With a rich blend of spices, this Gingerbread Bundt Cake packs warmth & coziness in a deliciously moist and tender cake. Decorative bundt cakes make beautiful dessert centerpieces to any holiday table, you're going to love this gingerbread version!
Every year, I make my favorite, chewy gingerbread cookies, and I'm thrilled to have another gingerbread recipe to share with you!
To me, gingerbread really is the ultimate flavor of the holidays. The season doesn't truly arrive until I have the aroma of all those spices venting out from my oven.
This beautifully moist bundt cake is loaded with spicy goodness and depth of sweetness from the brown sugar and molasses.
A bundt cake also makes a lovely table centerpiece for holiday meals. Add a sprig of greenery and a few raw cranberries for color for an extra festive feel. It's the perfect kind of cake for sharing and even gifting!
Let's make a Gingerbread Bundt Cake
It's always initially a little shocking to see the ingredients listed for gingerbread anything, because it requires so many spices, but this is a fairly standard bundt cake recipe. No need to mess with a classics!
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon (I always prefer Ceylon cinnamon!)
- Ground nutmeg (fresh if possible)
- Ground cloves
- Allspice
- Ground cardamom (optional, but adds a nice, spicy kick and complexity)
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Molasses
- Eggs
- Buttermilk (regular whole milk can also be used)
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Once you've rounded up this pile of ingredients, it's pretty easy from there.
I found this recipe is easiest to make using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. You'll also want to definitely keep a spatula nearby to scrape down the bowl often. Stand mixers have a tendency to push the ingredients up the sides of the bowl and you want to make sure all ingredients are fully incorporated for this cake.
The first step is to blend the butter and sugar. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Then, add the eggs and molasses. Mix until combined.
The dry ingredients need to be whisked in a separate bowl before you can add them to the wet ingredients. Do not skip this step. There are a lot of dry ingredients here, so adding them directly into the wet ingredients one by one is not a good option. You'll surely get pockets of unmixed spices and flour - not yummy.
Once ready, on low mixing speed, you'll alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk, starting with flour and ending with flour.
That direction sometimes trips me up, so you can also think of it this way.
Add ⅓ of the flour mixture, mix, then add ½ the buttermilk, mix, then ⅓ flour, then the remaining buttermilk, then the remaining ⅓ flour.
Once all of the dry ingredients are absorbed, I stop mixing. That's key to a soft and tender cake!
Bake just until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Do not overbake the cake or the decorative edges will get too dry.
About Bundt Pans
I love bundt pans. I think they are absolutely stunning! My dream kitchen would definitely include a space to display loads of all different bundt pans and styles.
My favorite brand of bundt pans is hands down, Nordic Ware (not sponsored, just a HUGE fan). Not only are all their molds amazingly gorgeous, I truly feel they have the best quality too. And, they have a pan for every season and occasion!
Today, I went with their classic Heritage Bundt Pan.
The swirls are captivating.
How to ensure your cake doesn't stick
Warning. Graphic image ahead.
There's nothing more life ruining than seeing half of your bundt cake ending up glued to the pan.
Yes, I did grease the bundt pan VERY well. I swear I made sure to cover every possible square molecule of the pan because I was so scared of this happening.
Annnnnd, my cake still stuck.
After angrily eating a handful of the remains, I started Googling ways to prevent this from happening again.
Here's a summary of what I found:
- Go with a nonstick pan whenever possible.
- Coating your pan...
- Make sure your pan is well greased with shortening or nonstick spray. Never use butter to grease a bundt pan because the milk solids cause sticking. Use a pastry brush to get into ever nook & cranny.
- Make some homemade cake pan release.
- Try coating the pan in nut flour after it's greased. >>> This is what I did and it worked! You may see some nut flour spots on the finished cake, but it's not the worst thing.
- Coating the pan in grease then flour doesn't always work, and you'll definitely have white, patches of baked on flour all over your cake. Not ideal for darker bundt cakes like this one.
- Once the cake comes out of the oven...
- Gently loosen the edges with a knife.
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes upright, then flip it over to rest 5 minutes upside down on a cooling rack.
If your cake is STILL stuck after all that, place your cake back into the warm oven for about 10 minutes. Sometimes that gentle heat is enough to soften any baked on areas.
Last but not least, lessoned learned... always buy enough ingredients for 2 cakes. 😉
Gingerbread Bundt Cake is the perfect holiday dessert
This cake is so full of holiday spirit, but I love to brighten it up even more with some extra holiday decor!
My gingerbread bundt cake is the perfect opportunity to highlight hand crafted farmhouse pieces by my friend at the Almost Perfect Pineapple!!!
If you're looking for the perfect touch to add to your holiday table, these hand painted, wood farmhouse beads are just the thing. I'm obsessed with how these look draped around the cake stand.
These wood beads are vibrantly colored and finished off with an artfully crafted, wood tag and natural twine tassel.
But there's more than beads! Check out this adorable mini rolling pin. This is such a sweet gift for anyone who loves baking.
Please be sure to check out the Almost Perfect Pineapple shop on Etsy and follow @thealmostperfectpineapple on Instagram to stay up-to-date on new items, promos, and for a look behind the scenes.
Print
Gingerbread Bundt Cake
With a rich blend of spices, this Gingerbread Bundt Cake packs warmth & coziness in a deliciously moist and tender cake. Decorative bundt cakes make beautiful dessert centerpieces to any holiday table, you're going to love this gingerbread version!
- Total Time: 1 hr 15 min
- Yield: one 10" - 12" cake, about 14 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 ½ c all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon (I prefer Ceylon cinnamon)
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg (freshly ground if possible)
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp allspice
- ¾ tsp cardamom (optional, but really cranks up the spice & depth of flavor)
- ¾ c unsalted butter (or, 1 ½ sticks, room temp)
- 1 ½ c light brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs (room temp)
- ½ c molasses
- 1 c buttermilk (regular whole whole milk can also be used, room temp)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Grease a 10-12 cup bundt pan with a pastry brush, ensuring every last bit is well greased. See notes for more on preparing the pan to ensure the cake doesn't stick.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter and brown sugar on high until light and fluffy.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix again to ensure everything is incorporated.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing and scraping the bowl after each addition.
- Next, add the molasses. Mix until incorporated.
- Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, starting with flour and ending with flour. In other words, add ⅓ of the flour mixture, mix, then add ½ the buttermilk, mix, then ⅓ flour, then the remaining buttermilk, then the remaining ⅓ flour. Scrape down the bowl in between the additions as needed. Mix the dry ingredients & buttermilk on low speed.
- Stop mixing once all the dry ingredients are fully absorbed and the batter is smooth.
- Scrape the bowl down one last time.
- Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing down the top with a spatula.
- Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 5-10 minutes before flipping it onto a wire rack.
- Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
- Store in an airtight container or wrapped with plastic wrap for up to 5 days. Cake can also be frozen!
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
Avoiding a Stuck Bundt Cake
- Go with a nonstick pan whenever possible.
- Coating your pan...
- Make sure your pan is well greased with shortening or nonstick spray. Never use butter to grease a bundt pan because the milk solids cause sticking. Use a pastry brush to get into ever nook & cranny.
- Make some homemade cake pan release.
- Try lightly coating the pan in nut flour after it's greased. >>> This is what I did and it worked!
- Coating the pan in grease then flour doesn't always work, and you'll definitely have white, patches of baked on flour all over your cake. Not ideal for darker bundt cakes like this one.
- Once the cake comes out of the oven...
- Gently loosen the edges with a knife.
- Allow to rest for 5 minutes upright, then flip it over to rest 5 minutes upside down on a cooling rack.
If your cake is STILL stuck after all that, place your cake back into the warm oven for about 10 minutes. Sometimes that gentle heat is enough to soften any baked on areas.
Last but not least, lessoned learned... always buy enough ingredients for 2 cakes. 😉
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 60
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 277
- Sugar: 23g
Mary
I’ve just ordered the Nordic ware gingerbread house Bundt pan. Should I dust it with Baker’s Joy spray for this recipe? Or just use Crisco with a brush? Your recipe sounds wonderful and I’ll let you know how it works. Thanks