1 1/2 cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, mist a 9x9-inch baking pan with non-stick spray, and line it with parchment.
- Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and pour the boiling water over it.
- Allow it to stand for a few minutes, then whisk together until the butter is completely melted.
- Whisk in the brown sugar, molasses, and egg until combined.
- Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking powder, stirring together until smooth.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and bake the gingerbread for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Made several times made for people at work and made for home everyone loves it very taste by itself or with a lemon sauce. I put the lemon sauce on the side so if someone is allergic to citrus or does not like lemon they can still enjoy it. Easy to make and not time-consuming..
I found your site by way of the soft sugar cookies. I scrolled through looking at all the other deliciousness and saw this one. I love gingerbread cake like this! We always have it during Thanksgiving but we pour a simple thin dark chocolate sauce over it (warm). I highly suggest you try it that way! Thank you for sharing this wealth of recipes!
Now this is the flavour that I’ve been searching for for years. Also I love one bowl recipes. I just baked it this rainy Sunday afternoon and the house smells incredible, and of course we had to try a few squares, delicious! I did 1 tsp powder ginger and 1 tsp fresh grated ginger. Thank you.
Love the addition of fresh ginger! So happy you enjoyed Sam- thanks so much for the positive feedback!
Hi Allie
Could this be made in a bundt pan?
Yes you could probably do that but I’d think the recipe would need to be doubled at least. Good luck!
What would the cooking time be?
Check out step #6 of the recipe instructions, the info you are looking for is listed there.
Delicious! Baked in convection oven for 30 minutes.
Served with real cream whipped topping. Definitely will be making this again?
I made this cake using apple cider instead of water and added diced apple. It was amazing ?
Sounds fantastic! So happy you enjoyed.
I made this over 20 times this December and gave as gifts. Everyone loved them! It conjures up childhood memories. I only had 8” round cake pans with and 2 1/2 “ collar and they came out fine at 35 minutes
So good to know! Thanks so much for sharing Rita!
Hi Allie, I am new to your blog and have only tried the Simply Perfect Chocolate and Simply Perfect Vanilla Cupcake recipes.
Can this recipe be made into gingerbread cupcakes?
Hi Melanie! I think it probably could, but I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t say for sure how many cupcakes it would yield or what the exact bake time would be. Good luck and thanks for reading!
It was too spicy for our tastes.
Allie, I am going to make this for next Mondays Christmas Party & I have three questions. Do you use Mild or Full Flavor Molasses (I have a bottle of Brer Rabbit Full Flavor)? Will the Full Flavor effect the amount used? Also, should the butter be @ room temperature? Thank you!
Hi there Susan! I’m so happy you’re going to give this recipe a try. I used full flavor molasses but you can use whatever you like best. It should not affect the amount you use. And yes, the butter should be softened. Hope you and your guests love this cake as much as we did!
Hi Allie, I want to make this cake, wondering if I could substitute fresh ginger for ground, and if so, how much? Thank you in advance ?
Hi Marjorie! I love this idea. Fresh ginger is so good. You can add as much or as little as you like- it depends on how spicy you like your gingerbread. I would probably start with about a tablespoon, and then add more from there. Good luck and enjoy!
I have never made a Gingerbread Cake before. It looks nice & very good! If I make the Lemon Curd, would you use a dollop, like you do with the Whipped Cream? Is it to be refrigerated? What kind of mixers do you use (both stand & hand)? I need to buy both, due to the motors dying basically blowing up, the first time using them ( with the hand). I was considering a Kitchen Aide Stand Mixer, but not sure which type to get? Nothing is made like it used to be!
I live in Ohio. Coordinates: 40°16′4″N 81°51′24″W (which is to be in the lower foot hills of the Appalachian Mountains) & the only Grocery Stores that we have here are: https://www.buehlers.com/, https://www.aldi.us/en/ & Wal Mart to find baking products. Thank you!
Hey Susan! I’m so happy you like the recipe! Yes if I were to add lemon curd I would just dollop a little on top. The lemon curd recipe is linked above, so you can just click over and get all the specifics. As for mixers, I worked with KitchenAid for years so almost all of my kitchen appliances are KitchenAid brand. That said, you don’t need a mixer for this gingerbread cake at all, or for the lemon curd either. Both of those recipes can be mixed by hand. Hope that’s helpful!
Such a fabulous holiday dessert! The aroma itself is amazing, and it tastes wonderful, too!
We love this recipe!!!