Gingerbread Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream is a moist cake full of flavors from molasses, ginger, and cinnamon and topped with a salted caramel buttercream frosting. Try my Soft Ginger Cookie for another treat full of ginger and cinnamon spice.
Gingerbread Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream
Yes, gingerbread desserts and treats are usually reserved for the holidays, but why limit yourself to enjoying this moist and flavorful cake? The frosting complements the spice cake perfectly and is enough to pile plenty high on this cake. Or, use some of it on these Chocolate Cupcakes!
Gingerbread Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Ingredients
Molasses: The molasses in the cake is unsulphured molasses. Unsulphured molasses (regular molasses) is richer, thicker, and sweeter than sulphured. It is made with fewer preservatives because it is made with more mature sugarcane. Sulphured molasses has added sulfur dioxide to the younger sugarcane, which can alter the flavor of the recipe.
There is also a variety of molasses called blackstrap. Do not substitute molasses in a recipe (including this one) for blackstrap unless the recipe is very specific about using it.
Room Temperature Ingredients: For best results, have all ingredients (especially butter, eggs, and milk) at room temperature. To be specific, room temperature ingredients should be 65-70°F.
How to Store Leftover Frosting
When ready, cover the cooled gingerbread cake with the frosting. This recipe makes A LOT of frosting, so you may have extra. (Or, if you love a thick layer of frosting, use it all!) But, it’s easy to save. Store it in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Popular Cakes
Gingerbread Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake
- 9 tablespoons (127.5 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (253 g) molasses, unsulphured
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup (177 g) water, room temperature
Caramel Sauce
- 1 bag (11 ounces) caramel bits
- ¼ cup (½ stick / 57 g) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups (500 g) confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon whole milk, room temperature
Instructions
Gingerbread Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a 9×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the molasses and egg. Beat until smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add about ⅓ of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture, mixing until just combined (don't overmix). Add half the water, followed by another third of the dry ingredients. Pour in the remaining water and add the final third of the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake 45-50 minutes. (Check the cake after about 30 minutes; cover with aluminum foil if the edges are getting too dark.) The cake is done when an inserted toothpick comes out with a few crumbs, but no wet batter. Remove from the oven and let cool as you make the Salted Caramel Buttercream.
Caramel Sauce
- Melt the caramels, butter, and milk in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each melting. Set aside.
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- Combine the butter, sugar, salt, and caramel sauce in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (You can reserve some of the caramel sauce to use as a caramel drizzle.)
- Start mixing on low speed until the sugar is incorporated with the butter. Increase the mixing speed to high and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Adjust the consistency with milk as needed.
- Spread the buttercream over the cooled gingerbread cake.
- Store unused buttercream in the refrigerator in an airtight container and bring it back to room temperature before using it to pipe or frost.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
The Gingerbread Cake was inspired by Taste of Home’s Granny’s Gingerbread Cake.
How much flour?
2 1/4 cups, sorry about that
The recipe is missing the amount of flour.
2 1/4 cups, sorry about that
Is this icing super sweet? Seems like a lot of sugar.
Yes, it is very sweet
Hi. It lookd so delicious. Would like to receive some recipes….appreciated😊🙏.
Is there a different icing you could recommend?
You can search for “buttercream” or “frosting” on my site and see if anything looks appealing to you.
Can the recipe be doubled and then make a layer cake? I made your peppermint chocolate cake with peppermint icing last Christmas. Truly a hit so now looking for another cake!
Yes, you definitely can. 🙂
Hi, Is the butter for the cake and caramel sauce salted or unsalted. Can’t wait to try it!
Hi, Wendy! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. The cake and caramel sauce calls for salted butter. Use unsalted butter for the buttercream. It is a delicious cake! Have a great day!
I just made this for my daughter’s birthday. I filled 2 – 8 inch rounds and cooked for only 33 minutes. Everyone loved it! I accidentally added the caramel while it was too warm so I had fun bringing it back to the proper texture. I could have eaten the cake by itself without the icing. The texture was moist. Definitely will make again.
Where can you find caramel bits? I have never seen them with chocolate chips or bags of butter brickle
My mom used to make gingerbread cake and served it with a hot lemon sauce and a dollop of whipped cream. Absolutely delicious.