Gingerbread Pound Cake
This gingerbread pound cake has the texture of a classic pound cake with all of the molasses and spice flavors of a traditional gingerbread.
This gingerbread pound cake was one of the biggest labors of love that I’ve undertaken recently. When I started working on the recipe, I envisioned the dense, rich texture of a traditional pound cake with all of the warm, cozy flavors of gingerbread.
Five iterations later, I have a winner!
If you ever find yourself in a baking pickle, I highly recommend reaching out to King Arthur Flour – they have an awesome baker’s hotline that you can reach via phone, email or online chat. I took advantage of chatting via email with one of their amazing bakers when this gingerbread pound cake was giving me fits. They were super helpful and didn’t just give suggestions, but actually explained how ingredients were interacting with each other (i.e. I was using too much baking soda in conjunction with molasses, which is acidic, and it was causing the cake to rise quickly and then shrink and collapse out of the oven).
After some back and forth, I had a great formula on which to build… a little bit less molasses than I had originally intended, but I compensated for it with dark brown sugar. The loaves still weren’t as high or full as I would like, so instead of dividing the batter, it all went into one pan and I love the large, beautiful loaf that it produced. Finally! Everything you love about pound cake and gingerbread is packed into this one fantastic recipe.
Pound cakes and quick breads make fantastic gifting options around the holidays! You still have a few baking days left, so if you’re planning on baking and gifting, here are a few tips:
- The batter for pound cake and quick bread can be divided between miniature loaf pans for a more gift-able size. Any miniature pan would do, but I love these miniature paper baking pans since you can bake in them, and then package them right up without needing to remove the baked good. Slip them in a clear treat bag, tie them with a pretty ribbon and you’re all set!
- Label the food with a date – either the day it was baked or when it should be consumed by so that the recipient knows how soon it should be eaten (or how long they can savor it!).
- If you’re giving a baked good to someone and aren’t sure if there are any food allergies in their house, you might also want to include a label with the common allergens that the recipe contains (soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, milk).
Whether you’re baking this to give away, to share with company or just enjoy on your own, you will be thrilled with how easy it is to prepare and even more ecstatic about how fabulously dense, moist and packed with holiday flavors it is.
Four years ago: Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
Gingerbread Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups (208.33 g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 2 tablespoons King Arthur Flour Gingerbread Spice
- ¼ cup (84.25 ml) molasses
- ¼ cup (57.5 ml) sour cream
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (220 g) + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
- Whipped cream, for serving
Note: If you do not have access to the gingerbread spice mix, you can substitute the following spices:
- 2½ teaspoons (2.5 teaspoons) ground ginger
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground allspice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray an 8 ½” x 4 ½” loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, gingerbread spice (or ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice); set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the molasses and sour cream; set aside.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions alternately with the molasses mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Mix just until smooth. Give the batter a final stir with a rubber spatula to ensure all of the ingredients are incorporated.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. Remove the cake using the parchment paper, dust with powdered sugar and serve with fresh whipped cream. Leftover cake should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for up to 5 days (it can also be frozen for up to 2 months).
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by King Arthur Flour, but all opinions are my own.
I just made this recipe and it
came out absolutely delicious! Love it.
Perfect for the holidays.
Hello. Just completed this recipe this past weekend and it turned out great! I did have the same experience of the cake rising about a half inch above the pan during baking but the flavor and texture was exactly as it should be although a bit drier than I am used to for a pound cake. I will stick to an hour and twenty minutes next time 😃.
My gosh… yum!!! I just tried this out in a 9×13 pan. I cut it into cubes and coated in melted white chocolate to make little cake bites. Thank you so much for sharing such a delicious recipe. I’m sure my family will love it too 😊
Could this recipe be doubled to make a larger pound cake in a tube or bundt pan? Thank you.
Hi Marci, Yes, that would work!
Great! Thank you!
Who knew ginger bread and poundcake could go together so well. I made this dessert for my family and they fell head over heels with it. Looking forward to trying others on your site and thanks for sharing.
I made this last winter and it was delicious. Made it again yesterday and it seemed like it filled the pan more. Have you tried it using a 9×5 pan? I may try that next time. It also got stuck in the pan trying to take it out, despite having greased it. Still delicious! I wonder how it would taste with oil instead of butter?
I have not tried making it in a 9×5 pan. You could always try greasing and flouring if it still stuck to your pan.
This was fantastic. I didn’t have allspice. I like a really pronounced ginger flavor so next time I’ll add some finely chopped crystallized ginger
There was nothing special about this pound cake. It didn’t have the butteriness of a traditional pound cake and the gingerbread flavor was not that pronounced to be a good gingerbread. The texture was dense like pound cake, it just lacked any real flavor.
I always add cream cheese frosting to my gingerbread but this looks simple and delicious. Might have to try it next time. http://coffeecakeandcomposition.blogspot.co.uk/
This looked so enticing I just had to make it for the holidays and it was great! My son-in-law LOVED it! I did find with my oven that I didn’t need as much baking time and next time will really start checking at an hour of baking but overall, this was a great recipe! Who knew all those things interact with each other to conspire against us? Thanks for keeping on trying! It was worth the effort and now I have a great new recipe for an awesome pound cake with a surprise taste no one will expect!!! Merry Christmas!
I made 1 1/2 times the recipe in an 8 1/2 x 11 inch pan. I have cut it into cubes and will use it to make a gingerbread/eggnog trifle. The cake is so light and the kitchen smelled fantastic as it baked. Merry Christmas to all.
Gingerbread is my favorite, but sometimes the taste can be overpowering. So when I saw this I was very excited. Just tasted it and it met all my expectations, love the taste and consistency. I didn’t have the gingerbread spice mix, so I followed the recipe for that, thanks. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
I made this yesterday & followed the recipe to a T, the batter tasted wonderful but it rose up over the top of the loaf pan about 1/2 inch, got too brown half way through the baking time (1 hr. 20mins.) so I tented with foil, the end result was dry & burnt. So disappointed.
OK…..I’m perplexed. How do you get the oarchment paper to lay flat against the sides of the loaf pan? In my mind at least I see crinkling up on the sides. Or am I making this into a problem and in fact when I try to do it, there will be no problem…..
Hi Rochelle, I just cut a strip of parchment and run it around the sides. If the pan is greased, it’ll stick right to it and lay flat.
I substituted homemade Greek yogurt for the sour cream, and used six of the King Arthur mini paper loaf pans. Baked at 300f on convection for 37 minutes. Worked great!
Just made it! I haven’t tasted it, but the batter tasted delicious, and my entire house smells wonderful! I just happened to have purchased the King Arthur Flour Gingerbread Spice a few weeks ago, and I’m curious to see how it tastes in this recipe.
Looks great! My husband and I love both gingerbread AND pound cake!
This looks really tasty – this is the first year I’ve really gotten into the “gingerbread” flavor of things – where I’ve actually enjoyed it and thought it delish so I’ll definitely be trying this recipe soon –
Can I sub yogurt for sour cream?
Hi Kristin, Plain yogurt should work okay in place of the sour cream.
I have done this; and I find Greek yogurt works better in pound cake recipes than plain whole milk (no fat yogurt is not recommended, it does have the fat content to work properly…).
I am bakng a batch of this right now!
We just made a test batch of this for the big day. It was great – we are at a high elevation – over 5,000 feet so we had to make a couple adjustments. Anyway, thanks for the recipe!
Doug, how did you adjust the recipe for high elevation? My gingerbread cakes usually collapse…due to the elevation… Did you reduce fat and sugar and increase flour????
What a festive take on one of my favorite desserts!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
I saw this recipe at my heart skipped a beat! Iv made your classic pound cake, your chocolate pound cake and now best of all I have a gingerbread pound cake!! I love gingerbread cake and have had a firm go-to recipe for years, but all your pound cakes I have baked have been perfection and this is a must make. I have no doubt that this will be something I bake often, thank you for making this recipe your recent labour of love : )
Sounds great! Love gingerbread and love a good pound cake! I’d prefer to use the individual spices instead of the King Arthur Gingerbread Spice. Could you please suggest how much of each I might need?
Oops! Sorry, just noticed the answer to my question at the bottom of the recipe!
Hello,
This recipe sounds great, but I have never heard of King Arthur Flour Gingerbread Spice. Can I find it at any Megalomart?
Thanks,
Jessi
Hi Jessi, I believe that right now it only available on their website, but you can use the substitution noted in the recipe above.
If using miniature baking loaf pans for gifting, do you need to change the baking temp and/or time? Thanks for your help and a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Hi Heather, Keep the same temperature, but decrease the baking time (actual time will vary based on the size of the pan). Merry Christmas!
Thanks for your reply-if I used the King Arthur miniature baking pans, about how long do you think I should bake them? I assume I would place them on a jelly roll pan to bake a number of them, right? Sorry for all the questions, but I love this recipe and think it would be great for gifting.
Hi Heather, Yes, I would use a baking sheet to make it easy. I would estimate around 45 minutes, but I don’t have an exact time – all depends on how full you fill them!
Thanks and enjoy your son’s first Christmas!
Wow, this cake looks absolutely perfect! Definitely worth the effort!
I’m all over gingerbread anything. I’m so glad you didn’t give up on this cake. It looks amazing and worth the effort.
Oooh, this has Christmas Eve (for Christmas morning) written all over it. Thanks, I love your recipes and blog!
Yum – I cannot wait to make this!
Love Gingerbread and Pound Cake. I must make this sometime. Thanks for all the great recipes and have Happy Holidays.
I had no idea you could call a Baker’s Hotline at King Arthur and get help! That’s a great idea. Gingerbread is the flavor of the season ~ Love love love. Want to make this to include with my daughter’s teacher gift this year, and I will double the batch and display on my $200 artisan wood board I’m giving away on my blog right now. (Hosting big Ugly Christmas Sweater Party next week!) Thanks for lots of inspiration today.