Traditional Gingerbread Cake with Optional Caramel Sauce
This traditional gingerbread cake recipe has been around for a very long time. An old family friend we called Memere use to make huge batches of this cake. She made it ahead and always had a tin cake can full of it on her cupboard beside the coffee pot. As a teenager us kids would visit her and she always had this cake for us. We thought this cake was so good we never even thought about. Memere never used a recipe, but she wrote this one out for me. I love it plain just as it is, but you can serve it with whipped cream and caramel sauce as well.

With Christmas on the way I decided to share it with you. This cake is super moist with a strong molasses flavour, it isn’t too sweet. This Gingerbread recipe does not contain milk, instead it uses boiling water to thin both the thick molasses and the batter out.
Welcome back to year 6 of our Festive Christmas Event where we team up with oodles of our talented blogging friends we admire to bring you a plethora of creative ways to celebrate your holiday season
You will find new ideas every Monday and Wednesday between Oct. 19th through Nov. 18th. Scroll all the way down to find all the ideas linked at the end. At the end of my post you will find a listing of all the other DIY Christmas ornament ideas from the Fabulous Christmas group.
At the end of this post you will find the links to the other blogs Christmas decorations. I am looking forward to checking out all their different Christmas decor ideas and hope you do as well.
Traditional Gingerbread Cake Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1 cup melted butter (can use oil)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 – 1 cup molasses
1/4 cup boiling water
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
1 cup boiling water
Grease and flour a 9 by 13 inch pan. Preheat oven to 350F.
Place a small pot of water on to boil.
In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the vanilla.
Mix the molasses with the 1/4 cup boiling water then dissolve the soda into the mixture. The soda will fizz from the reaction with the boiling water. (The molasses mixture at this point looks like a very dark hot chocolate.)

Stir then add to the butter mixture.
Place the flour, baking powder, salt and spice in a medium size bowl. Mix to distribute the baking powder and spices. Add to the butter and molasses mixture.

The cake batter will be very thick and shiny, it reminds me of brownie batter.

Add boiling water, mix until blended and smooth. Pour into cake pan.
Bake for 35-45 minutes.
Gingerbread cake is very versatile, its a classic Christmas recipe but can be enjoyed all winter. You can serve it plain just as it is, or with whipped cream and a little cinnamon sugar.

Caramel Sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups water
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
In a small pot add the brown sugar, flour and salt. Mix and add the water.
Cook over medium heat until thick about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add the butter and vanilla. Stir and serve with the gingerbread cake.


I hoe you enjoy these new recipes. Every year I make new treats for the holidays and there are some great ideas here.
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Cranberry and White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies From House To Home
Best Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookies (copycat) An Alli Event
Easy Mini Cranberry Eggnog Bread Interior Frugalista
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Double Chocolate Mint Cake Mix Cookies Blogghetti
Festive Homemade Granny Smith Apple Crisp Recipe Mom Home Guide
Coconut Pecan Bites Across The Blvd.
Buckeye Candy Recipe (Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls) Tikkido
Red Velvet White Chip Cookies Domestically Creative
Easy Gingerbread House Cupcakes Our Sutton Place
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How To Make Madeleines – Sweet Little Holiday Temptations My Humble Home and Garden
Through the Window Hand Towel (Free Crochet Pattern) Eye Love Knots
Christmas Snack Mix Simply Inspired Meals
Gingerbread Chai Cheesecake Cups Coffee with of Us


Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup butter melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3/4-1 cup molasses
- ¼ cup boiling water
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup boiling water
Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Grease and flour a 9 by 13 inch pan. Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the vanilla.
- Mix the molasses with the 1/4 cup boiling water then dissolve the soda into the mixture. Stir then add to the butter mixture.
- Place the flour, baking powder, salt and spice in a medium size bowl. Mix to distribute the baking powder and spices. Add to the butter and molasses mixture.
- Add boiling water, mix until blended. Pour into cake pan.
Caramel Sauce
- In a small pot add the brown sugar, flour and salt. Mix and add the water.
- Cook over medium heat until thick about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add the butter and vanilla. Stir and serve with the gingerbread cake.
I think we all have wonderful memories of gingerbread being an all time comfort food! Thanks for stirring up my memories that I had forgotten! Pinned!
Omgosh, that looks delectable! I love all things gingerbread for the holidays.
My Memere used to make a wonderfully moist gingerbread cake too and sadly I never got the recipe. I’ve yet to find a recipe that compared. I am definitely trying this because something tells me it’s a French thing and could be a very close match!
Well now that makes my day!! It would be wonderful if it was the same, I truly hope you love it as much as I do.