This moist and subtly spiced high altitude gingerbread sheet cake is served simply with whipped cream and stenciled with powdered sugar snowflakes. It’s a quick and easy cake to make, but it looks just stunning with the snowflake stencils on top. This is a wonderful recipe for Christmas, or any time during the holiday season.
Looking for more high altitude holiday recipes? You might also like these orange ginger shortbread cookies, baked gingerbread doughnuts, and soft ginger molasses cookies.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Quick and Easy. The cake batter is easy to make with just a bowl and whisk, no mixer needed. And since this is a sheet cake, you won’t need to fuss with assembling and frosting cake layers.
Simple but Stunning. When a cake is really flavorful and moist, it doesn’t even need frosting. And that’s what I love about this gingerbread cake. The powdered sugar snowflake stencils are eye catching and so pretty for the holidays, and the lightly sweetened whipped cream is just the right touch.
Perfect for Christmas. With the warm cozy spices, dark brown sugar and snowflakes, this is a perfect holiday recipe.
So Good Leftover. This cake stays soft and moist for days, and is delicious warmed up for breakfast.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Cake
- Flour. All-purpose flour gives the cake strength and structure.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent to make the cake rise.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
- Spices. A blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom adds warm and a subtle spiciness. You can use allspice instead of cardamom, if you prefer.
- Buttermilk. The fat and acidity makes the cake soft, tender and moist.
- Dark Brown Sugar. The molasses in the dark brown sugar gives the cake a classic gingerbread flavor, as well as keeps the cake moist and sweet.
- Eggs. Strengthens the cake batter and adds richness.
- Butter + Oil. A combination of melted butter and vegetable oil adds flavor and moisture.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
Whipped Cream
- Heavy Whipping Cream. For homemade whipped cream, you need the high fat content in heavy whipping cream, not light cream or half and half.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and stabilizes the whipped cream.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
Instructions
Bake the cake.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Separately, whisk together the buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, melted butter, oil and vanilla.
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry, whisk just until combined and mostly smooth, and pour the batter into the pan.
- Bake the cake on the center oven rack for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Cool the cake for at least 1-2 hours and serve warm, or cool completely to serve at room temperature.
Whipped Cream
- In a bowl, combine the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Use an electric mixer to whip the cream until thick and fluffy.
TIP: Stenciling the pieces of cake individually will result in a prettier presentation, so each piece of cake gets a snowflake centered right on top.
Snowflake Stencils
- The bottom of the cake will look a little smoother than the top, so set a cutting board over the pan and turn the cake out onto the cutting board, so the bottom is facing up.
- Cut the cake into 12-16 squares.
- Take your snowflake stencils, position a stencil over a piece of cake, and dust with powdered sugar. Carefully lift the stencil off, and shake the excess sugar off the stencil. Repeat with the remaining pieces of cake.
- Serve the cake with the whipped cream.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this recipe work as a layer cake instead of a sheet cake?
Yes, for a layer cake, you can make this recipe in three 8-inch pans or two 9-inch pans.
What size pan should I use if I make half the recipe?
For a smaller cake, cut the recipe in half and bake it in a 9-inch pan.
What can I substitute for the buttermilk?
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own sour milk. For every cup of whole milk, stir in 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar (or apple cider vinegar), and set aside for a few minutes to curdle before adding to the cake batter.
Can I use light brown sugar instead of dark?
You really need to use dark brown sugar, which has a much richer, deeper flavor. If you only have light brown sugar, you can add a few tablespoons of old fashioned molasses (not Blackstrap) to the cake batter. The molasses content in brown sugar can vary greatly between brands, and the one I used was very dark, giving the cake a nice dark color and rich flavor.
Where did you get the snowflake stencils?
I used these snowflake stencils, which are the perfect size for decorating individual squares of this gingerbread cake.
How can I keep the powdered sugar snowflakes from melting?
You can use non-melting powdered sugar (also called donut sugar), which stays in place without melting into the moist cake. Otherwise, just wait to add the powdered sugar stencil until right before you serve the cake.
How long does the cake stay fresh?
Store the leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
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High Altitude Gingerbread Sheet Cake with Powdered Sugar Snowflakes
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 9×13 baking pan
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 ¾ cups whole or lowfat buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Whipped Cream
- 1 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar (plus extra for the snowflake stencils)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Separately, whisk together the buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, melted butter, oil and vanilla.
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry, and whisk just until combined and mostly smooth, and pour the batter into the pan.
- Bake the cake on the center oven rack for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Cool the cake for at least 1-2 hours and serve warm, or cool completely to serve at room temperature.
Whipped Cream
- In a bowl, combine the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Use an electric mixer to whip the cream until thick and fluffy.
Snowflake Stencils
- The bottom of the cake will look a little smoother than the top, so set a cutting board over the pan and turn the cake out onto the cutting board, so the bottom is facing up.
- Cut the cake into 12-16 squares.
- Take your snowflake stencils, position a stencil over a piece of cake, and dust with powdered sugar. Carefully lift the stencil off, and shake the excess sugar off the stencil. Repeat with the remaining pieces of cake.Stenciling the pieces of cake individually will result in a prettier presentation, so each piece of cake gets a snowflake centered right on top.
- Serve the cake with the whipped cream.
Notes
- The cake will stay moist and fresh for 4-5 days, stored in an airtight container.
- The moisture of the cake will cause the powdered sugar to melt as it’s stored, which is totally normal. To avoid this, just add the powdered sugar right before serving, or use “non-melting” powdered sugar.
- I used a very dark brown sugar, which gave my cake a nice dark color. If your brown sugar is not very dark, add 2 tablespoons dark molasses or blackstrap molasses.
I made this and it came out really light in color, should there be molasses in it?!
Kathryn, did you use light or dark brown sugar? Dark brown is what the recipe calls for, and it contains more molasses than light, giving the cake a darker color and deeper flavor. That said, the molasses content can vary greatly between brands, and some dark brown sugars are darker than others. The one I used was pretty dark, so if yours is lighter, you can add a couple of tablespoons of molasses to the cake batter with the liquid ingredients.
Hi Heather!
A crazy question….I would like to make this wonderful cake of yours but…I live in Florida! I’m about 6 inches above sea level. (sometimes LESS if it has recently rained!) Is there a tweak I need to know about to make it correctly? Low altitude version? Please let me know. Thank you for any assistance you can provide….
Elizabeth, please see my FAQs for some helpful info: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-faqs/