GINGERBREAD LAYER CAKE RECIPE

So tasty and delicious, Gingerbread Layer Cake Recipe, flavored with ginger and molasses, will definitely get you in the holiday spirit!

 

You may be most familiar with Gingerbread baked goods in the form of Gingerbread cookies and houses. Gingerbread cookies are all the rage at Christmas.

Why Gingerbread at Christmas?

Gingerbread can be traced to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians and was considered sacred. It made an appearance in Europe when 11th-century Crusaders brought back ginger from the Middle East for the aristocrats’. Gingerbread was sacred and expensive therefore the only time it was made by the general public was during Christmas and Easter.

Additionally, the gingerbread house became popular in Germany after the fairy tale, “Hansel and Gretel” was published in the 19th century. Early German settlers in America brought the gingerbread house tradition with them.

Do you make Gingerbread cookies or house at Christmas?

Gingerbread Layer Cake Recipe

If you like Gingerbread Cookies, you’ll love this cake. It has a nice, mild, warm gingerbread flavor. I topped it with a Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

Traditionally, ginger is paired with cloves, nutmeg, or cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. I used ground cinnamon in my cake and sweetened it with molasses.

This cake paired with creamy frosting makes it a sweet sensation! However, if you don’t like really sweet desserts, this cake tastes amazing without any frosting. We like it served warm with butter melted over the top. If I don’t plan to frost it, I bake it in a 9×13-inch baking pan.

In testing this recipe, I found that, like chocolate, gingerbread bakes slightly faster than other cakes.

• For two 8-inch cake layers, I baked them for 27 minutes.
• If you have three 8-inch cake layers, they’ll bake in approximately 25 minutes.

Cake Making Tips

These helpful tips will ensure a delectable cake every time you bake:

• Read the recipe through twice before starting.
• After reading through your recipe, get out all the ingredients and equipment that you need to prepare the cake.
• Measure all the ingredients carefully. Extra sugar or leavening causes a cake to fall; extra flour makes it dry.
• Did you know when a recipe calls for eggs, it refers to using large eggs? If you have small or extra-large eggs, you will need to adjust the amount you use. Here’s an egg size substitution chart for reference.
• Have ingredients at room temperature for maximum volume.
• Calibrate your oven to check for temperature accuracy.
• Grease and flour your pan thoroughly or use Wilton Cake Release to prevent sticking.
• Shiny, dark, and glass pans cook differently. Know your pans and adjust accordingly. Dark pans cook the outside of the cake faster than shiny pans or glass pans.
• Don’t let the pans touch each other in the oven and don’t let them touch the walls of the oven.
• As well, allow your cake to cool completely before frosting. You can even refrigerate the layers before icing them.
• Most cakes freeze well as long as you wrap it in airtight plastic wrap. Typically, I wrap them in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil.
• Finally, I allow the cake to defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

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While you’re here, try some of these classic recipes!

1. Caramel Pie
2. Chocolate Pie
3. Pecan Pie
4. Fig Preserve Pound Cake
5. Chess Pie
6. Buttermilk Pie
7. Butter Roll
8. No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
9. Cornbread Dressing
10. Squash Casserole
11. Old Fashioned Blue Ribbon Pound Cake
12. Southern Layered Jam Cake