Fancy Gingerbread Cake with Cranberry Filling

If you are looking for a quick and easy dessert to make this winter, then you must try my Fancy Gingerbread Cake with Cranberry Filling. I’ve been making it for years and it’s one of those desserts that encapsulates all those warm cozy feelings. As a Christmas baby, having a “regular” cake this time of year doesn’t feel as fancy. It wasn’t until I came across a gingerbread cake a decade ago, that I made this my most requested birthday cake since then.

Think gingerbread cookie, but more soft and fluffy! You have the soft gingerbread cake with the spices and the slight tart and sweetness of the cranberry filling. The best part it doesn’t require much time and you don’t need to fuss with making it perfect. The more rustic the cake looks, the prettier it gets. I hope you try this recipe for Fancy Gingerbread Cake with Cranberry Filling.

This cake is super simple to make and doesn’t require too many ingredients. Here are just a few things to note before making this Fancy Gingerbread Cake with Cranberry Filling.

You’ll need to use unsulphured molasses and please avoid blackstrap molasses as these other types of mollasses will make your cake bitter tasting.
Although the title has cake in it, it also has bread in the title as well, which means this cake bread will take a little longer to bake because the batter is a little thick. So you may need to cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes depending on your ovens heat settings.
Make the cranberry filling the day before so that the filling has time to thicken up overnight.

You will use HOT water in this recipe. This helps to slow down the gluten formulation to make it more light and fluffy.
Make sure to let the cake cool completely before cutting the cake in half. I like to flip the cake over so the top is on the bottom. This makes sure the top is nice and flat.

You can eat the gingerbread cake without the cranberry filling. This is a nice light cake bread that is good on its own too!
Feel free to change the pan size. In the past I’ve used a half sheet pan for a thinner cake or two 4 inch round cake pans to make a tiered round cake.

Fancy Gingerbread Cake with Cranberry Filling

Yields: 9 servings

Ingredients:

½ cup white granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup unsulphured molasses
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup hot water
½ cup powdered sugar for dusting
Optional: sugared cranberries and fresh rosemary for decorating

For the cranberry filling:

2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup water
½ cup granulated sugar

Directions:

Move oven rack to the middle. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper or spray with baking spray
To a large bowl, add in the sugar, egg, and molasses until combined, then add in the melted butter.
Then add in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt.
Then add in the flour and lightly mix, but do not combine completely. Slowly add in the hot water and combine the flour and hot water together. Mix until fully combined.
Pour the cake batter into the pan and let bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or when a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
Let cake cool completely, about 30 minutes to an hour.
Slice the cake in half, sandwich style. It doesn’t have to be perfectly even. We like a rustic look.
Then spread the cranberry filling to the middle and add the top layer of cake back on.
Dust generously with powdered sugar and decorate with sugared cranberries and rosemary.

Cranberry filling:

Rinse fresh cranberries and add to a medium sauce pan. Then add in the water and sugar. Mix together.
On medium heat, bring it to a boil and let it bowl for 10 minutes. Then reduce to a simmer and let it cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool. Once cool, transfer to a heat safe container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.