This vegan gingerbread cake is the best ever. It’s soft, moist, richly flavored and perfectly spiced. The perfect recipe for the holidays!
This vegan gingerbread cake is just too good! It’s got tons of gingerbread flavor that comes about from molasses and a perfect mix of spices and it’s simply perfect for the holiday season.
It’s super verstatile as well, you can make it as a layer cake or as a sheet cake, frost it or just serve it topped with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or some vegan whipped cream.
We went with a subtly flavored orange frosting for the layer cake and the orange complements the gingerbread flavor beautifully.
Of course if you love gingerbread then you’ll also love our vegan gingerbread cookies and vegan gingerbread loaf.
How To Make Vegan Gingerbread Cake
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and allspice and mix together.
- Prepare a flax egg by adding 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal to a bowl and then adding 3 Tbsp hot water. Let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, soy milk, unsulphured molasses, vanilla extract, oil and apple cider vinegar to the mixing bowl and whisk briefly with a hand whisk to combine. Don’t overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between two 7-inch cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with circles of parchment paper on the bottom).
- Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Ingredient Notes
Molasses. Your molasses should be unsulphured. Grandma’s is a great brand if you can get it, otherwise just make sure that it says ‘unsulphured’ on the label.
Flax Egg. This recipe uses a flax egg which is just a simple mix of ground flaxseed meal and hot water. If you don’t have ground flaxseed on hand, then you can use 3 Tbsp of applesauce instead.
Soy Milk: We used soy milk but any non-dairy milk is likely to work fine.
Apple Cider Vinegar: This reacts with the baking soda and causes the cake to rise beautifully. You can also use white distilled vinegar.
Recipe Tips
Don’t overmix. Mix the batter until it’s just mixed and no more. Over-mixing can cause your cake to not rise as well and can also cause the texture to become dense.
Bake immediately. Don’t let your batter sit, once it’s mixed, transfer to your cake pans and bake right away. Letting it sit can also cause your cake to not rise properly.
Cupcakes: This recipe will adapt beautifully to making 12 perfect vegan gingerbread cupcakes. Just reduce the baking time to around 22 minutes.
Make It Gluten-Free: To make this recipe gluten-free you can try replacing the regular flour with a gluten-free all purpose blend in the same quantity as the regular flour. One of our favorite blends is the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Blend.
Adapt for different cake pans: This recipe will also make a two layer 8-inch cake, the layers will just be slightly thinner than what you see here. It will also make a 3-layer 6-inch round cake and a single layer 9-inch round cake. If you need a two layer 9-inch cake then it would be best to double the recipe. For a sheet cake, see instructions below.
Make A Sheet Cake
You can make this cake as a sheet cake, which is a more traditional way to serve gingerbread.
Then you can either serve it with a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top, or with vegan whipped cream. You can serve it when it’s still warm too! Alternatively it’s also delicious to just cut a slice and warm it up in the microwave briefly before topping it with vegan cream. Yum! I can imagine that a scoop of vegan ice cream would be delicious here too.
For 9×13: Spray it with non-stick spray. Pour in the batter and spread it out evenly. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
For 9×9: Spray it with non-stick spray. Pour in the batter and spread it out evenly. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
The pictures above and below show the gingerbread cake as baked in a 9×9 square baking dish for 20 minutes.
Storing and Freezing
Keep the cake stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. Or you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
It can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then bring it to room temperature on the counter.
More Delicious Vegan Cakes
- The Most Amazing Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Orange Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake
- Vegan Coffee Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Gingerbread Cake
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake:
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Nutmeg
- 1 ½ tsp Ground Ginger
- ½ tsp Allspice
- 1 Flax Egg 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal + 3 Tbsp Hot Water
- ¾ cup Soy Milk (180ml) or other non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup Unsulphured Molasses (60ml)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ cup Canola Oil (80ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Orange Frosting:
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 4 ½ cups Powdered Sugar (540g)
- 3-4 Tbsp Fresh Orange Juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and spray two 7-inch round cake pans (see notes for different sizes*) with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.
- Sift the all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add the brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and allspice and mix together.
- Prepare a flax egg by adding 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal to a bowl and then adding 3 Tbsp hot water. Let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, soy milk, unsulphured molasses, vanilla extract, oil and apple cider vinegar to the mixing bowl and whisk briefly with a hand whisk to combine. Don’t overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between your two prepared 7-inch cake pans.
- Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting by adding the vegan butter, powdered sugar and 3 Tbsp orange juice to the bowl of an electric mixer. Starting at slow speed, gradually increase speed until thick and smooth. If it's too thick add in the remaining 1 Tbsp orange juice, but add it in slowly as you may or may not need all of it.
- Place the frosted cake in the fridge for an hour so that the frosting can set before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Measure your flour correctly using the spoon and level method (spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup). Alternatively weigh it on a food scale for the most accurate results.
- Molasses. Your molasses should be unsulphured. Grandma’s is a great brand if you can get it, otherwise just make sure that it says ‘unsulphured’ on the label.
- Flax Egg. This recipe uses a flax egg but if you don’t have ground flaxseed on hand, then you can use 3 Tbsp of applesauce instead.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: This reacts with the baking soda and causes the cake to rise beautifully. You can also use white distilled vinegar.
- Don’t overmix your batter. Mix the batter until it’s just mixed and no more. Over-mixing can cause your cake to not rise as well and can also cause the texture to become dense.
- Bake immediately. Don’t let your batter sit, once it’s mixed, transfer to your cake pans and bake right away. Letting it sit can also cause your cake to not rise properly.
- Cupcakes: This recipe will adapt beautifully to making 12 perfect vegan gingerbread cupcakes. Just reduce the baking time to around 22 minutes.
- Make It Gluten-Free: To make this recipe gluten-free you can try replacing the regular flour with a gluten-free all purpose blend in the same quantity as the regular flour. One of our favorite blends is the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Blend.
- Adapt for different cake pans: This recipe can also be made in two 8-inch cake pans, the layers will just be slightly thinner. You can then bake for 20-25 minutes. It will also make a 3-layer 6-inch round cake, bake for 20 minutes. It will also make a single layer 9-inch round cake, bake for 30 minutes. If you need a two layer 9-inch cake then it would be best to double the recipe.
- Sheet Cake: 9×9: Spray it with non-stick spray. Pour in the batter and spread it out evenly. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 9×13: Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Storing: Keep the cake stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. Or you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
- Freezing: It can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then bring it to room temperature on the counter.
- This recipe was first published in December 2017. It has been updated with new photos and text but the recipe itself is unchanged except for one thing: The original recipe used olive oil but we preferred canola oil or vegetable oil for more consistent results.
- Nutritional information includes frosting.
Hello! Can’t wait to try this recipe, it looks delicious! Can you please tell me why the molasses need to be unsulfered? The molasses I have doesn’t say unsulfured on the container, just checking if I *really* need to head to the store to track some unsulfured down😅! Thanks for your help, and for all of your delicious recipes!😊
Hi Pam, sulphured molasses tends to be less sweet, but you can certainly use it, it is not a deal breaker for the recipe!
Is there’s something I can substitute for the orange juice? I want to make this for a vegan based nonprofit I work for but a few people have citrus allergies.
You could use non-dairy milk instead.
Hello Alison, will using wholemeal flour and coconut sugar affect the recipe? I have been plant based for many years; your recipes are fantastic!
😊
Hi Bron, it may change the texture a bit, but should work fine! And thank you so much! So happy to hear you like the recipes. 🙂
Thank you very much, what a wonderful recipe. I cook at home for my wife and one daughter who are wheat and dairy intolerant and another daughter who is vegan and this cake ticks all the boxes. It is light, sticky, moist and with a wonderfully dark and spicy coating. I made this as a slab cake and had to alter the recipe slightly as I didn’t have enough molasses, I made it up with golden syrup. Great cake and I’ll definitely be making it again. x
Thanks so much for the lovely comment and review Marc! So happy to hear it was a success. 🙂
Can I halve this recipe?
Sure!
Delicious! Flavour really intensifies if you keep it in the fridge overnight – it’s a great recipe for making ahead of time. We ate it over 4 days and it was great throughout that time, and seemed to get better each day. Very moist with great flavour. Made this as a sheet cake with a couple of subs. Made it gluten free and used Sorguhm Syrup instead of molasses (as I can’t get molasses where I live). I also as I added some stem ginger chopped into small pieces. Thanks for the quick easy tasty recipe!
Thanks so much for sharing Mo, it sounds great!
I made mini cupcakes with this recipe! I halved the recipe (made 20 mini cupcakes) and baked for 13 minutes at 350 degrees F. So delicious! I can always count on your recipes
Wonderful! Thanks for the great review Marissa!
Made this yesterday as a sheet cake. It was simply epic! My guests loved it! Next time I will add some stem ginger.
Fantastic! Thanks for the awesome review Gabry!
Oh no! My cake sank in the middle! I followed the instructions to make it a 9×9 cake, and it was looking soooo good, but when I took it out, it sank a lot in the middle!
Any ideas how I can stop this when I try again?
The moisture tasted lovely, so I know it’s going to taste amazing! Just wanting it to look great too as it’s for my mother in laws birthday!
Hi Sarah, the most common reasons for sinking in the middle (in my experience) is either the oven is too hot (I recommend an oven thermometer to check what temp it’s actually reaching) which makes it rise too fast and then sink in the middle, or using too much leavening, but in this case I don’t think that would apply. It can also happen if you open the oven door too early before the cake has ‘set’.
I’m hoping to bake this at the weekend to freeze (ahead of an event as I’ve got lots to bake!)…. would it work if I iced it with the frosting and then freeze it, or does the frosting need to be done on the day it’s due to be eaten? Thank you.
You can freeze the frosted cake. 🙂
Perfect! Thanks!
Made this for New Years and everyone loved it! We cut the recipe in half to make a single layer cake
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the great review Rebecca!
I made these as cupcakes to give out for the holidays. My husband asked how many we were keeping after trying one. I said, “We should have 8 left for us.” He looked surprised and I said, “What? Should I give more to your sister’s family? I wasn’t sure how many to do.” He replied, “No, don’t give them more! I was hoping you’d say we were keeping 30.” ???? They were seriously delicious! I’m making more now. I used Melt butter for the icing and added orange zest too. I made a gluten free batch for a friend and they were good but looked a little more like muffins than cupcakes. She didn’t care!
Haha that’s awesome Rachel! So glad they were enjoyed! Thanks for the wonderful review.
I made this twice already, it is perfection. I subbed Whole Foods 365 almond milk eggnog for the milk in the cake and the OJ in the frosting. I have probably tried 100+ of your recipes and they turn out great 100% of the time, thank you.
That sounds like a delicious substitute! Thanks for sharing and glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Made this today with a couple small substitutions. It was so easy and so delicious! Thank you!!
Awesome, thanks Nat!
Can I bake this cake in a mini loaves pan?
I’m not sure! If the cake batter fits into the pan then probably! It would be a longer bake time though but you’d have to keep an eye on it to see how much longer.