Celebrate the holidays in style with this incredible Christmas Gingerbread Cake. Three layers of moist gingerbread are covered with a cream cheese frosting for an amazing Christmas dessert that will impress everyone!
Do you love gingerbread? We sure do! We look for ways to add our favorite winter flavor in everything we make, all winter long! Cookies, breads, even lattes! We simply can’t get enough. This gingerbread cake fits in with our gingerbread theme with the most amazing gingerbread flavor. The combination of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves will leave you salivating! It’s all topped off with a cream cheese frosting to make the ultimate Christmas cake. This stuff is what Christmas dreams are made of!
Buttermilk in Christmas Gingerbread Cake:
The batter for this cake calls for buttermilk. The acid in the buttermilk will react with the baking soda and baking powder to help this cake rise, creating a fluffy crumb. If you don’t have buttermilk, be sure to read our Buttermilk Substitutes post to pick something that works for you. Please don’t just use milk or water. It will impact the results of the cake.
Cupcake Instructions:
Would you prefer gingerbread cupcakes to a gingerbread cake? No worries, this recipe works for cupcakes too! They are baked at 325 degrees for 20-22 minutes and this recipe makes about 36 cupcakes.
Can I make gingerbread cake into only two layers?
Is a 3 layer cake too much for you? We get a lot of requests for instructions on how to make a smaller version of the same cake. Simply divide the recipe by 2/3rds for a two layer cake or use the scaling feature on our recipe card below.
Frosting Options:
We highly recommend cream cheese frosting with this cake. It is the perfect pairing with the gingerbread! You can always use regular buttercream frosting if you don’t like cream cheese frosting or if you don’t have the space in your refrigerator for storage.
Storage Instructions:
Due to the cream cheese frosting, you’ll need to store this cake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It will begin to dry out the longer it is left in the refrigerator, however it never lasts long enough in our home for that to happen!
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious cake recipes:
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
I cooked this and it was soooo delicious! Thank you for sharing! I love it!!!!
I just try your xmas gingerbread cake, and my family was hungry for more?☺ It was soooo delicious.
I love it!!!!!! Thank you for sharing your recipes with us. You’re truly AMAZING!?
This looks really scrumptious as a 3-layer cake, but could it be made into a 9×13 cake for church suppers?
Yes it will! You’ll only need about 2/3 of the recipe.
Hi Rachel could you please tell me how much 2/3 of the recipe would be in measuring cup and do I have to change the oven temp for a 9by13 thank you
Make the entire recipe and use the extra batter for cupcakes!
lite or dark molasses? Look like a fantastic cake, my husband is drooling.
I prefer dark.
Didn’t know there was a light molasses, I have only ever seen dark, now Karo syrup on the other hand…
Question about whether I can use light brown sugar? Recipe just says brown sugar. Thanks
You probably can but I’ve found the dark to give a richer flavor…
I made this for my son’s 54th birthday—his request. Everyone loved it!!
I made this
I made this for Christmas and everyone loved it! I followed the recipe and watched your video, thank you!!
Can I make this with gluten-free flour? Can I use beach sand instead of sugar? Can I make this without eggs? Can I use pterodactyl eggs? What is buttermilk? I don’t have any molasses. What is molasses? Can I make a molasses-based recipe using Tang Instant Breakfast drink instead? What is wrong with everyone? If you don’t have the ingredients, GO TO THE STORE. If you don’t know what something is, GOOGLE IT. If you have concocted a fake allergy for yourself, find another recipe. It just blows my mind how people take a lovely creation and try to morph it into their own weird laboratory experiment that nobody’s gonna wanna eat, trust me.
This may be the best comment I’ve ever received on my blog. I want to print it out and frame it. Thank you Kathy Cunningham!
Yes! People can be crazy with these questions.
?? Couldn’t agree more!
I plan on making it with gluten-free flour due to celiac disease. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I used a bundt cake for the recipe. Be sure to leave plenty of room (more than 1in) for the cake to rise. Luckily I lined foil under the pan for all the batter I had spill over the top. 🙂
I used a Nordic Ware bundt pan with diamon shapes around it to hold frosting. I still cooked it at 350F adjusting the cook time to 60min laying foil with nonstick spray on the top for the last 15 minutes of baking. I let it cool for about 15 min, shaking it gently, and the then turning it over on a cake plate it came out easily.
I live in DFW Texas.
Great idea, Ashley using a Bundt pan!