This vintage Gingerbread cake recipe is deliciously light and easy to make. It's also perfect for the holidays!
Light hints of cinnamon, ginger and molasses in a sweet and moist cake.
Serve up a little slice of this after your fried catfish or meatloaf dinner or have a little slice with your coffee!
This old fashioned Gingerbread Bundt Cake recipe is about as easy to make as wrapping a present! Serve a slice as you would a coffee cake--for breakfast, snack or dessert!
I think you'll find it quite tasty--not too sweet and not too much molasses.
Why you'll love this Gingerbread cake recipe!
All-natural - no boxed cake mixes, no additives, no preservatives just simple ingredients
Easy - this Fall dessert couldn't be any easier to make
When you make this cake, folks will be lurking around the kitchen waiting for it to get done - it smells heavenly! In fact, the hardest part about this gingerbread recipe is waiting for the cake to get done!
This recipe also makes 24 standard-size cup cakes!
What you'll need
The ingredients are clean and simple: flour, salt, butter, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, sugar, molasses and buttermilk.
Be sure to use a high-quality molasses. I use Grandma's™ brand molasses because it's unsulfured, pure sugarcane molasses.
How to make it
Combine sugar, eggs and butter in a big bowl
In another bowl, combine flour, ginger, cinnamon and baking soda; add molasses and buttermilk to dry ingredients; combine well
Add in sugar, egg, butter mixture; combine well, pour into prepared pan and bake
Can I substitute syrup for molasses?
First, let's agree that syrup and molasses are sweeteners; however, they are different types of sweeteners: syrup is derived from the sap of maple trees and molasses is made from cane sugar.
Syrup might work in an emergency situation, but if you use syrup, add a little brown sugar because brown sugar contains molasses.
A better choice might be to use a little Steen's Cane Syrup. This dark, oil-like cane syrup hails from Louisiana and is much closer in flavor to molasses than syrup, especially national brand syrups that contains additives, preservatives, flavorants and who knows what else.
Tips
After you make the batter, spray the Bundt pan with oil and lightly coat pan with granulated sugar - not flour
The cake comes out easily and doesn't have any "flour pockets" on top
If you don't have cake flour, just use all-purpose flour and sift it twice
Use a high-quality molasses; don't skimp on quality here
I sprinkle a little powdered sugar over the top of the gingerbread bundt cake; however, if you want to add an icing or glaze, go for it! Make yourself a little gingerbread treat anytime you want!
You'll love this old fashioned Gingerbread cake recipe and your house will smell heavenly while it's baking! You can make this recipe as a gingerbread sheet cake, mini muffins or mini-Bundt cakes...it's your call!
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📋 Recipe
Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Equipment
- Bundt pan
- Cooling rack
- Hand or Stand Mixer
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups flour , sifted; all purpose or cake flour
- 1 teaspoon salt , table
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (optional) ,to sprinkle on top of cake (optional)
- ½ cup unsalted butter ,room temperature
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk ,2% or whole
- 1 cup molasses , high-quality
- spray oil , for pan
- sugar , for pan
Instructions
Prep
- Remove butter from fridge and allow to come to room temperature½ cup unsalted butter
- Preheat oven to 350ºF
- Sift flour; set aside
Assemble Ingredients
- In a large bowl, add sifted flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger; stir and set aside2¾ cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- In another large bowl, use hand or stand mixer and combine room temperature butter, sugar and eggs; combine well½ cup unsalted butter, 2 whole eggs, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Add buttermilk and molasses to sugar mixture;stir1 cup buttermilk, 1 cup molasses
- Add wet mixture to dry ingredients; combine well
- Lightly spray bundt pan with oil then dust pan with a little sugar; shake off excessspray oil, sugar
- Pour batter into prepared pan
- Bake 50 - 55 minutes, or until the center of the cake comes out clean on a toothpick
- Allow cake to rest for 5 minutes
Remove Cake from Bundt Pan
- Use a knife and gently loosen cake from pan, including the center tube
- Place cooling rack over cake; hold rack and pan together and flip
- Remove bundt pan ; allow cake to cool about 5 minutes
- Lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional) and serve2 tablespoons powdered sugar (optional)
Notes
- Even if you're pan is non-stick, spray it lightly with oil.
- Believe it or not, a light sprinkle of sugar - NOT FLOUR - helps the gingerbread cake release from the pan. It's amazing how easily the cake comes out when you use sugar and not flour. (Use plain granulated sugar; not confectioner's or powdered sugar.)
- Oil and sugar the pan right before you pour in the batter. DO NOT oil and sugar the pan in advance, as the ingredients slide down to the bottom of the pan.
Delores says
Quick question: This is called gingerbread bundt cake BUT there's no ginger in it. Can I add a teaspoon of ginger (powder or even fresh ground ginger)?
Would love to know what you think.
Anecia says
I know!!! It’s my Grandmother’s recipe and there’s no ginger in it🤷♀️
You could add a teaspoon of dried ginger I suppose.....I wouldn’t use fresh ginger, though.... it’s too strong.