Gingerbread Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
A soft, moist, warmly spiced gingerbread cake baked in one square pan and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. Easy to stir together by hand and perfect for fall and holiday gatherings.
1 hr 30 mins
12 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 4 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
- 1 Egg
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, divided (1/2 cup melted for the cake, 2 tablespoons softened for the frosting)
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 ¼ cups Powdered Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Cloves
- 1 ½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Boiling Water
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Molasses
Directions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x9-inch baking pan and line it with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter for the cake, brown sugar, molasses, and egg until smooth.
- Stir half of the flour mixture into the molasses mixture, then whisk in the hot water, then stir in the rest of the flour mixture until no dry streaks remain. The batter will be thin.
- Pour into the pan and bake until a toothpick in the center comes out clean, 32 to 38 minutes. Cool completely in the pan, about 45 minutes.
- For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and the softened butter for the frosting until smooth, then beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and cut into 12 squares. Keep leftovers covered in the fridge.
