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The Lowdown on This Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Your holiday season ainโt complete without a slice of this delicious Gingerbread Cake Recipe, boos!
It starts off with the most moist and just-right spiced gingerbread batter that makes the best textured cake your taste buds will ever meet.
Then, thereโs this simple, sweet maple syrup glaze kissed that just flows over the top, taking all those scrumptious cake flavors to new heights! Get at it y’all!
Ingredients you’ll need to make Gingerbread Bundt Cake
For the Cake
- Spices: Ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves are the key spices that are essential to creating the true essence and flavor of gingerbread.
- Butter: Adds a wonderful richness and fat to the cake.
- Molasses and Brown Sugar: This gingerbread bundt cake recipe has a double dose of molasses flavor from both the cup of molasses and the brown sugar that has molasses in it. Seriously the depth of flavor is amazing boos!
- Granulated Sugar: For extra sweetness.
- Eggs: Room temp is the way to go for smooth mixing and a tender crumb.
- Buttermilk: Adds moisture and just the right tang to balance all the sweetness.
- Flour: All-purpose is the go-to here.
- Baking soda and salt: The baking soda guarantees a perfect rise while the salt enhances the flavors. Make sure your baking soda is fresh!
- Vanilla extract: Gives the cake a naturally sweet, creamy, and warm essence that brings everything together.
For the Glaze
- Confectioner’s Sugar: The base for a silky, sweet drizzle.
- Maple Syrup: Brings natural sweetness and richness to the glaze.
- Milk: Helps thin out the glaze to the perfect consistency. Any milk will do, but whole milk gives it that extra creamy touch.
- Sugared Cranberries and Fresh Mint (Optional): The garnish that takes this old fashioned gingerbread cake to holiday centerpiece level!
How to make Gingerbread Bundt Cake
What to serve with old fashioned gingerbread cake
- Gingerbread pound cake is perfect for the winter holidays y’all! And honestly, you could just curl up on the couch and devour it by yourself. But to share this showstopper, serve at the end of Christmas dinner or any holiday dinner parties you have planned. Itโs perfect after your turkey and turkey gravy or honey glazed ham dinner!
- Serve it with your favorite holiday beverage like this a sugar cookie martini, Christmas punch, or homemade eggnog.
- For extra indulgence, add a scoop of cookie butter ice cream, vanilla ice cream, apple pie ice cream, or homemade whipped cream.
Recipe Substitutions
- Swap the Maple Syrup: If you donโt have maple syrup for the glaze you can use a teaspoon of vanilla extract instead.
- Buttermilk: Mix a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for 5 minutes. Boom, homemade buttermilk!
- Spices: Don’t have cloves or allspice? Use a pinch of nutmeg or double up on the cinnamon. Pumpkin pie spice works great in a pinch too!
- Butter: I use unsalted, but salted butter is ok if that’s what you’ve got. Just cut back or skip the added salt in the cake.
Recipe Variations and Additions
- Swap the Vanilla Glaze: This gingerbread bundt cake will also taste bomb with a cream cheese glaze or even a caramel glaze. Another option is to dust it with powdered sugar for a slightly less sweet version of the cake.
- Add Some Nuts: Chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans can add a crunchy texture and nutty flavor.
- Chocolate Chips: Add dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks to your cake batter. The kiddos love ’em!
- Make It Mini: Use mini Bundt pans or cupcake molds for individual servings. Perfect for holiday parties or gifting!
Expert Tips and Tricks for making the best gingerbread bundt cake recipe
- Prep Your Bundt Pan: Be sure to coat all the nooks and crannies in your pan with butter or shortening to prevent the cake from sticking. Then dust it lightly with flour before adding the batter.
- Use Fresh Spices: The flavor of this cake relies on the spices so itโs essential to use fresh spices for a more vibrant and robust flavor.
- Cool the Cake in the Pan: When it first comes out of the oven the cake is quite delicate so giving it a brief amount of time to cool in the pan helps set it up. It will be easier to remove it from the cake pan while maintaining its structure.
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients: Butter, buttermilk, and eggs mix together so much smoother when they’re at room temp. Pull ’em out of the fridge about an hour before you get started.
- Donโt Overmix: Once you add the flour be sure you only mix long enough to bring the ingredients together. Too much mixing may result in a dense and tough cake.
How to store Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Make sure the cake is at room temperature and then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil to seal the cake. Place it in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight.
You can store the cake glazed or not using any of these methods, but the glaze may get a lil’ sticky in storage. If you decide to store the glaze separately, do it in the fridge. It’s ready to drizzle when you are boo!
How long will Gingerbread Bundt Cake last?
Stored properly at room temp, this cake will stay fresh and fabulous for about 3-4 days. If you’re keeping it in the fridge, it can stretch to a week. Just let it come to room temp before serving!
Can I freeze spiced gingerbread cake?
Yep you sure can boo! Wrap the fully cooled cake in plastic and foil and freeze it for up to three months. Allow the cake to thaw in the fridge overnight, then bring it to room temperature before serving.
Frequently asked questions
Absolutely, boo! Everyone’s got their own spice vibe. If you like less ginger or wanna pump up the cinnamon, go for it.
Swap the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend that includes xanthan gum. No one will even know the difference y’all!
Yep, you gotta flip it to show off all those fancy curves! After cooling in the pan for 10 minutes, lay a plate or rack over the top, grab both, and flip it over. If it doesn’t pop out right away, give the pan a little tap or shake to set it free.
This Gingerbread Bundt Cake is the holiday MVP! It’s moist, spiced just right, drizzled with that dreamy maple glaze, and pretty enough to make your dessert table jealous. So grab your Bundt pan and get bakin’ boos! If you don’t try it, don’t blame me when Santa skips your house. Just sayin’!
More Gingerbread Recipes
Gingerbread Cake Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the Pound Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup molasses
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 2 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup buttermilk room temp
- 1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
For the Glaze
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tbsp milk
- cranberries or sugared cranberries, optional for garnish
- fresh mint leaves optional for garnish
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with non-stick baking spray or grease with shortening/butter and flour and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add together butter, both sugars and molasses and beat on high speed until light and fluffy for about 5 minutes.
- Next, add in eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated.
- Slow mixer to lowest speed and carefully add flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice, and cloves in increments and mix until well combined.
- Lastly mix in buttermilk and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour cake batter into prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
- Remove cake from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then invert cake into cooling rack or serving plate, cool until room temperature, then prepare glaze.
For the Glaze
- Once cake is completely cooled, whisk together confectioner’s sugar, maple syrup and milk. Add more milk or syrup if needed. Glaze should be pourable but not too thin.
- Drizzle glaze over cooled cake. Garnish with sugared cranberries and mint if desired.
Video
Notes
- Prep Your Bundt Pan:ย Be sure to coat all the nooks and crannies in your pan with butter or shortening to prevent the cake from sticking. Then dust it lightly with flour before adding the batter.
- Use Fresh Spices:ย The flavor of this cake relies on the spices so itโs essential to use fresh spices for a more vibrant and robust flavor.
- Cool the Cake in the Pan:ย When it first comes out of the oven the cake is quite delicate so giving it a brief amount of time to cool in the pan helps set it up. It will be easier to remove it from the cake pan while maintaining its structure.
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients:ย Butter, buttermilk, and eggs mix together so much smoother when they’re at room temp. Pull ’em out of the fridge about an hour before you get started.
- Donโt Overmix:ย Once you add the flour be sure you only mix long enough to bring the ingredients together. Too much mixing may result in a dense and tough cake.
This was everything a gourmet dessert should be, and then some! Turned out! easy and delicious; exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth!
This cake is as stunning as it is delicious! It’s the perfect centerpiece for our holiday dessert table.
I love ginger bread flavor. It’s a nice transition away from pumpkin spice everything. Thanks!
This Gingerbread Bundt cake is a burst of all the spice flavors. The Glaze and the decorative topping makes this cake looks super delicious. Presentation Picture perfect.
I do not live in a high altitude, but the gingerbread bundt cake sunk in the middle. I won’t know what condition the center is in until tomorrow when I cut it. What would cause this? Would you suggest that I follow the “high altitude” suggestions given by a previous comment?
Hi Joyce, sorry to hear that it sunk. Did you rest it upside down?
Hi getting ready to make the Gingerbread spice cake. I want to add pumpkin purรฉe, what would I need to substitute if anything? Thank you!
Hi Beatrice, did you make it? I am really not sure as the pumpkin puree adds moisture and I haven’t tested this recipe with it.
My family loves this cake! We live in Denver and my first few tries at altitude adjustments failed, but today I got it baked without sinking into itself, so sharing these altitude tips: I reduced each sugar and the molasses to 3/4 cup, upped the flour from 3 cups to 4 cups, and increased the buttermilk to 1 1/2 cups. Plus added a 1/4 cup water. The cake baked up beautifully and did not sink after taking out of the oven!
i like it.
This is the best gingerbread cake I’ve ever tasted, thanks for sharing!
can I sub kefir or yogurt for the buttermilk?
You can make your own buttermilk if you have some whole milk at all.