Easy Ginger Cake {With Ginger Frosting}
Soft, moist, easy ginger cake recipe with ginger frosting. Needs simple ingredients, fresh ginger, ginger ale, cinnamon. Great for Thanksgiving, Christmas.
*Thank you Canada Dry for sponsoring today’s post so that I can share this ginger cake recipe with all of you. As always, all opinions are mine. *
I love to use ginger in desserts, as you can see from these Easy Ginger Cookies, Gingersnap Cookies, or this Gingerbread House and now I am happy to share this cake. It really shows off the strong and bold ginger flavor through the use of fresh ginger and ginger ale. It’s a lovely Christmas cake or Thanksgiving cake.
This is a super moist ginger cake!
Even though it’s soft and moist, it’s still firm enough to be made into a layer cake and filled with a super creamy ginger frosting. The addition of sour cream and bubbly ginger ale are key ingredients for adding moisture in this cake and should be replaced/ substituted or omitted.
This is a simple, classic fresh ginger cake recipe!
When my official taste-tester a.k.a my hubby first tasted this cake, he said: “If a spiced cake was to marry a ginger cake, this cake would be their baby!”
Also known as ginger ale cake!
How do I make ginger cake?
- Cream together butter and sugar.
- Add eggs, sour cream, ginger, ginger ale, vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Add flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and mix until just combined.
- Pour batter into pans and bake.
- Cool.
- Then, make a layered cake with ginger frosting between each layer.
- Decorate with cinnamon candied or crystallized ginger and you are done.
How long can you keep ginger cake?
It can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Does gingerbread have ginger?
Yes, it typically includes freshly grated ginger, along with some other other spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
Cinnamon ginger cake
The recipe below uses a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. You can omit the other spices and just use cinnamon and ginger and this cake would still taste amazing.
Ginger cake frosting
The recipe below uses ginger frosting but you can also use American Buttercream Frosting or Marshmallow Frosting or the Best Cream Cheese Frosting.
Ginger cake with crystallized ginger
Sprinkle finely chopped crystallized ginger between each cake layer, when you are assembling it. It tastes much better this way than adding it in the batter.
Sticky ginger cake
The best way to get a sweet and sticky texture on a cake is with caramel. Use caramel syrup and caramel frosting. Caramel and ginger flavors work together so well.
Pear ginger cake
Make this Pear Cake (Pear Upside Down Cake) and stir in 2 tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger in the cake batter and 1 tsp freshly grated ginger.
Apple ginger cake
Make this Apple Cake Recipe and stir in 2 tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger in the cake batter and 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger.
Lemon ginger cake
Lemon and ginger is a classic flavor combination. That can be made by using a lemon icing/ frosting or lemon glaze or even lemon sauce or Lemon Curd within the cake layers.
Chocolate ginger cake
Frost this cake with spiced cinnamon chocolate frosting. Make my Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and mix in 1-2 tsp cinnamon powder. The chocolate and ginger flavors compliment each other very well. Instead of chocolate frosting, you can also pour spiced cinnamon chocolate ganache over the cake. Just make a simple chocolate ganache and mix in 1 tsp cinnamon powder.
Ginger spice cake
This cake should have aromatic warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and obviously lots of ginger. You can also add some allspice, if you like. Make sure you are using fresh spices that have not expired for best flavor and aroma.
Ginger carrot cake
Rather than modifying this recipe by adding shredded carrots, I would recommend making my moist carrot cake and adding 1-2 tsp freshly grated ginger to that recipe. If you modified this recipe, the shredded carrots would add too much moisture and can potentially cause the cake to collapse in the center during baking.
Since I am originally from Canada, I am a big fan of Canada Dry®. Sipping this ginger ale just reminds me of home and makes me so happy inside. I was so happy to finally make a cake with it.
I used a combination of Regular Canada Dry® and Canada Dry TEN® but you can just use the regular one.
Tips for easy ginger cake recipe
- Use unsalted butter to prevent the cake from becoming too salty.
- Adjust the amount of spices and ginger, based on your preference.
- I wanted to make semi- naked cake and did not frost the sides but you can fully frost the sides of the cake.
- All ingredients must be at room temperature so they blend together evenly and smoothly.
- Cinnamon candy balls can be found in the seasonal section at most grocery stores or in the candy aisle. If that’s not available, you can decorate with chopped crystallized ginger or sprinkles.
- Once the cakes are baked and fully cool down, cover in saran wrap and chill in the fridge overnight. That holds all the moisture in and make it even more soft. Chilling also make it easier to trim the sides of the cake with very few crumbs.
Easy Ginger Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- ½ cup Butter, Unsalted
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 2 Eggs, Large
- ½ cup Sour cream, Full fat
- 1 tbsp Ginger, Freshly grated
- 1/2 cup Ginger ale
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- ½ tsp Cinnamon powder
- 1/8 tsp Nutmeg powder, Optional
- 1/8 tsp Cloves powder, Optional
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ¼ tsp Baking powder
Ginger frosting
- 1 cup Shortening
- ½ cup Butter, Unsalted
- 2 tbsp Ginger, Freshly grated
- ½ tsp Cinnamon powder
- 1 tbsp Meringue powder, Optional-for stability
- 1/2 cup Ginger ale
- 6-8 cups Powdered sugar
Instructions
Cake:
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.
- Add eggs and mix until just combined.
- Add sour cream, fresh ginger, ginger ale and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
- Finally, add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined.
- The batter will be thick. Don't over-mix or try to thin it out!
- Pour this batter into 3 greased/floured round cake pans (Dimensions: 8x2).
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Frosting:
- In a mixing bowl, add shortening and butter and mix until fluffy.
- Add fresh ginger, cinnamon, meringue powder, ginger ale and mix again.
- Start adding powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) while constantly mixing.
- After adding 6 cups of sugar, check to see if you are satisfied with the consistency. The frosting should be creamy but thick so that it can sufficiently hold the weight of this layered cake. If it's too soft, add more powdered sugar and mix again.
Assembling:
- Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the sides of the three cakes.
- Place one cake on a cake stand. Fill a piping bag with ginger ale frosting and attach Tip #4B. Hold the bag at a 90 degree angle and pipe little stars of frosting on top of the cake.
- Place the second cake on top of the frosting. Hold the piping bag at a 90 degree angle again. Pipe little stars of frosting on top of the cake.
- Place the third cake on top of the frosting.
- Hold the piping bag at a 90 degree angle again. Pipe little stars of frosting on top of the cake.
- Place white edible pearls and cinnamon candy balls on top of cake. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Until next time, tata my lovelies!
I never heard of a ginger ale cake that looks awesome! 🙂
Thanks! I try to make something new and different for the holiday season!
Would this work with flat ginger ale?
I am sorry but I haven’t tried that. If you give it a shot, let me know how it turns out…