A timeless, classic, traditional Gingerbread recipe! This is one of my family’s favorite recipes. It makes for a dense but soft, moist, and richly flavored gingerbread, perfectly flavored with molasses, brown sugar, and lots of cozy spices!
Not to be confused with gingerbread cookies, this cake is so simple to whip together. Make sure to top yours off with a dollop of homemade whipped cream! Recipe includes a how-to video at the bottom of the post!
Maybe you’ve noticed by now that nearly all of my family favorite recipes originate from the same source. My favorite Angel Food Cake, Chocolate Fudge, and now this Gingerbread recipe all originate from my mom’s incredibly worn out Good Housekeeping cookbook.
And that book is really, really, worn out, too. The binding has literally been duct taped together at this point. Each time you open it, pages flutter out and onto the floor. The most well-loved pages are covered in chocolate and molasses stains. It is probably the most well-used cookbook I’ve ever known, and for good reason. The recipes inside of it are classics, and they’re really, really good.
I knew that I wanted to share a Gingerbread recipe for the holidays, but not just any recipe, I wanted it to be this one.
A Classic Gingerbread Recipe
My mom makes this recipe often and it never lasts long. It’s so simple to make, is richly flavored with molasses and traditional gingerbread spices, and it comes out perfectly every. single. time.
I did make a few minor tweaks to this recipe to make it my own. After a few recipe test runs, I decided that I preferred to use butter rather than the shortening that the recipe called for originally (and I recommend using European butter, if you can get your hands on it). I also traded out white sugar for dark brown sugar for even more of that rich molasses flavor.
Make sure that you use unsulphured molasses for this gingerbread. I always use Grandma’s brand because that’s what my grocery store carries, and it says “unsulphured” right on the label.
Gingerbread comes out heavy, but each bite is perfectly flavored and moist and just melts in your mouth. This is the perfect cozy wintertime treat.
I recommend serving your Gingerbread while it’s still warm rather than waiting to allow it to cool completely. Don’t get me wrong, the leftovers are incredible, but there’s just something so delectable about still-warm gingerbread .
My siblings and I always topped ours off with Cool Whip, but now that I’m older and wiser I only use my homemade whipped cream recipe 😉. A big scoop of vanilla ice cream would also be a great pairing, now that I’m thinking about it.
Enjoy!
More Recipes You May Enjoy:
How to Make Gingerbread
Be sure to check out my Gingerbread Recipe VIDEO just below the recipe! If you enjoy these videos, please consider subscribing to my YouTube Channel so you can be the first to see all of my cooking videos <3
Gingerbread
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (preferably European butter) softened to room temperature (113g)
- ½ cup dark brown sugar tightly packed (100g)
- 1 cup unsulphured molasses (235ml) (I use Grandma's brand)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (312g)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup boiling water (235ml)
- Whipped Cream for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare a 9"x9" baking pan by either generously greasing and flouring or by lining with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine butter and brown sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy.
- Add molasses and stir until well combined.
- Add egg and vanilla extract. Stir well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, and salt.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet until completely combined.
- Carefully stir in boiling water until ingredients are smooth and well-combined.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake on 350F (175C) for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool before slicing and serving. This Gingerbread tastes best when topped with whipped cream!
Nutrition
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This Gingerbread recipe was originally published 12/15/2017, post updated to include video and more tips 11/12/2018.
Helen says
Could you use hot coffee instead of water?
Sam says
Hi Helen! Yes. It may change the flavor profile a bit but I bet that it would be delicious.
Kristen M Gibson says
Mine tasted a little salty and sunk in the middle – can you tell me what I did wrong?
Sam says
Hi Kristen! Did you use salted butter or accidentally over-measure your salt? For the sinking part you may have just needed to bake it a little bit longer. 🙂
Toni konnick says
You can use coconut oil instead of butter it tastes delicious
Kristen Gibson says
I did it exactly as written and my cake sunk in the middle. What do you think I did wrong? I was so hopeful
Sam says
O no! I’m so sorry this happened, Kristen! The gingerbread may have just needed to bake for a few more minutes.
Pennyholbrook says
May I use this recipe in ginger bread men molds
Sam says
Hi Penny! I don’t see why it wouldn’t work in molds, but of course the bake time will vary.
Courtney says
Could I make this into cupcakes, and if so, how many would it make?
Sam says
I have honestly never tried it as cupcakes, I think it would work and I think you’d get at least 12. Would love to know how it turns out for you if you try it!
Kristen M Gibson says
I can only find an 8×8 pan. How long should I bake it for?
Thank you
Sam says
Hi Kristen! I haven’t baked in an 8 x 8 so I’m not sure of the bake time. Make sure you don’t overfill your pan and just keep an eye on it while it bakes. 🙂
Carri says
Fabulous recipe. What alternate flours work in this recipe to make it GF? Would Almond Flour work?
Sam says
I honestly haven’t tried it so I’m not sure. 🙁
Geri says
I only have salted butter. Can I use it and either omit the salt or decrease the amount called for in the recipe? I hate to buy unsalted and not use it again.
Sam says
Hi Geri! You can just reduce the salt by 1/4 teaspoon. I actually have a post on using salted or unsalted butter that you can reference in the future. I hope you love it! 🙂
Michelle says
I adore a good gingerbread, well anything with ginger actually. My question is can I double this and bake it in a 13×9 pan, but how long do you recommend.
Sam says
Hi Michelle! You would probably only need to increase the recipe by 50% to put it in a 9 x 13, but I’m not sure what the bake time would need to be. If you try it I would love to know how long it takes. 🙂
Michelle says
I did DOUBLE the recipe, it fit perfectly in a 9×13 pan and rose to the perfect height. I baked it in my CONVECTION oven at 350 for 45 minutes and it turned out prefect.
Amanda says
It’s there something I could substitute for butter to make it dairy free? Breastfeeding mama here ..and this might break my dairy free streak!
Sam says
Hi Amanda! You could try oil here. You would want to use the same amount but I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out. 🙂
Toni konnick says
Use coconut oil instead of butter
Irene says
Hi. Is it possible to replace the molasses with something else? My local grocery store doesn’t have a supple of molasses.
Sam says
Hi Irene! I honestly don’t recommend making a gingerbread without molasses. 🙁
Susan Carter says
My Mom was not an especially good cook. However, she could bake anything! When I married, I asked her to please give me certain recipes that I really enjoyed. She obliged, but did not include her gingerbread cake recipe! She served it with a homemade lemon sauce that was out of this world! Just a tablespoon per square, drizzled on top. After much nagging and pleading (because it was my favorite dessert), she relented. Her secret? She used a boxed mix! I was so disappointed! My childhood was shattered! She told me it was the one thing that she just couldn’t seem to get right. I am excited to try your recipe this holiday season. Thank You!
Sam says
🤣 She didn’t want to give up her secret. I think you are going to love this. 🙂
Ellen says
Could you share the lemon sauce recipe? I have been looking for that.
Sugar Spun Run says
Here is a recipe for Lemon Curd, Ellen! 🙂
Emily says
Gingerbread is my brother’s family’s Christmas morning breakfast & they always serve it warm topped with applesauce! It’s so good! She uses a box mix which I don’t have at the moment so I’m looking for a recipe. Can’t wait to try this!
Sam says
I think you’ll like it much more than that box stuff. Enjoy! 🙂
Vivian says
Can you use buttermilk instead of water?
Sam says
Hi Vivian! It would probably work, but the hot water blooms the ingredients and gives the gingerbread a better taste. 🙂
Gary says
Buttermilk works great when I have substituted it in this recipe (1 cup of buttermilk, added alternating with the dry ingredients and mixed until just tender). I find the buttermilk version to be a bit more cakey and tender, the water version has just a bit more chewiness, especially around the edges. Both are delicious but tender is better for (for example) gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting ….