This perfectly spiced Vegan Gingerbread Cake is topped with buttercream frosting and Christmas sprinkles for a festive dessert. Serve it at your next holiday gathering or enjoy a slice of cake as an evening treat.
Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Then grease a 7x11-inch baking pan (or 9x9-inch pan)and line it with parchment paper to easily remove the cake.
Dry ingredients:
In a large bowl sift the flour, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Set aside.
Wet ingredients:
Heat the plant milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat (or a few seconds in the microwave) until warmed to the touch, not hot.
Add the molasses to the milk and whisk them together until the molasses has dissolved into the milk and both are a thin liquid. Add the remaining wet ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients:
Pour the bowl of wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Scrape all of the liquid out of the bowl with a silicone spatula. Using your spatula, gently fold the ingredients together to create a batter with no patches of dry flour. You can also use a whisk for this step.
Bake:
Transfer the batter to your prepared baking dish. Bake at 350ºF for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with no wet batter.
Allow the cake to fully cool before frosting it.
For the Frosting:
Add the butter to a bowl. Use a hand mixer or the back of a sturdy spoon to cream the butter until it is soft without any lumps.
Add ½ cup of powdered sugar to the butter and cream together. Now mix in the remaining powdered sugar ½ cup at a time.
Pour in the vanilla extract and 1 Tablespoon of non-dairy milk, mix. Then slowly mix in enough non-dairy milk to make the frosting workable. If it is too thin add more powdered sugar. If it is too thick add more milk.
To frost the cake:
Place a few spoonfuls of frosting on the cake. Use as much or as little frosting as you’d like.
Evenly spread the frosting out across the cake with a spatula or the back of a knife.
Top with Christmas sprinkles, chopped nuts, toasted coconut shreds, candied ginger, or your favorite cake topping.
Notes
Without frosting: If you want to skip the frosting, you can leave the cake plain or top it with coconut whip, dairy-free ice cream, or a dusting of powdered sugar. Or try my cashew frosting for a healthier option.
Molasses: Use an unsulphured molasses such as Grandma’s Original. Do not use blackstrap molasses.
Brown sugar substitutes: Coconut sugar can be used as a replacement. Also, any granulated sugar or cane sugar will work. If using one of these options, I suggest powdering it in a blender, Nutri-bullet, or equivalent for a softer cake texture. However, this step is not necessary.
Ginger: I used 1 and ¾ teaspoons of ginger for a mildly spiced cake. If you like a stronger ginger flavor use 2 teaspoons.
Orange frosting: To make orange frosting, replace the milk with orange juice and the vanilla extract is optional.
Cinnamon frosting: To make cinnamon frosting, add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, or to taste, along with the powdered sugar. You may need a bit more milk to bring the frosting together.
To properly fold the ingredients: I like to use my silicone spatula for this step. It keeps the batter from being over-mixed for the best cake texture. For this method, scoop the ingredients from the bottom of the bowl and bring them to the top. Repeat and turn the bowl as needed. Fold just enough times to bring the batter together with no patches of dry flour. It can be a slow start to mix, but the ingredients will begin to come together. Or, check out this video on how to fold ingredients.