Dark molasses, plenty of ground ginger, and a little cinnamon give this old-fashioned cake its warm, deep flavor. A thin vanilla icing sets over the top and adds just enough sweetness to balance the spice.
INGREDIENTS
Gingerbread Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into the measuring cup and leveled
- 2½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup unsulfured molasses or black treacle
- ¾ cup whole milk, at room temperature
Vanilla Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1½ to 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
DIRECTIONS
- Prepare the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides for easy lifting.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Beat the softened butter and brown sugar for 2–3 minutes, until creamy. Beat in the egg, then mix in the molasses.
- Finish the batter. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Mix just until the last streaks of flour disappear.
- Bake. Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake for 35–42 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Ice the cake. Whisk the powdered sugar, 1½ tablespoons of milk, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Add the remaining milk a little at a time until the icing spreads easily. Spoon it over the cooled cake and let it set for about 20 minutes before slicing.
For a Scottish-style finish, use black treacle for a deeper, bittersweet flavor and fold 2 tablespoons of finely chopped crystallized ginger into the finished batter. The ground ginger spices the whole cake, while the crystallized ginger adds little chewy bursts of sweetness and heat. It’s optional. Check out this video to see how it's done!
Classic Iced Gingerbread
