Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Gingerbread bundt cake is a flavorful and festive dessert. This cake is full of gingerbread flavor and topped with rich cream cheese frosting.
Looking for a showstopper of a cake? This gingerbread bundt cake is your answer. Not only is the cake fluffy, tender and full of flavor, but is has a rich cream cheese frosting and sugared cranberries for garnish! I think this cake will put anyone in the Christmas mood.
Why this recipe works: The recipe uses a combination of brown sugar and molasses for sweetness, common in gingerbread. It also has a generous amount of baking spices to guarantee plenty of flavor!
How to make gingerbread bundt cake
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt cake pan and set aside.
- Whisk together dry ingredients—flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
- Beat wet ingredients—butter and brown sugar, then add molasses. Add eggs and mix just until combined.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk to the bowl, beginning and ended with flour mixture. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
- Bake cake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with little to no crumbs. Let the cake cool completely.
- Make the cream cheese frosting. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix until combined. Spread frosting over cooled cake and garnish with sugared cranberries.
Helpful tips
Whenever I bake a cake, I use a kitchen scale to weigh my ingredients. It’s more accurate than measuring them. Be sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. This helps create an even cake batter. When adding the flour mixture and buttermilk, be sure not to overmix the cake batter otherwise the cake will come out dense.
If you’re using a fancy bundt cake pan, I recommend trying my magic cake pan release to get into all the nooks and crannies. The cake will release from the pan with ease!
Frequently Asked Questions
Unsulphered molasses is extracted from mature sugarcane, make it naturally sweeter and thicker than other molasses.
Yes, buttermilk substitute is easy to make. Place one tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup and fill to the 1 cup mark. Stir the mixture and let it sit 10 minutes before using in the recipe.
The cream cheese and butter were probably too warm. Room temperature is 65° F for ingredients. The other culprit is that the frosting was overmixed. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, mix again for 5 seconds, then use.
Store gingerbread bundt cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Yes, let the cake cool completely then wrap it in plastic wrap and aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. The cake will last 1 month in the freezer. Defrost in the refrigerator before bringing to room temperature and frosting.
Related Recipes
This cake is similar to my gingerbread cupcakes. They’re light, fluffy and full of gingerbread flavor. Plus, they’re topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting! If you want a simple gingerbread recipe, then this gingerbread loaf is for you. It’s a simple quickbread made in a loaf pan.
Bundt cakes are so fun to make and are incredibly eye-catching! During the fall, I enjoy making a fresh apple bundt cake with caramel glaze. Another popular recipe is for my pumpkin bundt cake with cream cheese frosting.
Gingerbread bundt cake is the perfect Christmas dessert. It serves a whole family, plus more. The cake is almost too pretty to eat! If you try this recipe, leave a review below and tag @ifyougiveablondeakitchen on social media.
Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Sugared Cranberries
- 1 cup (220 g) sugar, divided
- ½ cup (120 mL) water
- 6 ounces fresh cranberries
Gingerbread Cake
- 2 ¾ cups (345 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) packed dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (180 mL) unsulfered molasses
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (240 mL) buttermilk, room temperature
Cream cheese frosting
- ½ cup (113 or 4 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk, if necessary for consistency
Instructions
Sugared Cranberries
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/4 cup sugar and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add cranberries to pot and stir until cranberries are fully coated. Use a slotted spoon to transfer cranberries to a wire rack to dry for 1 hour. Once dry and sticky, roll cranberries in remaining sugar. Let dry for another hour.
Gingerbread Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt cake pan (or use my magic cake pan release). Set pan aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, all spice and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add molasses and mix until combined. With the mixer running, add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk to the bowl. Add a third of the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Add half of the buttermilk and mix just until combined. Repeat again, then end with remaining flour mixture.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan. Tap the pan on the countertop to remove any bubbles. Bake cake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with little to no crumbs. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting it on a wire rack to cool completely.
Cream cheese frosting
- For the frosting, beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until combined. Add milk if necessary for thinner consistency to pour on cake.
- Pour frosting on cake and garnish with sugared cranberries. Slice and serve.
4 Comments on “Gingerbread Bundt Cake”
Do you think you could substitute egg nog for the buttermilk? Asking because i have egg nog i would love to use up.
Hi Heather – Buttermilk has acidity that helps cakes become fluffy and tender. I think eggnog would make the cake dense and too sweet. You can use a buttermilk substitute may be used instead (1 tablespoon vinegar plus milk to the 1 cup measure).
I figured but wanted to ask- i will just buy buttermilk. Thx for the quick response!!!
It was a bit dry and dense. Will watch how long I mix next time & not back as long. It was super pretty at my luncheon. Had a bit trouble with the sugared cranberries. They were totally covered. Going to make again for Christmas Day!