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Celebrate the festive season with the best Gingerbread Layer Cake! This gingerbread layer cake has soft and fluffy cake layers that are full of warm Christmas spices. Plus it is surrounded with most delicious tangy cream cheese frosting and is decorated with cute mini gingerbread cookies. It is perfect to enjoy during this Holiday season!
This Gingerbread Layer Cake is perfectly light and airy. The gingerbread layer cake recipe is seasoned with lots of Christmas spices to give that classic flavor of gingerbread. It has ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, plus of course molasses to give that perfect gingerbread flavor. It is covered with a delicious tangy cream cheese frosting that perfectly balances the gingerbread spices, making it taste like a dream.
For more Holiday recipes, try Gingerbread Cupcakes, Gingerbread Cookies and Red Velvet Loaf Cake.
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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
- Gingerbread Cake Layers: The gingerbread cake layers are incredibly soft and so quick and easy to make
- Cream cheese frosting: This cream frosting is so delicious, easy to decorate with and brings a perfect tangy flavor.
- Easy and quick recipe: It's an incredibly easy and delicious recipe to make.
INGREDIENT NOTES
These are some of the key ingredients for this recipe. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.
- All-purpose flour: Gives a light and airy cake. I prefer using all-purpose flour with a protein amount that is between 10-11%
- Sugar: The brown sugar helps add extra toffee flavor to the cake.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Help leaven and rise the cake, so it has light and fluffy texture.
- Salt: Helps enhance the flavor of the cake.
- Eggs: Take the eggs out of the fridge 30 minutes to 1 hours before baking (depending how warm your kitchen is).
- Sour Cream: Sour cream makes for a softer and more tender cake. Measure out the sour cream and let it come to room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hours before baking (depending how warm your kitchen is).
- Spices: To give that classic flavor of gingerbread, it has ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
- Molasses: I recommend using unsulphured molasses or dark syrup.
- Vegetable oil: Use a flavor neutral oil, such as canola or avocado oil.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Here is how to make and bake this Gingerbread Layer Cake. This recipe needs two bowl, a hand whisk and a electric mixer.
The full recipe is down below in the recipe card.
Before starting preheat the oven to 170ºC/ 340ºF conventional oven and line 2x 20 cm/8-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
STEP 1: In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, dark brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. In another mixing bowl add all of the wet ingredients, and with a hand whisk, whisk them together until combined.
STEP 2: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir it all together with a whisk or a rubber spatula. Make sure there is no dry flour left in the batter. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pans and spread the cake batter into an even layer. Bake them for 28-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
STEP 3: Let the cakes cool on a wire rack. After 5 minutes, gently remove the cakes from the cake tins and let the cakes cool down completely.
STEP 4: For the buttercream, in your stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, start by creaming the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
STEP 5: Add the vanilla bean paste and cream cheese and cream it together with the butter. Add the sifted powdered sugar in 2 parts, letting the powdered sugar mix in with butter and cream cheese before adding the next part.
STEP 6: Place the first cake layer on your serving dish or cake board on your turntable. Add 2 big scoops of frosting and with an offset spatula, even it out. Then add the other cake layer and cover the whole cake in a thin crumb coat.
STEP 7: Add the remaining frosting, and even it out over the cake. Optional decorate with a dusting of cinnamon and gingerbread cookies.
EXPERT BAKING TIPS
- Use a kitchen scale: My default setting for my recipes is grams. It is the most precise way of measuring out your ingredients, I therefore highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
- Don't over mix your batter: I always use a spatula after everything has mixed together, to give it one final gentle fold together. This makes sure everything in the bottom of the mixing bowl has been mixed into the batter.
- Light vs. dark baking pans: For the best result, use an aluminum baking pan, greased with butter and lined with baking paper in the bottom. Aluminum pans are light in color and therefore attract less heat. That means it bakes more gently which results in a softer cake. If you use a black baking pan it'll attract a lot more heat. That will then give a darker crust, which can result in a dryer cake.
FAQ
Yes, you can make both the cake layers and the buttercream the day before, so you only need to assemble it the next day. Store the cake layers on the kitchen counter wrapped in plastic wrap, out of direct sunlight. Store the buttercream in the fridge in an airtight container. Before using it, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then give a remix in the you stand mixer, until smooth, and it ready to be assembled.
I recommend using a cake tester or a toothpick. Once the time has passed, per the recipe, insert the cake tester in the center of cake and once it comes out clean, with no cake batter on it, then it's done.
HOW TO STORE
Store the frosted gingerbread layer cake in an airtight container in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature before enjoying it. It is best enjoyed within 1-2 days.
Other Holiday Recipes To Try
Make sure leave a STAR REVIEW if you loved this recipe! Make sure to tag me on Instagram @juliemarieeats. To get more ideas by following me on Pinterest.
Gingerbread Layer Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
GINGERBREAD CAKE LAYERS
- 315 g all-purpose flour
- 150 g dark brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 165 g unsulphured molasses or dark syrup
- 360 g sour cream 14-18% room temperature
- 110 g vegetable oil e.g. avocado oil or canola oil
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 300 g butter
- 150 g full-fat cream cheese
- 550 g powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
DECORATION
Instructions
GINGERBREAD CAKE LAYERS
- Preheat the oven at 170ºC/340ºF conventional oven and line 2x 20 cm/8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, dark brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.315 g all-purpose flour, 150 g dark brown sugar, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt, 2 ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, 2 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- In another mixing bowl add all of the wet ingredients, and with a hand whisk, whisk them together until combined.165 g unsulphured molasses, 360 g sour cream 14-18%, 110 g vegetable oil, 3 large eggs, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir it all together with a whisk or a rubber spatula. Make sure there is no dry flour left in the batter.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pans and spread the cake batter into an even layer. Bake them for 28-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool on a cooling rack. After 5 minutes, gently remove the cakes from the cake tins and let the cakes cool down completely.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- Take the butter and cream cheese out of the fridge 10 minutes before starting. Cut the butter into cubes. Sift the powdered sugar.300 g butter, 150 g full-fat cream cheese, 550 g powdered sugar
- In your stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, start by creaming the butter for 5 minutes on medium-high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it another mix for 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla bean paste and cream cheese and cream it together with the butter for 1 minute.½ teaspoon vanilla paste
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and on low speed, mix the sifted powdered sugar in 2 parts, letting the powdered sugar mix in with the butter and cream cheese before adding the next part. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it a final mix for 1-2 minutes on low speed.
ASSEMBLING
- Place the first cake layer on your serving dish or cake board on your turntable. If you don’t have a turntable, don’t worry, you can easily decorate the cake without it.
- Add 2 big scoops of frosting and with an offset spatula, even it out. Then add the other cake layer and cover the whole cake in a thin crumb coat. Place it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes so it is easier to frost the cake with the remaining buttercream.
- Add the remaining frosting, and even it out over the cake. Optional decorate with a dusting of cinnamon and gingerbread cookies.Mini Gingerbread Cookies
Ulrike
Hi, I would really like to try it out. In Germany and Poland you are able to purchase pre-mixed gingerbread spice (containing everything you mentioned). How much spice would I need in total? If I add up all mentioned above it would mean 5,5 teaspoons of spices. Can that be correct?
Wishing you a very merry Christmas from Germany
Julie Marie
Hi. Yes, that is correct 🙂 A very merry Christmas to you too!
Kathy Card
Love to understand the amount, can you tell me in measurements not ounces
Julie Marie
Right above the ingredients list you'll see a toggle where you can switch from Metrics to US cups 🙂