Vegan Gingerbread Snack Cake with Frosting

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This easy vegan gingerbread cake is the best quick and perfectly spiced cake that everyone will love for the holidays! Soft, moist, and tons of flavor without the dairy or eggs, plus, it’s nut free!

A square vegan gingerbread snack cake on crinkled parchment paper on the table. Swirls of white frosting decorate the top of the cake and tiny gingerbread men cookies are on top of the cake and all around it. — A vegan gingerbread snack cake all decorated and covered with gingerbread cookies is a perfect cake to have on hand in the holiday season.

I freaking love gingerbread. From cakes to gingerbread cupcakes to gingerbread cookies, there is no shortage of spicy flavors at my house for the holiday season!

This vegan gingerbread cake has a ton of flavor thanks to the molasses and spices. You can add a creamy vegan vanilla buttercream on top, or keep it simple with a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top.

I love how quick and easy it is to mix together in one bowl. And since it is a snacking cake, that means you don’t have to get fancy with the decorations or anything. This cake is meant to be a quick and delicious treat!

Why You’ll Love this Gingerbread Cake

Full of warm spices with molasses, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves
Easy to mix up in one bowl with no special equipment required
Top with vanilla frosting or simple powdered sugar
Perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. It’s a great snack to keep on hand for holiday guests

Ingredients

Spices: This cake uses a combination of the traditional spices of ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. I personally don’t care for nutmeg, so I leave it out! But if you love nutmeg, I’ve included how much to add to that as well.
Molasses: This is what gives it that authentic gingerbread flavor and really brings out those spices in the cake.
Plant Based Milk and Apple Cider Vinegar: These become the “vegan buttermilk” that not only adds moisture to the cake, but helps with the lift and rise, creating that light and fluffy texture.
Oil and Applesauce: I like to use both in the cake to help with the richness and to help the cake stay soft and moist for days.
Brown Sugar: Using brown sugar over white sugar makes for an even softer and more flavorful cake. Either light or dark brown sugar will work.
All Purpose Flour: Nothing fancy here, just simple all purpose flour to make this cake.
You’ll Also Need: Baking powder, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt

Tip! Make sure that you are using regular molasses (I like to use the brand “Grandma’s Molasses” and NOT blackstrap molasses in this cake. Molasses is the thick sugar syrup left over when sugar cane has been boiled. After it is boiled for 3 times, that is blackstrap molasses. It is thick, not sweet, and can be bitter. Save the blackstrap molasses for recipes like BBQ sauce or baked beans.

Instructions

This vegan gingerbread cake is pretty straightforward to make. Grab a big mixing bowl and let’s go!

Make sure to check out the recipe card below for the full recipe and ingredient list.

Start by mixing together the plant based milk and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl. Let that rest for about 5 minutes, allowing it to become the vegan buttermilk.

The vegan buttermilk in a glass bowl on a wood tabletop. — Making the vegan buttermilk, look how it has bubbles!

The finished batter in a glass mixing bowl on a wood table. — The finished cake batter will be delicate and pretty thick.

After a few minutes, add the rest of the wet ingredients: brown sugar, molasses, applesauce, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk this together until everything is combined.

Now, in the same bowl, sift in the dry ingredients of the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all the spices. Again, whisk it together until you get a nice, thick cake batter.

Pour this batter into a lined and greased 8×8-inch (20x20cm) baking dish.

The cake in a parchment lined pan before baking. — Use clips to help hold back the parchment paper. Just remember to remove them before baking!

Bake the cake for 30 to 33 minutes or until the cake has slightly pulled away from the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out clean.

Let the cake rest in the hot pan for 20 minutes before removing it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting

Mixing up a frosting for this cake is super simple!

In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip together the room temperature vegan butter with half of the powdered sugar. Mix until it is starting to be light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on a high speed. Add the remaining sugar, vanilla, salt, and any plant based milk to get it to the right texture. Mix again for another minute or two, taste for salt levels, and spread onto your cake!

A closeup of the cake on crinkled parchment paper on the table. Gingerbread people are on top of and next to the cake. — Use a spoon or offset spatula to get good swirls of frosting on the cake. For sprinkles, crumble up a gingerbread cookie and use those.

Alternatively, you can simply sprinkle powdered sugar on top of this cake so it looks like snow on top!

Variations

Make a cream cheese frosting by replacing the vegan butter with vegan cream cheese in an equal amount. Mix up as directed and frost the cake for a tangy topping.
Make an eggnog frosting by replacing the plant based milk with your favorite vegan egg nog!
Gingerbread Fruit Cake: Add a half cup of dried cranberries or raisins for a festive twist.

FAQs about Gingerbread Cakes

Gingerbread can be a temperamental cake. The heavy ingredients of molasses and applesauce can weigh down the cake. The best way to prevent this is to not open the oven door after you place the cake in the oven. The heat interacts with the baking powder, giving the cake lift.

Also, you don’t want to mix the cake together and then let it sit on the countertop for a half hour. The apple cider vinegar and the baking soda will react with each other, and that reaction also helps to lift the cake.

So to prevent the gingerbread cake from sinking: Mix it and bake it right away. Don’t open the oven door for at least 28 minutes.

For sure! To make this a sheet cake to fill a 9×13 pan, double the recipe. Then, bake for 35-40 minutes in the oven. Again, the edges of the cake will be slightly pulled away from the sides when it is done, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake will pull out clean.

I recommend that you check out my vegan gingerbread loaf cake recipe! That is a slightly different and optimized recipe for loaf cakes.

I recommend that you check out my vegan gingerbread cupcakes recipe which is what this recipe is based on. They are basically identical in terms of spices, just different bake times and lots of tips on how to bake up the best cupcakes.

A slice of gingerbread cake on a piece of parchment paper on the table. A tiny gingerbread man is next to the slice. — A look inside at the fully cooked cake. You can see the even crumb and how light and fluffy this cake is.

How to Store

Countertop: Store this cake (without frosting) on the countertop in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Fridge: When frosting with a buttercream frosting, this cake keeps best in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. After that it starts to dry out.

Freezer: Wrapped carefully in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer safe container, this cake will keep frozen for up to 2 months.

More Vegan Gingerbread Recipes

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

If you try these out, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. And if you want more delicious, vegan friendly recipes you can subscribe to the newsletter. Did you make these? Please tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest! I love to see your creations!