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This gingerbread cake is so moist and full of rich gingery, molasses, spiced flavor. It’s topped with a sweet lemon cream cheese frosting and is a must make dessert to bake this holiday season!
If you love gingerbread flavors be sure to make these gingerbread overnight oats and my favorite chewy ginger molasses cookies!
This post and recipe have been updated since it was originally published on 12/18/2015
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Gingerbread Snack Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Ingredients for Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- How to Make Gingerbread Cake
- How to Make Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Recipe Tips
- Substitutions and Variations
- Alternative Toppings for Gingerbread Cake
- Storage and Freezing
- More Holiday Desserts
- Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Gingerbread Snack Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Easy to Make – This is a simple single layer cake that bakes in a 9×9 baking pan. You can use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to make the cake batter.
Gingerbread and Lemon – If you’ve never paired lemon with gingerbread, you’re in for a treat! It’s an underrated flavor combination that works so well together. The deeply spiced flavor of the gingerbread and the bright, zippy flavor of lemon are a perfect match!
Holiday Season Dessert – Desserts are top of the list once December hits. Christmas cookies are a must, especially these vanilla and chocolate pizzelles. However, if you’re looking for a delicious Christmas cake to serve after Christmas dinner, this spiced gingerbread cake is the one to make!
Ingredients for Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Flour – I used white whole wheat flour to make the cake a little more wholesome.
- Ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves – Warm, fragrant, flavorful spices found in gingerbread.
- Baking soda – Makes the cake rise.
- Salt – Salt balances and enhances the flavors.
- Unsalted butter – You can’t beat the flavor when it comes to using it in baking.
- Greek yogurt – Plain Greek yogurt is a way to cut back on the amount of butter used and also makes the cake extra moist.
- Molasses – Use unsulfured molasses, not blackstrap. I like the brand, Grandma’s Molasses.
- Hot water – Combining the molasses and hot water makes it easy to incorporate into the cake and adds additional moisture.
- Dark brown sugar – Dark brown sugar has molasses in it and boosts the molasses flavor in the cake.
- Egg – The binder for the cake.
- Vanilla extract – Enhances all the flavors.
- Cream cheese – I used low fat cream cheese, but full fat is great too.
- Powdered sugar – Powdered sugar sweetens the cream cheese frosting.
- Lemon – Lemon zest and juice are used to flavor the cream cheese frosting.
How to Make Gingerbread Cake
Preheat your oven and spray a 9×9 metal baking pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the molasses and hot water.
In a separate mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter on high speed for 2-3 minutes. Add in the brown sugar and yogurt and beat for another minute. The mixture will look curdled, but that’s ok. Beat in the egg and vanilla until fully incorporated.
Starting with the flour mixture, add 1/3 to the butter mixture. Beat on low just until incorporated. Pour in half of the molasses mixture and continue to beat. Repeat the process, making sure you end with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake at 350° F. for 30-35 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan completely before topping it with the lemon cream cheese frosting.
How to Make Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Combine the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Make sure both are at room temperature. Beat until smooth and well combined.
Add the lemon zest and juice, vanilla, and powdered sugar into the mixture. Beat on low speed for a minute and then turn the speed up to high and beat until it’s creamy. If the frosting is too sweet add a pinch of salt, not sweet enough, add an extra tablespoon of powdered sugar.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature, especially the wet ingredients. If they aren’t they won’t combine well and the cake might not turn out the way it’s intended.
- Use full fat Greek yogurt for the richest flavor and best consistency.
- The cake batter will look runny and that’s ok. It will still bake up beautifully.
- The cake will be very moist and cutting it can be sticky. I suggest greasing the knife before you cut the cake to prevent it from sticking.
- Line the bottom of the baking pan with parchment paper so that the cake can easily be removed from the pan.
- You can adjust the amount of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves used in the recipe depending on how spiced you like your gingerbread cake.
Substitutions and Variations
- Substitute lemon with orange. Orange zest and juice also pair wonderfully with gingerbread.
- Make it boozy! Add 2-3 tablespoons of spiced dark rum or bourbon to the hot water when you mix in the molasses.
- Use all-purpose flour instead of white whole wheat.
Alternative Toppings for Gingerbread Cake
- Whipped cream
- A dusting of powdered sugar
- Lemon glaze. Try the glaze I used on this lemon yogurt cake.
- Instead of lemon cream cheese frosting, try cinnamon cream cheese frosting. The recipe I used to top this banana snack cake is delicious!
Storage and Freezing
Storage – The gingerbread cake will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freezing – You can make the cake portion of the gingerbread cake ahead of time and freeze it for up to 3 months. Once it’s cooled completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then put it in a freezer bag.
More Holiday Desserts
Did you make this gingerbread cake with cream cheese frosting? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces low fat cream cheese softened
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 3/4 cup for a sweeter frosting
- Pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray the bottom of an 9×9 baking pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper, spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Whisk together the molasses and hot water until combined. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer, beat the butter for one minute on high speed. Add in the Greek yogurt and brown sugar and beat until well until combined, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the molasses mixture. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. Avoid over-mixing the batter.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool the cake completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting it.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the cream cheese and butter to the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment or use a handheld mixer. Beat together until light and fluffy.
- Add in the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. The frosting will be thinner because there is less butter than normal in it. For a thicker frosting you can refrigerate it for an hour, otherwise spread it evenly over the top of the gingerbread cake.
- Serve the cake immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- The frosting won’t be as thick as traditional cream cheese frosting. Sticking it in the refrigerator to chill while the cake is cooling helps it to thicken.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How much vanilla for the cake? It only says how much for the frosting.
Sorry about that Tricia, you’ll want to use 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla for the cake.
I made this cake as written and it was delicious. It’s even better the next day, when the ginger and lemon flavors meld. Decorate with some fresh flowers on top and it’s a hit! Easy to make, too. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for giving the cake a try Ann! I absolutely love the ginger and lemon flavors together and you are right the flavor does get even better the next day!
I do love how you lightened this one up! It looks like I wouldn’t miss a thing!
The adjustments I made to lighten up the cake are undetectable, it’s just plain delicious!
This has been popping up for me all day — and I’ve been drooling! These flavors together (and the “slimming down” part) make this to die for! I just love how it looks, too!
Thanks Patricia! It’s definitely one of my more drool worthy desserts I’ve made!
I love this version of a gingerbread cake! I have never seen it with lemon!
Thanks Julianne! I loved the combination of the lemon and gingerbread. A little pop of fresh citrus really went well with all the spices in the cake!
Love the addition of lemon! I have to try this!
Thanks Jessica! I’m so excited to make it again, we loved it!
Oh my goodness, this looks AMAZING!
Dear Danae, What a gorgeous cake! This looks moist and delicious…I would love a slice of this. Gingerbread is one of my favorites. xo, Catherine
Thank you Catherine! Gingerbread is one of my favorites as well. :-)