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This one-bowl, Easy Gingerbread Cake with Vanilla Bean Icing might just be the easiest, moistest, most delicious cake you've ever made!
Whew! In many ways, it seems like Scott and I left on our trip to London just a day or two ago. In reality, it's been almost two and a half weeks and now, we're on our way home. Time flies faster than a Boeing 767 (the plane we're on right now) when you're living with a busy family, navigating the ins and outs of making life work in a big city like London. It was a wonderful visit with our daughter, her husband and their little herd of four.
Loving London
Scott and I also had some fun time on our own as the family was out of town for one of the two weeks we were in London. While they were vacationing, we took the time to discover parts of London we hadn't seen before.
Several of the days, we rented bikes and rode for miles along the Thames, stopping for lunch at a couple of fun pubs.
You can rent bikes in London for an entire day for less than $3. If you're taking a short ride (under 30 minutes), it's free! It's easy to find the bright red kiosks all over town where you can pick up the bikes or drop them off. When you return your vehicle, there's a little button to press if you've had any problem with the bike. If that happens, it's is taken out of rotation and repaired, so the bikes are always in great condition. I love this wonderful option for transportation in London.
We also scouted out the best Fish and Chips in London (yum!), explored Chinatown, wandered through the lovely parks, enjoyed buying bread and beautiful produce at the markets, drank lots of cappuccinos, took a few classes at the London Apple Stores, navigated The Tube (the London underground) from one end of the city to the other, walked our feet off and went to the theater one afternoon to see Les Misérables (amazing!). Another highlight was attending Sunday church services at Hillsong London. It was an awesome experience to worship with thousands of other believers from all over the world in a beautiful, ornate old theater, right in the heart of London.
In between our adventures, I had some time to work on a couple of new recipes for fall - my favorite one is this Easy Gingerbread Cake with Vanilla Bean Icing.
I think this Easy Gingerbread Cake will become a favorite of yours too, as it is truly is a one bowl cake, no mixer, no fuss!
It's also super moist, full of flavor and has a creamy, dreamy, delicious vanilla bean icing that's made in the same bowl! Definitely a keeper!
It was interesting working on this Easy Gingerbread Cake in another country. I learned that you can't assume certain ingredients are as common or even available in other parts of the world. A good example of this is molasses. I looked in several large, London grocery stores for molasses without success. Upon doing some research, I learned that "golden syrup" and "treacle" are the British equivalents of molasses. It was easy to find golden syrup, but none of the stores I checked carried treacle.
But no worries! If you're reading this and you're British, Australian (or from any place else where molasses is not a readily available ingredient), I did a bit of testing for you. I tried this Easy Gingerbread Cake with, not only golden syrup, but also with maple syrup as subs for molasses. The results were wonderful with both. Molasses will give the cake a darker color and slightly more authentic, gingerbread flavor. Honestly, we enjoyed it just as much with the golden and maple syrups.
Go ahead and pin this recipe, as you'll love having this in your holiday recipe arsenal. Then again, you might want to pull out the ingredients and whip this delicious Easy Gingerbread Cake with Vanilla Bean Icing right now. Your house could be swirling with an incredible aroma in less than 30 minutes!
Me? I going to take a nap. I think it might be the jet lag. Then again, it might have been that creamy, dreamy icing. The cake and icing combination is irresistible, and I did have to test it a few times... for you, of course!
P.S. This recipe is easily halved. Just use a 9-inch square pan instead of the 9x13. The baking time will be a bit shorter. I would start checking it after 25 minutes. You'll want to also halve the icing - unless you're like my son and like it REALLY thick!
LOTS OF PEOPLE ASK WHAT KIND OF COOKWARE, SMALL APPLIANCES, CUTLERY, ETC. I USE IN THE KITCHEN. HERE’S WHAT I USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE.
This Easy Gingerbread Cake with Vanilla Bean Icing might just be the easiest, moistest, most delicious cake you've ever made! Just one bowl!
- For the cake:
- 8 tablespoons butter 4 ounces 113g cut into ½-inch chunks
- 1 ⅓ cup water
- 1 ⅓ cup dark brown sugar 260g
- 1 ⅓ cup molasses maple syrup or golden syrup
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 375g
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 large eggs
- For the icing:
- 1 stick cold butter 4 ounces 113g
- 2 ounces cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese 55g
- 5-6 tablespoons half & half or whole milk
- seeds scraped from ½ vanilla bean*
- 5 cups powdered sugar 625g
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Preheat oven to 325˚F**. degrees. Grease a 13x 9-inch pan with nonstick baking spray. Don’t use cooking spray as it’s not the same. Baking spray is actually shortening and flour mixed together. If you don’t have baking spray, you can get the same results by greasing your pan with softened butter. Then add a tablespoon of flour and rotate pan till it’s completely coated with flour. Discard excess flour and proceed with next step.
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Place butter pieces and water in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Cook on high power for 1- 1 ½ minutes or until butter is mostly melted (It’s fine if a few little pieces remain.) Remove from microwave, add brown sugar and maple syrup. Stir well.
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Sprinkle flour over the top of the butter mixture. Sprinkle baking soda, salt and spices on top of flour. Whisk slowly until all dry ingredients have been incorporated then whisk vigorously till mixture is lump-free.
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Add eggs and whisk well again until eggs are completely incorporated.
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Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until cake is puffed and feels firm when lightly touched in the center. You can also test the cake for doneness with the sharp end of a toothpick. Insert toothpick into the center of the cake, then remove it. If there is wet batter on the toothpick, the cake needs a bit more time in the oven. If it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, the cake is done.
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When cake is done, remove it from oven to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing***.
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While the cake is baking, wash the bowl so it will be ready to make the icing. For the icing, combine butter and cream cheese in the large microwave safe bowl. Cook on high power for 45-55 seconds or until butter is about half melted. Watch it carefully, checking every 10 seconds as every microwave is different.
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Whisk until smooth and creamy then add half and half and vanilla bean seeds and whisk again.
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Add 2 cups powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Continue adding powdered sugar, 1 cups at a time, whisking after each addition until lump free.
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Icing should be thick but creamy and spreadable. If too thick add a little more half and half. If too thin add a bit more powdered sugar.
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Spread icing over cooled cake. Icing will set up if you let it sit for an hour or two but cake can be enjoyed at any time.
* My vanilla beans were quite large, so I only used a half. Use a whole bean if yours are small. To get to the seeds, place the pod on a cutting board and use a small, sharp knife to cut down the length of the pod, trying not to cut all the way through. Once the pod has been sliced open, flatten it and scrape out the seeds with the side of the knife. Discard the empty pod or bury it in your sugar jar to flavor the sugar.
Sometimes vanilla beans can be hard to find, as many regular grocery stores only
carry vanilla extract. You can find them at specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods and also online. You could also use vanilla bean paste or just regular vanilla, though you won’t see all the fun little vanilla bean specks in the icing.
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** Most cakes are baked at 350˚F. However when you’re baking a cake you’d like to have a flat, even top surface, it’s better to bake at 325˚F. At the higher temperature, the sides bake much quicker than the center, therefore the center has a chance to rise more. At 325˚F, you’ll find this type of cake will bake more evenly. It’s much nicer if you plan to ice it, as the layer of frosting will be nice and even.
One other trick for a flat topped cake: tear a long strip from an old terry cloth towel. It should be long enough to wrap around your cake pan (plus a little extra) and almost as wide as the height of the pan. Wet the strip with cold water and wring it out tightly. Wrap the wet strip around the outside of the pan and tie the extra in a knot. Bake as directed (the towel will not burn, I promise!). The wet towel will keep the outer edges of the pan from baking too quickly which is what will cause cakes to rise more in the center.
*** If you don't cool the cake completely, the icing will "melt" and become very thin. The cake can also end up soggy as the icing will seal in the moisture from the heat. That works well for some cakes but not this one. Can you tell I've learned this from experience?
Adapted from Once Upon a Chef
Dawn Weston says
Hello, I am new to your website so am reading blogs from a number of years ago. I am surprised that you didn’t find tinned black treacle in the shops in London, there a very famous brand in iconic style tins and also other supermarkets now sell their own brand in squeezy bottles. It definitely adds depth to a ginger cake and another classic cake called Parkin ( originally from northern England ) which contains oatmeal. It’s a traditional Bonfire Night treat on November 5th. You may already know about this hearty cake, which improves in the days after baking to become moist and sticky. (Here’s a link to one of many versions - Do you have pinhead oatmeal in the States? This is different to the rolled art flakes that we generally use to make porridge.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Dawn, thanks for this great information. I know it will be helpful to those living in the UK!
Sadly, we do not have pinhead oatmeal here or it's not commonly found.
Helen says
Great tasting cake but I've had the same problem twice now--the cake caves in the middle. The batter bakes fine for awhile, rising and baking as usual then center collapses. I live at 2500' elevation and usually don't have to adjust recipes; oven temperature is right on, followed recipe exactly and I don't open the oven door until time is up. Batter seems thin to me. Any ideas?
Lisa Stock says
This looks and sounds delish! Can you verify the gram measurement for the golden syrup please? Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Lisa, I have added the metric conversion to this recipe. Enjoy!
Angie says
This is really delicious and the perfect fall treat. I love that its all done in one bowl. I added in some crystallized ginger and also sprinkled some on top of the icing along with grated lemon rind. Yum!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Angie, so happy you enjoyed it!
Beth says
This sounds wonderful!! So does your trip! I love the idea of renting bikes. I plan on making this cake for Chritsmas, but have a couple of questions. Does the icing really take only 2 ounces of Neufchâtel cheese? What's the best way to store the cake before and after serving? Thank you for the tips on making it flat. So glad I found you!
Chris Scheuer says
Yes, it's just a touch of cream cheese in the icing. You can either freeze the cake indefinitely or keep it for a few days at room temperature.
Jim says
Can I use vanilla essence rather than the seeds?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Jim, absolutely!
Sharon says
I made this cake yesterday and it was very easy and quick to pu together! I used molasses, and it came out too "molasses-y" for most of my crew. Are there different kinds/strengths of molasses? I will probably make this again with maple syrup, which everyone already loves. My mom liked it but said it wasn't what she expected gingerbread to be. So, mixed reviews but I absolutely love the one-bowl snacking-cake style of it.
Sandi says
Hello. Can you freeze this cake after?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Sandi, yes it freezes well!
Terry says
Is there a way to print your recipes? I'm not finding it!!!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Terry, there's a "print" button right below the picture in the recipe. Just click on it and it should print.
Lisa says
Hi! I don't see instructions for when to add the water in this recipe. I added it in with the molasses. Did I miss it??
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Lisa!
The water is added in step 2 with the butter. Hope you enjoyed the cake! 🙂
Lisa says
Ooops, I put it in with the molasses, but it looked ok. It just came out of the oven. Smells amazing!
Can't wait to frost it and enjoy a piece with a cup of tea! Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Since it's a one bowl cake, it should be just fine. Enjoy!!
ps. We had a little left in the freezer and I pulled it out last night. Oh my goodness, it was just as good as the first day I made it 🙂
Terry says
Would it work to use this recipe in two 6 cup Bundt pans? If so, how would I adjust the cooking time and/or temp?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Terry,
I'd have to experiment with that before I could give you an answer. I've only made it in the square and rectangle pans. I'd hate to give you inaccurate advice!
Adina says
I've never made a gingerbread cake or eaten any, I only know the recipes from blogs... It looks amazing, I would love to give it a try. And I am glad you had some good fish and chips in London, for me they were always totally dissapointing, I've tried them several times and never found them good. I suppose you really have to find to right place to eat them,..
Betty says
As soon as the air gets cooler, I always think about baking gingerbread- This looks amazing! I love the vanilla bean flecks in the frosting- so pretty. Your photos are gorgeous- that's a trip I'd love to take. 🙂
Laura | Tutti Dolci says
You had me at easy and one bowl, Chris! What a scrumptious cake!
Vickie Hawkins says
The cake is delicious, Texture perfect and moist. It is going to be added to the family cookbook, a keeper. I live in deep South Texas where it is very warm and humid. I attempted to cook at 325 degrees but it did not work in my area. The cake sank in the middle. I was so hoping it would work since so many of my breads rise high in the middle. As they say, you never know until you try. We wanted to taste the cake without icing and we discovered it is delicious!. However, we are going to have another piece later with icing drizzled over the top. Nice to have a cake recipe that is so versatile. Thank you so much for all that you do for your fans! Yummy!
Chris Scheuer says
So happy you enjoyed it. I had to give some of our cake away so I wouldn’t over do it, it was so good 🙂
I’m wondering if your cake might not have baked long enough as that’s what usually causes sinking in the center. Every oven is so different so that why I usually give a time but also give a few other tips to make sure it is done. So sorry that happened to you but I’m glad you still enjoyed the cake.
Vicki Bensinger says
This sounds so good Chris. Your grandkids certainly are lucky to have you around - I know you spoil them silly. Your photos of London, your grandkids and food are always stunning. Happy Halloween, soon!
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
Great recipe and I am so ready for gingerbread. Wish the bikes in china were like those. I fell off of the one we rented @75cents a day because they can't steer or brake. I was pretty banged up! And Chinatown in London> Love it! Actually I love all chinatowns!
Polly Tonsetic says
Just back from a trip to TN where I purchased a pint of Sorghum.. Then I saw your gingerbread cake recipe. Now that the puzzle is complete I can't wait to make it. Gingerbread has always been a favorite.
Chris Scheuer says
That should be really yummy!
Sharron says
Wow, another great recipe Chris! I made this yesterday and we absolutely love it and I didn't even use the frosting. I keep going to the pan and taking a little piece as I walk by it's that good. I know this is the best Gingerbread recipe that I have ever made, it's moist with the right balance of spices., Also, so easy to make in one bowl and using a whisk, it's a keeper recipe for sure!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much Sharon, so happy you enjoyed it!
Liz says
Another fun trip to London! You two are always on the go---but I love following along. We saw Les Mis in London over 20 years ago---only 2 of our 3 were around then and we left them home with the grandparents. But they've all grown up to be gingerbread lovers. This moist, tempting cake will be perfect when the boys are around for the holidays!