• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • New Magazine!
  • Bread
  • Cookies
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans

Orange Gingerbread with Cream Cheese Frosting

November 27, 2012 by Joy the Baker 173 Comments

Jump to Recipe

orange gingerbread with cream cheese frosting

Some things:

– I sometimes think about working in a furniture store just to observe couples come in and fight over couch seat depth and textiles: a sociological study, you know?  Ok… I never actually think about working in a furniture store… I’m really bad at talking about end tables and such.

– Only real adults should have to deal with fabric swatches.  Seriously… what is this swatch supposed to tell me about my life?  I don’t get it.

– I think that Ikea should have a bar instead of a cafeteria.

… I’m shopping for a couch… can you tell?  Please send reinforcements (not fabric swatches).

– Buying a car is easier than buying a couch.  I’m pretty sure this is fact.

I made this cake with far too much home decor nonsense in my brain.  I came to realize that this cake is totally the best air freshener EVER.  Couch shenanigans aside… (almost) all you really need is a house that smells of cake.  So much can be forgiven is cake exists on pretty plates with hot coffee.

orange gingerbread with cream cheese frosting

This is where satisfaction begins… in this arrangement of small bowls and measuring spoons.

I love that this recipe comes together with just two mixing bowls.  No fancy stand mixer necessary.  Well, no mixer needed until it comes time to make the cream cheese frosting… but even that can be twerked with just a large bowl, wooden spoon, and a good dose of elbow grease.

orange gingerbread with cream cheese frosting

Welcome to where wet ingredients meet dry.

This cake is flavor PACKED.  The ground ginger is bright and spicy.  I want to put ginger is just about everything these days.

The molasses is deep, rich, and beautifully alluring.  I love the honey sweetness paired with the delicate orange notes.  This cake is everything ever.

orange gingerbread with cream cheese frosting

You want to poke this.  I know you do.

It’s cool.  I do too.

orange gingerbread with cream cheese frosting

This is just enough cream cheese frosting to generously frost the square cake aaaannnnddd sneak a few spoonfuls for yourself.  Life is short… unless it’s really really long.  In both instances, spoonfuls of cream cheese frosting are necessary.

orange gingerbread with cream cheese frosting

It’s like I turned the lights down low to frost my cake.

That wouldn’t be weird…

orange gingerbread with cream cheese frosting

Pomegranates are the magical gem equivalent in the food world.  While there are no pomegranates in the cake itself, it feels like pomegranates are the only thing you could possibly decorate this cake with.  Pretty/Perfect.

orange gingerbread with cream cheese frosting

Spiced and moist.  Decadent and humble.  This is that.  These are those.  I love when a cake feels relevant and joyful.  I love when cake makes my house smell  better than my awesome pine scented candle.  Air freshener meets crazy delicious.

I baked this cake in a square 8×8-inch square pan.  The batter came up to fill the pan about three-quarters of the way full.  Should you find that your batter fills the pan more than three-quarters of the way full, I would suggest baking this cake in a 9-inch or 10-inch round cake pan.  See what works for you.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Orange Gingerbread with Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Author: Joy the Baker
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Total Time: 55-60 minutes
  • Yield: 9 slices 1x
Pin Recipe
Print Recipe

Description

A moist and deeply flavored gingerbread cake topped with decadent cream cheese frosting. If you’re making this recipe, you know what’s good. 


Ingredients

Scale

For the Cake:

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup unsulphered molasses (not blackstrap)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest
  • 3/4 cup warm water

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 1 block (8 ounces) cream cheese frosting, softened
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • big pinch of salt
  • 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (plus half of a scraped vanilla bean if you’d like)
  • pomegranate seeds for garnish

Instructions

  1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease an 8×8-inch square (or 9-inch round) baking pan.  Line with parchment paper and grease and flour the parchment paper.  The parchment paper isn’t entirely necessary, it just makes the cake easier to remove from the pan.  Set pan aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl whisk together vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs until thick and pale.  Stir in molasses, honey, and orange zest.
  4. Add the dry ingredients, all at once, to the wet ingredients.  Stir together until entirely incorporated.  Add the warm water and gently stir until entirely incorporated and the mixture is silky smooth.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  If you find that the mixture fills the pan more than three-quarters of the way full, you might consider using a larger pan (a 9 or 10-inch pan may serve your better).
  6. Bake cake for 35-45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  7. While the cake bakes, make the cream cheese frosting.
  8. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend the cream cheese (yea… just the cream cheese) on medium speed.  The cream cheese should be as soft and smooth as possible.  Stop the mixer.  Add the softened butter.  Scraped down the sides of the bowl and beat the two together over medium speed until smooth and incorporated.  Add one cup of powdered sugar.  Blend until incorporated.  Add vanilla extract (and bean, if using) and remaining cup of powdered sugar.  Beat on medium high speed until frosting is smooth and silky.
  9. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes.  Remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting the cake.  Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds before serving.
  10. This cake can be stored, well wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. 

Notes

This recipe can be made gluten-free with a 1-for-1 flour blend. 

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Bread, Cakes, Featured Cakes, Holiday, Recipes

Previous Post: « Cranberry Brie Grilled Cheese
Next Post: Red Velvet Black and White Cookies »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Annie Simmons

    November 13, 2020 at 7:11 pm

    I made this and it was DELICIOUS, Luckily made 2, one to give away, perfection!

    Reply
  2. Marg

    November 11, 2020 at 11:15 am

    Is unsulphured molasses the lighter or ‘fancy’ molasses that you would use in cookies?

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      November 11, 2020 at 1:43 pm

      Yes that sounds right!

      Reply
  3. Lee

    November 11, 2020 at 8:15 am

    Wanted to print this… But when I checked the preview before hitting the print button, it was six whole pages! Maybe since this is an old recipe you need to reformat it?

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      November 11, 2020 at 8:19 am

      Maybe so. It’s an old clunky site. I’m glad you checked. You might be best served to copy and paste just the recipe into a word doc!

      Reply
  4. Denise

    November 13, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    I baked this cake yesterday and it is DELICIOUS, and yes, the pomegranate arils are perfect on it. I had an overflow problem with the 8×8 inch pan, though, even through the batter filled the pan to just 3/4 full. (After I left this comment I was able to see another comment about the same problem.) Even with this experience, though, I will try it again, probably as muffins. It’s that good.

    Reply
  5. Denise Casey

    November 13, 2019 at 1:47 pm

    I baked this cake yesterday and it is DELICIOUS, and yes, the pomegranate arils are perfect on it. Just a warning note: I did read the note about pan size but the batter filled the pan to 3/4 full so went ahead with it and put a pan with one-inch sides underneath it just in case. It ended up overflowing, including out of the catch-pan and onto the oven. And before it overflowed it must have risen too high because the top burned and I had to cut that part off.) Even with this experience, though, I will try it again, probably as muffins. It’s that good.

    Reply
  6. Margie

    December 4, 2018 at 8:30 am

    This is a wonderful holiday cake. I don’t know why I didn’t see it earlier but I did a search and I’m glad I found it. But in case anyone else searches for this and makes it, I really hope that you will revise the recipe quantities. I could tell by the quantity of ingredients that an 8X8 pan was entirely too small but the baked cake filled the 9X9 pan and there was barely room for the frosting. I’m not aware of a 10X10 pan and some smaller rectangular ones aren’t generally in one’s pantry. My suggestion would be to revise the ingredient quantities so that an 8 or 9 inch square pan would be a better fit. It’s too yummy a recipe not to tweek and get perfect.

    Reply
« Older Comments
Comments Page 11 of 11
« Previous 1 … 9 10 11

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Bread

inside of warm cinnamon roll on plate
How To Make The Best Single Serve Cinnamon Roll

Micro batch baking – the invitation is to get all the way into it with me!  This is all very Kristin Wiig  making herself a single, sad cupcake in the movie Bridesmaids, save for the fact that there is absolutely zero sadness in me eating a single cinnamon roll over the kitchen sink in my…

Read More

Pile of baked croissants on rack just like starbucks ham and cheese croissant recipe.
Easy Ham and Cheese Croissants

I’ve got 30 solid minutes of your weekend planned out for you.  You’re going to be standing in the kitchen, but I promise it won’t be long. Pour a cup of coffee – that’ll help with everything.  Within your 30 minutes you’re going to pull bakery-quality ham and cheese croissants out of the oven.  I’m…

Read More

Hot cross buns frosted.
Easter Hot Cross Biscuits

Where do you land when it comes to Easter brunch?  Are you a ham, roasted lamb, and scalloped potato family?  Are you more of a quiche salad and biscuit clan?  Do you skip directly to the jelly beans and Cadbury mini eggs?  I’m nodding my head yes – there’s no wrong way to do it. …

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe

Joy the baker with dyed bandana around neck

HOW TO MAKE DYED BANDANAS

as seen in JtB Magazine!

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

FAVORITE FRUIT RECIPES

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

Berry crostata topped with whipped cream with coffee.

A Single Serve Berry Crostata Recipe

fresh baked blueberry cobbler on a plate with vanilla ice cream on top.

The Secrets To My Favorite Blueberry Cobbler

POPULAR CAKES

strawberry sheet cake on a plate with strawberries on top.

My Favorite Super Easy Strawberry Sheet Cake

Slice of coconut cake on small white plate with coffee.

My favorite Coconut Cake is actually made with cake mix

A slice of lemon blueberry gooey butter cake held on a cake slicer.

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
My EASIEST Strawberry Sheet Cake is also my absolu My EASIEST Strawberry Sheet Cake is also my absolute favorite. Get into a box of white cake mix and fresh 🍓🍓 purée! Topped with a thick layer of strawberry cream cheese frosting - this cake is a little pink dream! ⁣
⁣
The Easiest Strawberry Sheet Cake recipe linked in the bio for you! 💋
Our resident reader, @tobyfels shares my favorite Our resident reader, @tobyfels shares my favorite list of the summer on Joy the Baker this year: The Best Books for Summer 2022!  As a person who reads Beach Reads all year long, this is IT! With titles by @ashleymcoleman_ @anarasong @annleary @bonnie_garmus_author @heyashposton @annabelmonaghan @greerhendricks @sarahpekkanen @shelbyvanpeltwrites @marilynsimonrothstein @@misterosman and @kirstin.chen. The guide to your bookworm summer linked in the bio!
Over here testing the limits of “you are what yo Over here testing the limits of “you are what you eat” and will soon be taking my final form as a summer tomato. ⁣🫠🍅
⁣
This Mediterranean Feta and Fresh Tomato Tart is an absolute show stopper with a buttery crisp, press-in crust, whipped feta, and layers of fresh tomato, cucumber, onions, and olives. I’ll leave the recipe linked in the bio - it’s really very special. Join me. We are 🍅🍅.
Here are my two best kept secrets for getting thro Here are my two best kept secrets for getting through this summer.  I’ve never been much for secrets so I’m letting you right in! ⁣
1.	I’m committed to folding crumbled chewy brownies into the easiest homemade no-churn ice cream.⁣
2.	I’m shopping for all of my baking and summer entertaining essentials, wine and cheese at the new @aldiusa stores opening across the Gulf Coast! Wait… you’re as obsessed with ALDI as I am, right? The shopping is always easy and affordable and I always come home with a fun treat among my essentials. Hit up my stories to see my grocery haul (and the chips I ate in the car on the way home) and head to your nearest ALDI for your summer essentials!  #ad⁣
⁣
I’ll leave the recipe and your #ALDILove grocery list linked in the bio!
Let’s just make one! ⁣ ⁣ One Single Berry Cr Let’s just make one! ⁣
⁣
One Single Berry Crostata just you for. Double the recipe (🔗 in the bio) only if you want to share. ⁣
⁣
#joythebaker #berry #crostata #smallbatch #dessert #foodblogfeed
The freezer is packed with ice cream treats from h The freezer is packed with ice cream treats from here on out, and that’s a promise. ⁣
⁣
Find this Milk and Cereal Ice Cream Bar and loads of other semi-homemade ice cream treats linked in the bio! 💓🍦🫠
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up