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This Gingerbread Bundt Cake Recipe is a holiday masterpiece, infused with warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg for a cozy, festive flavor. Topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting that drips into every crevice, it’s a show-stopping dessert perfect for your holiday table.
For more holiday cake recipes, make my Gingerbread Loaf, Pumpkin Pound Cake, and Salted Caramel Kentucky Butter Cake!
Celebrate the holiday season with this festive Gingerbread Bundt Cake, a dessert that perfectly captures the warmth and joy of the season.
This gingerbread cake recipe is infused with the signature flavors of gingerbread spices—think cinnamon, ginger, and cloves—that bring to mind the cozy aroma of soft gingerbread cookies baking in the oven.
The cake boasts a tender texture with moist crumbs in every bite, making it irresistible to both gingerbread lovers and those looking for the ultimate holiday dessert.
The cake is topped with a rich cream cheese frosting that drapes beautifully over the cake, making this festive Gingerbread Bundt Cake as stunning as it is delicious.
Ingredients to make Gingerbread Bundt Cake
(full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card)
- All-purpose flour provides structure and stability in a bundt cake, ensuring it holds its shape while remaining tender. Its balanced protein content makes it versatile, creating a sturdy yet moist crumb that supports the cake’s rich flavors and intricate design. I used Bob’s Red Mill all purpose flour, it’s my absolute fave!
- Unsulphured molasses adds natural sweetness, moisture, and a mild, rich flavor to baked goods, making it ideal for recipes like gingerbread. Compared to dark molasses, it is lighter and less intense, while blackstrap molasses is thicker, more bitter, and typically used in small amounts for its robust, earthy flavor. Use leftover to make my brown sugar pound cake!
- Dark Brown Sugar adds moisture and a rich caramel flavor to this gingerbread bundt cake. It enhances its warmth with its molasses content.
- Warming Spices – ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, allspice, and ground nutmeg are the holiday spices that bring all of that classic gingerbread flavor to this cake recipe.
- Buttermilk adds moisture, richness, and a subtle tang to baked goods while also tenderizing the texture for a softer, more delicate crumb.
- Unsalted butter provides richness, structure, and flavor to cakes, allowing you to control the overall salt content in the recipe.
- Vegetable oil adds moisture and tenderness to cakes, helping to create a soft, light texture while keeping the cake fresh for longer.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream cheese in a glaze provides a rich, smooth texture and a tangy flavor that balances the sweetness of the other ingredients. It also helps the glaze set, creating a creamy finish.
- Powdered sugar sweetens and thickens cream cheese glaze. It gives the glaze its velvety texture that spreads easily and sets to a perfect consistency.
- Whole milk in cream cheese frosting helps achieve a smooth, creamy consistency.
Step by Step Instructions
Prepare the Cake Batter
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl – all purpose flour, baking soda, spices, and kosher salt. Whisk together until combined, then set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add butter, oil, and dark brown sugar. Mix together for 2-3 minutes on medium speed, until combined and fluffy. Then begin adding the eggs, one at a time, ensuring each egg is fully incorporated prior to adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after the second egg is added and again once all of the eggs are added. Add vanilla extract and mix for an additional minute to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
In a small bowl, whisk together molasses and sour cream. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Then pour in the molasses mixture and mix until combined, about 10-20 seconds, then add the remaining flour mixture.
Bake!
Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick baking spray. Pour cake batter into the pan and tap on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake cake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Make the Molasses Simple Syrup
While the cake is baking, make the spiced simple syrup. Combine 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes, then add the molasses and vanilla extract. Mix together and remove from heat. Set aside.
Fresh out of the oven, allow the cake to sit in the bundt pan for 10 minutes. Then turn over onto a wire rack. Use a pastry brush to coat the cake in the molasses syrup then let the cake cool completely.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting!
While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese glaze. Add cold cream cheese to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to whip the cream cheese for about 30 seconds. Add in the powdered sugar and continue to mix until combined, about 1 minute. Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until the glaze is smooth.
Pour the cream cheese frosting on top of the cooled cake and serve.
Pro Baking Tips
- Prep Your Bundt Pan Thoroughly: Grease every nook and cranny of the bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray! For further assurance, dust it lightly with flour or cocoa powder to prevent sticking.
- Don’t Overmix the Batter: Mix just until the ingredients are combined to avoid a dense cake.
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure your butter, eggs, and any dairy ingredients are at room temperature. This allows for a smoother batter and even baking.
- Measure Your Ingredients Accurately: Use a kitchen scale or level your measuring cups for precise measurements, especially for flour and spices.
More Bundt Cake Recipes
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Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 15-cup Bundt Pan
Ingredients
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 tbsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
- 1 tsp Allspice
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 cups Unsalted Butter, (room temperature)
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 2 1/4 cups Dark Brown Sugar
- 4 large Eggs
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 cup Molasses
- 3/4 cup Buttermilk
Spiced Molasses Cake Soak
- 1/3 cup Water
- 1 Cinnamon Stick, (optional)
- 1/3 cup Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Molasses
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese , (cold)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsps Milk
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl – all purpose flour, baking soda, spices, and kosher salt. Whisk together until combined, then set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add butter, oil, and dark brown sugar. Mix together for 2-3 minutes on medium speed, until combined and fluffy. Then begin adding the eggs, one at a time, ensuring each egg is fully incorporated prior to adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after the second egg is added and again once all of the eggs are added. Add vanilla extract and mix for an additional minute to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
- In a small bowl, whisk together molasses and sour cream. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Then pour in the molasses mixture and mix until combined, about 10-20 seconds, then add the remaining flour mixture.
- Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick baking spray. Pour cake batter into the pan and tap on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake cake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, make the spiced simple syrup. Combine 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes, then add the molasses and vanilla extract. Mix together and remove from heat. Set aside.
- Fresh out of the oven, allow the cake to sit in the bundt pan for 10 minutes. Then turn over onto a wire rack. Use a pastry brush to coat the cake in the molasses syrup then let the cake cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the cream cheese glaze. Add cold cream cheese to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to whip the cream cheese for about 30 seconds. Add in the powdered sugar and continue to mix until combined, about 1 minute. Add the milk, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt and mix until the glaze is smooth.
- Pour the cream cheese frosting on top of the cooled cake and serve.
Notes
- Prep Your Bundt Pan Thoroughly: Grease every nook and cranny of the bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray, then dust it lightly with flour or cocoa powder to prevent sticking.
- Don’t Overmix the Batter: Mix just until the ingredients are combined to avoid a dense cake.
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure your butter, eggs, and any dairy ingredients are at room temperature for a smoother batter and even baking.
- Measure Your Ingredients Accurately: Use a kitchen scale or level your measuring cups for precise measurements, especially for flour and spices.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this cake yesterday and to my surprise it came out exactly as your post! It’s very tasty, moist and pretty on the eyes.
After lots of research, I decided to make your Gingerbread Bundt Cake to be the Highlight of our Christmas Eve Family Dinner. It looks like the oil has been deleted. I will let you know how I do on your masterpiece!
Enjoy!
I made this cake as indicated and the oil addition seems in error. As you pointed out, 2 cups of butter is one pound and the 3/4 cup of oil shifts the ratio of fat ingredients too far. The cake I made turned out far more dense than desired, especially for a pound cake. As written, I wouldn’t make this again.
Sorry to hear that as this recipe is a favorite in my home! Best of luck to you!
I am baking this cake today for my dads 97th birthday so I’m sure it will fabulous. I note in your recipe you note 3/4 cup oil to be added but there is no mention of the oil when you list the wet ingredients to be combined. Nevertheless I assumed the addition of the oil was to be added with the remainder of the sugar and egg and molasses and sour cream etc. You may want to revise your recipe. Looking forward to trying the cake when it is out of the oven. Cheers