Gingerbread Sheet Cake with Spiced Molasses Frosting

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Gingerbread Sheet Cake with Spiced Molasses Frosting to get your week started off the right way! A super simple cake infused with ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, topped with the most delicious spiced molasses buttercream frosting. It’s kind of like your favorite gingerbread cookie, but SO much better! This cake is absolutely no fuss, very easy to mix up, and SO DELICIOUS! Every bite is layered with moist cake, warming festive spices, and molasses. Be sure to finish this sheet cake with the creamiest spiced molasses buttercream frosting and, of course, plenty of gingerbread cookies! The best part? It’s actually very simple to make and requires little to no effort. The perfect cake for a busy holiday season!

About The Recipe

We are one Monday away from Christmas! Can you believe it? Our kitchen is probably more busy than Santa’s workshop at the moment, but we’re taking a little pause today. We’re gonna enjoy this SUPER simple Gingerbread Sheet Cake!

Like I said above, our kitchen is an absolute mess. We’re baking two or three recipes in a day, trying to ensure that you all have the absolute best Christmas bakes and desserts for your holiday! It’s been fun, a little stressful when things don’t work, but still fun nonetheless.

My mom and I decided to maybe take this Monday’s post a little easy, as you all had LOVED our Gingerbread Cupcakes from a few weeks ago. We let that be our inspiration for today!

Because simple, is almost always better during the holiday’s.

All this cake is a super simple and standard mix, but we further simplified it by reducing the amount of spices down to just using gingerbread spice. No need to have all the individual spices! From there, we dumped it into a 8 inch square pan and baked! No crazy ingredients, no extra spices needed, no speciality pans.

Just super simple, super delicious cake!

Even the frosting is simple, too. A classic American Buttercream Frosting with the addition of classic gingerbread spice and a splash of molasses.

Trust me, when I say this cake tastes like a gingerbread cookie, I mean it! It’s soft, moist, perfectly spiced with the right amount of molasses, and just a hint of sweetness. Then, with the addition of buttercream, it gives this cake a lighter and creamier flavor. It’s just SO. GOOD.

Reasons You Should Make This Gingerbread Sheet Cake

• It’s SUPER simple.
• If you’re busy, it takes less than 45 minutes all together to put this cake together.
• No speciality pans, cutting, trimming, or special ingredients are needed.
• A great alternative to our Gingerbread Layer Cake.
• Tastes like a Gingerbread Cookie.
• It’s so pretty without any real effort!

Equipment Needed

• Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
• Mixing Bowls
• Whisk
• Rubber Spatula
• 8 Inch Square Pan
• Cake Tester
• Offset Spatula

Ingredients

(Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post)

For The Cake:

• All-Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Salt
• Gingerbread Spice
• Salted Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Molasses
• Large Eggs
• Buttermilk

For The Frosting:

• Salted Butter
• Powdered Sugar
• Gingerbread Spice
• Molasses

How To Make This Gingerbread Sheet Cake

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and gingerbread spice. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in molasses.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with milk. Beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

Transfer batter into greased and floured pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until the cake tests done. Let the cake cool in the pan before turning out.

In glass bowl, combine butter, powdered sugar, and gingerbread spice. Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Mix in molasses.

Frost cooled cake and decorate with gingerbread cookies.

How To Achieve The Perfect Buttercream

There are are a few things you can do to make sure you get the creamiest, silkiest buttercream every single time! The first is making sure your butter is room temperature. This is super important! Another is sifting your powdered sugar. Lumps of powdered sugar = lumpy buttercream! Lastly, if you feel your buttercream is too thick, you can add a splash (1/2 – 1 Tablespoon) of whole milk or heavy cream. This will help loosen it a little.

Simple Decorating Ideas

• Pipe the frosting. If you have piping bags and tips, feel free to pipe a design onto this cake!
• Use sprinkles. Christmas sprinkles add such a fun (and beautiful) festive feel to the cake…with no effort.
• Add fresh or sugared cranberries. Wet a few fresh cranberries and roll them in granulated sugar! Place them around the cake to add a festive vibe.
• Use red or green candies. This works great, especially if you you have gingerbread with M&M buttons!
• Add orange twists or a bit of zest. Adding orange not only brightens the cake, but it also adds a fun and bright color!

How To Store

There are a few ways you can do this! If you don’t need to cake right away, you can wait to frost the cake. You can store the un-frosted cake in the fridge for 3-5 days. You could even freeze the unfrosted cake up to 2-3 months! The buttercream can also be placed in an airtight container in the fridge and it will keep for about 3 days. Remember to get both out of the fridge or freezer and let come to room temperature before serving. The buttercream will also need to be re-whipped.

If the cake is already frosted, you can also refrigerate or freeze! If you choose to refrigerate this cake, it will keep for about 2-3 days. You could also freeze this cake for about 1 month.

Expert Tips

• Don’t forget to pre-heat the oven!
• Check the expiration dates on all your ingredients.
• Make sure the butter, eggs, and buttermilk are room temperature before mixing the cake.
• Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately. This yields in a much better cake.
• Don’t over-mix the cake batter.
• If the cake sinks in the middle, this can be caused by a number of things. The best way to avoid it is by placing a heating-rod in the middle of the pan before adding the batter.
• If your frosting is a little too thick, add a splash of whole milk or heavy cream to loosen it.
• Baking times may vary based on your oven. Use a cake tester or toothpick to see if the cake is done.

When you make this Gingerbread Sheet Cake with Spiced Molasses Frosting, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

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