Sourdough Gingerbread Cake with Cranberries

A fusion of warm spices, vibrant cranberries, and rich molasses, this old-fashioned Sourdough Gingerbread Cake with Cranberries is an easy, cozy, and festive holiday treat.

While this recipe is quite traditional, my twist uses sourdough discard (or active sourdough starter) to add a bit of tangy depth to the cake and keep it moist for days. Then, I fold in fresh cranberries for delightful bursts of acidity that help balance out the richness of the spice cake.

Gingerbread is a Christmas and wintertime favorite dessert that infuses the entire house with the fragrance of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and molasses. It’s an ancient dessert that takes many forms, such as gingerbread cookies, gingerbread people, and this old-fashioned gingerbread cake.

I love serving this gingerbread cake warm with a dollop of whipped cream or topped with a fluffy frosting. The magic unfolds as the spices and molasses intensify over time, ensuring the cake remains irresistibly moist and flavorful for days to come.

And if you’re looking for another holiday dessert favorite, you’ve got to try my Sourdough Chocolate Peppermint Whoopie Pies or my Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies!

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👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Easy to make your own
  • You can add many variations to make this old-fashioned gingerbread cake your own!
  • Add orange zest, fresh ginger, and different spices, or top the cake with powdered sugar, whipped cream, or frosting. If you’re not a fan of cranberries, you can leave them out or add another complementing fruit, such as dates or raspberries.
  • When recipe testing, I also trialed it in a 9×13″ baking pan to make a sheet cake, and it turned very well! You can bake the cake as cupcakes too.
• Stores well
  • Sourdough discard and molasses help keep this sourdough gingerbread cake moist for many days. Over time, the spices continue to infuse the cake (a la fruitcake). This keeps the cake fresh for many days stored at room temperature and even longer in the refrigerator!
• Makes many servings
  • Like my Sourdough Dinner Rolls with Rosemary, Sourdough Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls, and Sourdough Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, this is a great cake to make for a holiday party or crowd because it’s easy to make and it offers many servings! I typically bake it in a 9×9″ pan, which makes 16 small square servings. However, I’ve also baked it in a 9×13″ pan for more servings (just thinner slices).
• Can make with or without a stand mixer
  • I prefer creaming the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer for a fluffier cake, but you can also make the cake with an electric hand mixer or mix by hand like my Sourdough Apple Cider Upside-Down Cake.
  • If mixing by hand, use melted butter and mix it with the wet ingredients. Then, whisk it into the dry ingredients. Easy! And you’ll still get an excellent cake.

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🔍 Tips for Making Sourdough Gingerbread Cake

• Use room temperature ingredients
  • Like these corn muffins or this bundt cake, let your egg, butter, and sourdough discard come to room temperature before mixing. The room temperature ingredients emulsify better and achieve a better rise.
• Use hot water to bloom the molasses
  • Akin to making a great chocolate cake, you want to “bloom” the molasses by using hot water. It’ll intensify the flavors and help mix the molasses and discard better than cold water.
• Don’t overmix the batter
  • Overmixing leads to gluten development, creating a denser cake. Like pie crust or rough puff pastry, you want to limit mixing so you get a tender cake. Only mix until you see no more flour spots.
  • In this recipe, the wet and dry ingredients are alternatingly added to prevent over mixing.
• Use sourdough discard or active sourdough starter
  • You can use active sourdough starter or unfed sourdough discard in this recipe since it’s not leavening the cake. The baking soda is doing the work here.
• Chop the cranberries before folding in
  • To prevent the cranberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake, roughly chop them before adding to the cake batter.
• Prepare the baking pan
  • Before baking, be sure to butter or grease your baking pan well and line the bottom with parchment paper. It’ll help the cake easily release from the pan and prevent sticking.

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🛠 Tools Needed:

Click the links below for my favorite tool recommendations.

• Baking Scale
  • Flour and sourdough starter can weigh differently from person to person, so weighing your ingredients is the best option if you can!
• 9×9″ Square Cake Pan
  • I bake the gingerbread cake in a 9×9″ square cake pan, but you can bake it in a 9″ round cake pan or a 9×13″ baking pan.
  • If baking in a different pan, you’ll need to adjust the baking times slightly, depending on the thickness of the cake (bigger pan = faster baking).
• Whisk
• Spatula
  • For folding in the cranberries and scraping the sides of the bowl.
• Stand mixer (optional but recommended)
  • A stand mixer with the paddle attachment isn’t mandatory for this recipe, but it does lead to the best results and helps to avoid over mixing.
  • Additionally, you can use an electric hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar together. Creaming the butter incorporates more air into the batter, creating a fluffier texture.
  • If mixing by hand, use melted butter and mix it into the wet ingredients.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed:

Click on the links below for my ingredient recommendations.

• All-purpose Flour
  • All-purpose flour helps the cake stay soft, but provides some gluten strength to the batter so it’ll rise in the oven. You could use cake flour in this recipe too.
• Baking Soda
  • No baking powder is needed, as the soda activates from the acidity in sourdough discard/molasses. Plus, aerating the butter/sugar together assists with leavening.
• Kosher Salt
  • I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.
• Spices: Ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves
  • Feel free to alter the spices (I list some alternatives below in variations). However, ground ginger is fundamental, or it’s not really a gingerbread cake.
• Unsalted butter, softened
  • Butter adds richness and creates a fluffy texture when creamed with the sugar.
  • If not using, use a neutral oil, such as vegetable, grapeseed, canola, or avocado oil.
• Granulated sugar
  • Since there’s already a cup of molasses in the batter, I don’t use brown sugar in the batter, but that’s an option too.
  • The small amount of granulated sugar helps to balance out the spices and assists in aerating the butter during creaming.
• Egg
• Sourdough Discard
  • If you don’t have an active sourdough starter, learn how to make one in a week following my how-to guide. See my top sourdough starter tips here.
• Molasses
  • Use unsulphered molasses, not blackstrap molasses. Blackstrap molasses is not as sweet and may result in a bitter-tasting cake.
  • If you’re a molasses fan, you’ll love this Sourdough Anadama Bread, made with cornmeal and molasses.
• Hot water
  • Hot water helps bloom the molasses, adds more moisture to the cake, and makes the molasses less viscous.
  • Alternatively, you can substitute the water with stout, such as Guinness, or whole milk for a richer flavor.
• Fresh cranberries
  • Roughly chop fresh cranberries to fold into the sourdough gingerbread cake and so they don’t sink to the bottom of the cake. You can use frozen cranberries too! Cranberries are tart and go great with sweet desserts like my Sourdough Cranberry Yogurt Muffins.
  • If you’re not a fan of cranberries, leave them out. You can substitute with another fruit, such as fresh raspberries or dates.
• Demerara sugar, for topping (optional)
  • For a slightly crunchy topping, you can top the unbaked gingerbread with demerara, turbinado, or raw sugar.

Gingerbread Cake Variations

• For more brightness, add orange or lemon zest and rub it together with the sugar before creaming. Orange zest makes everything brighter and is something I add to my Sourdough Cranberry Yogurt Muffins and Sourdough Bran Muffins.
• If you’re craving a spicier cake, you can add grated fresh ginger to the cake for more zing! You could even add crystallized ginger like I do in my Sourdough Zucchini Bread.
• I use ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, but you can easily alter the spices to your own liking. Some alternatives would be cardamom, black pepper, allspice, or nutmeg.
• Top the sourdough gingerbread cake with fluffy whipped cream, a dusting of powdered sugar, or a simple vanilla frosting.

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👨‍🍳 How to Make Sourdough Gingerbread Cake with Cranberries

Follow this visual and detailed recipe guide as you make the best sourdough gingerbread cake.

1. Mix the Dry Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC).

To prevent sticking, butter or grease a 9×9″ square cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl, including the all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

Set aside.

2. Whisk the Wet Ingredients

In a large measuring cup or mixing bowl, whisk the molasses, hot water, and sourdough discard.

Whisk until most of the sourdough discard is broken apart. There may be some specks or pieces of starter floating in the mixture, which is fine. They’ll get incorporated into the batter.

3. Mix the Batter

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened unsalted butter and the granulated sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.

On low, add the egg and a tablespoon of vanilla extract until mixed in. Scrape the bowl with a spatula if needed.

To mix the batter, we’re going to alternate the wet and dry ingredients to avoid over-mixing.

On the lowest speed, add ⅓ of the dry ingredients followed by half of the molasses mixture. Then, repeat with another third of the dry ingredients and the last half of wet ingredients. Finish mixing by adding the last third of dry ingredients.

Finally, fold in 150 grams (1 ½ cups) of roughly chopped fresh cranberries. I know chopping cranberries is annoying, but they’ll sink to the bottom of the cake if not chopped!

This batter may appear too wet, but the structure comes together as it bakes and lends to all of the moisture in the cake.

4. Bake

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with optional demerara, turbinado, or raw sugar for a slightly crunchy topping.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean, the center is springy to the touch, and the sides of the cake pull away from the sides of the pan.

Finally, cool for at least 30 minutes on a wire rack before turning it out and removing from the pan.

Place a wire rack on top of the pan and quickly flip it upside down. Peel off the parchment paper. The cake should easily plop out, but if not, run a butter knife along the sides of the pan.

Then, to turn it right-side up, place another wire rack, serving cake stand, or serving platter onto the cake and flip it once more.

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How to Serve

While most desserts or breads need to cool completely, sourdough gingerbread is excellent served warm!

You can dust the top with powdered sugar, making a simple and lightly sweetened whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or add frosting to the top of the cake before serving.

If you’re adding frosting, be sure the cake is completely cooled so it doesn’t melt the frosting.

Have caramel sauce or butterscotch? Drizzle that on top of the cake for a more indulgent experience.

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How to Store

To maintain the freshness and flavor of the sourdough gingerbread cake, follow these storage tips:

1. Room Temperature: If you plan to consume the cake within a couple of days, you can store it in an airtight container once it’s completely cooled. Ensure the container is tightly sealed to prevent the cake from drying out.
2. Refrigeration: For longer storage, refrigerate the gingerbread cake for up to a week. Again, use an airtight container or cover it tightly with plastic wrap to prevent it from absorbing odors from the refrigerator.
3. Freezing: Sourdough gingerbread cake freezes well and you can freeze individual portions or the entire cake. To freeze, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and then place it in a sealable plastic bag or an airtight container for many months. Label with the date for reference. Thaw the cake in the refrigerator when ready to eat.
4. Keep Away from Odors: Gingerbread easily absorbs odors from its surroundings, so store it away from strong-smelling foods in the refrigerator or freezer.

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❓ FAQs:

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Other Holiday Recipes You May Enjoy:

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