Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake
This gluten free gingerbread cake is the perfect small batch Holiday dessert. It makes one 6 inch cake and is topped with a simple cream cheese frosting and caramel sauce. It can easily be made dairy free!
Mini cakes are my new favorite thing. I’m gluten free cake obsessed, but sometimes you need some cake without having a whole entire 16 serving two layer extravagant cake.
It makes just one small 6 inch cake, so it’s perfect for about 4-6 people depending on how hungry you are!
Top it off with a simple cream cheese frosting, my homemade caramel sauce and a sprinkle of cinnamon and you have yourself the perfect holiday dessert. If you love this recipe, try my gluten free carrot cake!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Small batch
- Dairy free friendly
- One bowl
- Moist & tender
- Easy to make
Ingredient swaps
FLOUR. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour which I recommend here. If you use a different blend, you may get various results, so make sure it has xanthan gum in the mix.
I do not recommend almond, oat, coconut or other gluten free flours here.
SUGAR. A mix of brown and white sugar will give this gluten free gingerbread cake a rich flavor but fluffy texture. You can swap for coconut sugar if you prefer, but the texture may be slightly different.
BUTTER & MILK. You can use dairy free or regular butter and milk. I used regular butter but almond milk because that’s what I usually have on hand, but anything goes here.
EGG. Since this recipe only calls for one egg, you can likely sub for a vegan option with no problem. I’d suggest either apple sauce or a flax egg.
For applesauce, you will need 3 1/2 tablespoons, for a flax egg simply whisk together 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons of water and let thicken.
MOLASSES. I like Grandma’s molasses best, but I have tried this with various brands and kinds and all work just fine.
How to make gluten free gingerbread cake
PREP. Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Spray and line a 6 inch cake pan with parchment paper (I like these parchment rounds) and set aside.
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WHISK WET. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until smooth. It really helps if the milk and egg are at room temperature so they don’t cause the butter to harden.
WHISK DRY. Whisk in the dry ingredients, making sure to spoon and level the flour. Once smooth, transfer to your prepared cake pan.
BAKE. Bake for 42-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
MAKE FROSTING. Meanwhile, beat together the butter and cream cheese for the frosting with an electric mixer for about 1-2 minutes.
Beat in the powdered sugar then vanilla until smooth. If it’s to thick, thin it out with some milk. If it’s too thin, add more sugar.
FROST & SERVE. Once the cake has cooled completely, frost, then top with caramel sauce if desired and enjoy!
How to store and freeze
This gluten free gingerbread cake will store at room temperature for 3-4 days in an air tight container, or in the fridge for 5-7 days. If kept in a container, I promise it will stay very moist! No dry cakes here.
You can definitely freeze this cake as well. To do so, bake the cake as usual, let cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap, place in a large ziplock bag and freeze for up to 1 month.
Let it defrost at room temperature, then frost and serve as usual. The texture won’t be exactly the same once it defrosts, but the moisture should still hold really well.
Prevent a crumbly gluten free cake
Gluten free cakes have a reputation for being dry and crumbly, but I’m here to prove everyone wrong on that! When made properly, gluten free cakes are just as moist and tender as the classic.
One tip is to ensure you don’t over bake the cake. Keep a close eye and take it out once a toothpick is clean. An over baked cake will just be dry!
Second, be sure to spoon and level the flour. If you scoop right from the bag you can end up with much more flour than the recipe actually calls for which will lead to a dry and crumbly cake.
More holiday dessert recipes!
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Frosted Gingerbread Cookies
- Cutout Gingerbread Cookies
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Loaf
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Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 egg room temperature
- ¼ cup milk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry
- 1 cup gluten free all purpose baking flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup butter
- 2/3-1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
- Spray and line a 6 inch cake pan with parchment paper (I like these parchment rounds) and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until smooth. It really helps if the milk and egg are at room temperature so they don’t cause the butter to harden.
- Whisk in the dry ingredients, making sure to spoon and level the flour.
- Once smooth, transfer to your prepared cake pan.
- Bake for 42-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Meanwhile, beat together the butter and cream cheese for the frosting with an electric mixer for about 1-2 minutes.
- Beat in the powdered sugar then vanilla until smooth. If it’s to thick, thin it out with some milk. If it’s too thin, add more sugar.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, frost, then top with caramel sauce if desired and enjoy!
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