Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Let’s talk about this gingerbread Bundt cake. This is what would happen if your grandmother’s classic gingerbread got a makeover. With a perfect balance of FIVE warm spices and that deep molasses flavor we crave, it’s basically December in cake form. Cake recipes like this can sometimes look fancy (especially if you include the sugared cranberries) but are surprisingly doable, even if you’re not a star baker.
Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Equipment
- Bundt cake pan
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger (+1 teaspoon)
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¾ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter softened (1 stick+ 6 tablespoons; reduce salt to 1/2 teaspoon if using salted butter)
- 2 cups brown sugar light or dark
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ⅔ cup molasses
- 1 ¼ cups water
For Simple Finish
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Optional White Icing
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons milk adjust for desired thickness
- 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
Optional Sugared Cranberries
- ¾ cup granulated sugar divided
- ⅓ cup water
- ¾ cup fresh cranberries
- Fresh mint leaves
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Instructions
Make the Cake
- Preheat Oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and generously grease a 10-12 cup bundt pan.
- Mix Dry Ingredients. Whisk together the flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add Eggs and Molasses. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then mix in the molasses until smooth.
- Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the water. Begin and end with the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Finish the Cake
- Dust with Powdered Sugar. Once the cake is completely cool, use a fine-mesh sieve to lightly dust powdered sugar over the top for a simple, elegant finish.
Optional Additions
- Prepare White Icing. Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth and thick enough to drizzle. Add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed. Drizzle over the cooled cake if desired.Prepare Sugared Cranberries1) Make Syrup. Bring water and half the sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.2) Coat Cranberries. Add cranberries to the syrup and stir to coat. Remove cranberries with a slotted spoon and roll in the remaining sugar. Place on a baking sheet to dry for 1 hour.Garnish. Arrange sugared cranberries and fresh mint leaves on top of the cake for a festive touch.
Notes
I stumbled across this recipe during my quest to bring something different to our annual family Christmas gathering. You know how there’s always that one dessert everyone beelines for? This became that dessert. My aunt practically stalked me around the party, trying to score the recipe, and now she makes it every year for her neighborhood cookie exchange (yes, I know it’s not a cookie – nobody seems to mind!).
My kids have even started calling it “Mom’s Famous Gingerbread,” – though I suspect that has less to do with the cake itself and more with the fact that they get to be my official taste testers.
Key Ingredients and Tools
Here are some ingredients that make this cake stand out:
- Molasses: Go for unsulphured dark molasses (not blackstrap). Grandma’s or Brer Rabbit brands are my go-tos. You don’t want to substitute this ingredient – it gives the cake its soul.
- Butter: Real butter all the way here, folks. Generic store brands work fine, but European-style butter like Kerrygold makes it extra special.
- Spices: Fresh is best! If your spices have been hanging around since last Christmas, treat yourself to new ones. Ground ginger is the star here, so don’t cut back.
- Brown Sugar: Light or dark both work great. Dark will give you a slightly more intense flavor.
Don’t skimp on these ingredients, and your cake will be moist and flavorful.
Troubleshooting and Help
See my earlier note about greasing the pan like your life depends on it. Let it cool for exactly 20 minutes before turning out – no more, no less.
The most common culprit is overbaking. Every oven is different, so start checking about 5 minutes before the suggested baking time. Also, make sure you’re measuring your flour correctly – spoon it into the measuring cup and level it off; don’t scoop directly from the flour bag.
Make sure your cranberries are completely dry before rolling in sugar. I sometimes let them air dry for 15 minutes after coating them with syrup before doing the final sugar roll.
I wouldn’t recommend it – blackstrap molasses is much more bitter than regular molasses and will overwhelm the spices. Stick with regular unsulphured molasses.
If you have any more questions, leave me a comment. I’m always happy to help.
Look, I get it – there’s something a little intimidating about a fancy bundt cake, especially during the hectic holiday season. But this cake is simple to make. Make sure you have some extra copies of the recipe when you bring this to your holiday dinner – because, trust me, people will ask for it!
By Katie Shaw
Katie lives in Virginia with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens. She loves creating simple tutorials for sourdough, bread, and soap. Her recipes, articles, and YouTube videos reach millions of people per year.