Gingerbread Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This one-bowl gingerbread snack topped with cream cheese frosting is super easy and filled with warm spices, perfect for the holidays!
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (127g)
- 2 teaspoons gingerbread spice
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons brown sugar packed (175g)
- 2 tablespoons unsulphered molasses (43g)
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113g)
- ½ cup water (113g)
- ¼ cup buttermilk (57g)
- 1 egg (50g)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup cream cheese softened (113g)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened (70g)
- 1 vanilla bean split and scraped
- 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar sifted (199g)
Instructions
Gingerbread Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line a square baking pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, gingerbread spice, salt, and brown sugar. Set aside.
- In a saucepan combine the butter, water, and molasses over medium heat. Bring to a simmer then remove from heat and pour into the flour mixture followed by the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until cooked through and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- While the cake is cooling, make the frosting by mixing together the softened cream cheese and vanilla bean seeds with a handheld mixer. Add in the powdered sugar and mix until fluffy.
- Pipe or spread onto the cooled gingerbread cake and enjoy!
Notes
¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract can be substituted for the vanilla bean in the cream cheese frosting