Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Cream

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5 from 6 votes

If you love ginger and molasses, and a cake that's not too sweet, this simple one-bowl Gingerbread is for you!

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake, gingerbread, lemon

Servings:

Calories: 406kcal

Author: Tricia

Ingredients

For the gingerbread:

1 cup unsulphured molasses
1 cup hot tap water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons crystalized or dry candied ginger (minced)

For the lemon cream:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
juice of ½ lemon
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

To make the gingerbread:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray or grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper, and spray or grease the parchment. Set aside.
In a 2-cup measuring cup with a spout, whisk together the molasses and hot water. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Set aside.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until blended. Alternate adding the flour mixture with the molasses, starting and ending with the flour. Blend after each addition. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula making sure the mixture is well blended. At first the batter may look like it's separated but it will come together once all the flour is added.
Fold in the crystalized ginger with a spatula and pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with no wet batter attached. Cool and serve topped with lemon cream if desired.

To make the lemon cream:

In a small mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice. Blend with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low, slowly add the whipping cream until it’s incorporated and starting to thicken. Increase the speed to medium, then high, and beat until medium peaks form. This happens fast so don’t walk away. Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed.

Notes

Serving suggestions:

Lemon Cream (recipe above)
Sweetened whipped cream
A simple glaze of lemon juice and powdered sugar
Cream cheese frosting, or
Simply dusted with sifted powdered sugar

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition