Between the warm spices and maple glaze, this gingerbread bundt cake is the coziest dessert you’ll enjoy this holiday season.
Rich molasses mingles with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and more, infusing every moist bite with flavor magic.
Even without the glaze on top, it’s the perfect holiday treat.
Serve it at your next family gathering and I guarantee you won’t see a crumb left.
Why You’ll Love This Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Warm, Seasonal Spices: Packed with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg, this cake is bursting with cozy goodness.
Moist & Tender: The combination of molasses, brown sugar, and buttermilk ensures every bite is perfectly soft and moist.
Elegant Presentation: The Bundt shape and maple glaze make it a stunning centerpiece for any holiday table.
Easy to Decorate: Whether it’s a drizzle of glaze or a simple dusting of powdered sugar, you don’t need any skills to make this stand out.
Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour & Cornstarch: The foundation and structure of the cake. The added cornstarch helps to keep the sponge moist.
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder: To help the cake rise so it’s not too dense.
- Spices: Ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg. It doesn’t get more Christmassy than that!
- Salt & Vanilla Extract: Enhance all the flavors in the cake and balance the sweetness.
- Unsalted Butter & Oil: Provides richness and moisture.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Adds deep molasses flavor and moisture to the cake.
- Molasses: Gives the cake its distinctive dark color and rich, complex flavor.
- Eggs: Add structure and richness. They bind the ingredients together, too.
- Buttermilk: Creates a tender crumb and reacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise.
- Maple Glaze: A sweet finishing touch. Combine powdered sugar for smoothness, maple syrup for flavor, and milk for the best consistency.
How to Make Gingerbread Bundt Cake
This gingerbread bundt cake brings together everything we love about traditional gingerbread and transforms it into an elegant, show-stopping dessert.
Here’s how to make it:
1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Thoroughly grease and flour a 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan.
2. SIFT the flour, cornstarch, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, allspice, cloves, salt, and nutmeg into a large bowl.
3. BEAT the melted butter, oil, and brown sugar until well combined, about 3-4 minutes. Add the molasses and beat until smooth.
4. BLEND in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla extract.
5. ALTERNATE adding the flour and buttermilk to the wet ingredients, starting and ending with the flour. Pour into the baking pan.
6. BAKE for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
7. COOL the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
8. WHISK the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and milk until the glaze is thick but pourable.
9. DRIZZLE the glaze over the completely cooled cake, letting it run down the sides. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Tips For the Best Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Whether you’re hosting a holiday gathering or simply craving something special with your afternoon coffee, this beautiful Bundt cake delivers both comfort and sophistication.
Its gorgeous shape and dripping glaze make it an absolute stunner on any dessert table, no additional decoration needed.
Here are a few tips to ensure success:
- Use unsulphured molasses. Blackstrap molasses is too bitter for this recipe.
- Use room-temperature ingredients. Get anything chilled out of the fridge 20-30 minutes early.
- Measure the flour correctly. I always recommend weighing it. But the spoon-and-level method works well too.
- Grease the pan thoroughly. Use a pastry brush to get into all the nooks and crannies!
- Cool before glazing. Let the cake cool completely before adding the glaze to prevent it from melting off.
- Flavor variations. Add orange zest, crystallized ginger, or chocolate chips to the batter. You can also swap the maple glaze for cream cheese frosting.
How to Store
There’s something about the warm spices of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves that instantly makes me feel cozy.
And this cake is like a hug in dessert form! It’s so good, in fact, we devoured the whole thing in one weekend.
If you manage to save some leftovers, here’s what to do:
To Store: Wrap leftovers in plastic or place in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for 3-4 days.
To Freeze: Wrap the cooled, unglazed cake tightly in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, thaw it overnight in the fridge and add fresh glaze.
More Gingerbread Treats for The Festive Season
Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Gingerbread Sheet Cake
Gingerbread Fudge
Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting
Gingerbread Bundt Cake
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kcalThis gingerbread bundt cake with sweet maple glaze is packed with warm, cozy spices like ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. It’s the perfect holiday treat.
Ingredients
- For the Cake
3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup molasses
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- For the Maple Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit. Thoroughly grease and flour a 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan, coating all crevices to prevent sticking. Set aside.
- Make the Cake: In a large bowl, sift the flour, cornstarch, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, allspice, cloves, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the melted butter, oil, and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until very well combined, about 3-4 minutes. Add the molasses and beat until smooth.
- Reduce the speed to low and blend in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Once the eggs are fully incorporated, mix in the vanilla extract.
- Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix on low just until combined.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Gently tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes (see note) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, carefully invert the cake onto a wire cooling rack. Let the cake cool completely before glazing.
- Make the Glaze: Whisk the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon of milk in a small bowl. Add more milk, a little at a time, until the glaze reaches a thick but pourable consistency (if needed).
- Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze over the top, letting it run down the sides.
- Garnish with crystallized ginger pieces, candied pecans, or sugared cranberries for extra texture and decoration. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Check the cake after 45 minutes. If it’s browning too quickly, tent it with foil.
- Use unsulphured molasses. Blackstrap molasses is too bitter for this recipe.
- Measure the flour correctly. I always recommend weighing it. But the spoon-and-level method works well too.
I really enjoyed this recipe. I made it for Christmas and ran into a couple of my own fault ingredient challenges, first I ran out of buttermilk and regular milk, and unsweetened almond milk, so I used 1/2 cup chocolate almond milk and 1/2 cup lemon juice to substitute the buttermilk, and eggnog for the milk in the icing. it still came out great, and the eggnog was a surprisingly good addition to the icing. I made it slightly thinner than intended, but it still tastes great, even if not perfect presentation. I also didn’t have a working mixer, so mixed it all by hand and I didn’t have a 10-12 cup bundt pan, but I used an 8 cup game of thrones dragon pan and a 4 cup bundt pan. The 4 cup bundt was done at about 40 minutes and the dragon cake was about 50 minutes. They look and smell great, and we’ll be eating them in about an hour and can barely wait.
Now a gingerbread dragon cake is on my bucket list! Love it!