Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
on Dec 18, 2015, Updated Aug 25, 2024
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Light, moist and full of rich gingery, molasses, spiced flavor. This Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting is perfect for serving this Christmas!
I made this Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting almost a month ago and have been dying to share it. Of course it’s busy time in the blogging world so I kept having to push back the date I planned on sharing it with you guys. Finally that day is here and you all need to be excited because THIS was a good cake! So good I think I probably ate 1/4 of it the day I made it. Don’t worry though I ran a few extra miles the next day to help remedy my piggyness.
My last gingerbread recipe were these Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Muffins. I raved to you about how amazing orange zest pairs with gingerbread flavors. Today I’m here to tell you that lemon is also wonderful paired with gingerbread, especially when it’s in the form of cream cheese frosting. There is something magical about adding fresh citrus to rich gingery spiced cake that really makes your mouth water!
Along with the cake tasting great it’s also been slimmed down a little because if you’re like me you’ve been stuffing yourself with Christmas cookies for the past week and having a cake recipe that’s a little lighter is a welcomed sight. For the cake, I subbed out a couple tablespoons of butter for Greek yogurt, reduced the sugar a bit and bumped up the whole grains by using all whole wheat pastry flour. The cream cheese frosting is made with 1/3 less fat cream cheese instead of it’s full fat friend and there is only a tablespoon of butter in it. Because I used lower fat cream cheese and a fraction of the butter the frosting will be thinner and not as stiff as traditional cream cheese frosting. You can thicken it up and make it easier to spread on the cake by refrigerating it for about an hour.
It’s the perfect time of year to make a gingerbread cake and this easy, no fuss version I’ve made for you will be perfect for serving on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Enjoy and eat an extra piece for me!
Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake
- 1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 tablespoon plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup molasses
- 1 egg
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces low fat cream cheese softened
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray the bottom of an 8x8 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 flour, spices, salt and baking powder, set aside.
- Combine the boiling water and baking soda, set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer, beat the butter, Greek yogurt and sugar until combined, about 3-4 minutes.
- Beat in the molasses until combined.
- Add in the egg and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and baking soda mixture to the mixer and beat together just until combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting it.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add all of the frosting ingredients to the bowl of an electric mixer or use a handheld mixer.
- Beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add in the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.
- Refrigerate the frosting for an hour if you want it to be thicker, otherwise spread it evenly over the top of the gingerbread cake.
- Serve the cake immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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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. :-)