Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Eggnog Whipped Cream
I love the warm spices and rich flavor of traditional gingerbread, but much prefer it in cake form (with the exception of these soft and fragrant Lebkuchen!).
While this isn’t my first gingerbread recipe, it is definitely a favorite. This festive Gingerbread Bundt Cake is moist, flavorful, and an absolute cinch to throw together.
Lightly dusted with powdered sugar, it makes a lovely snacking cake for the holidays.
Or fancy it up by serving slices with dollops of homemade eggnog whipped cream (recipe below!).
Why You’ll Love This Gingerbread Cake
- Moist – this cake is oil-based, which helps produce a moist crumb that holds very well. While I prefer to serve it the day it is baked, leftovers can be wrapped tightly and stored at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
- Balanced in Spices – it has a pronounced molasses, ginger, cinnamon, clove, and allspice flavor but isn’t too spicy or overwhelming.
- Easy to Make – the batter comes together quickly with just a large mixing bowl and whisk. No stand mixer or hand-held mixer required. It takes just 45 minutes to bake.
- Releases Beautifully – unlike some bundt cake recipes which can be finicky, this cake releases beautifully (no stress!) from the pan every time.
- Great for Entertaining – a bundt cake pan does all of the decorative work for you! Garnish with a light dusting of powdered sugar or serve and top with dollops of eggnog whipped cream. You could also try these gingerbread cupcakes.
How Spicy Is This Gingerbread Bundt Cake?
Traditional gingerbread is made with several key ingredients: dark unsulphured molasses and a generous quantity of warming spices, including ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.
Gingerbread can range from mildly spicy to very, very spicy. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the spiciest), this gingerbread bundt cake is a 6.
The spices are generous and present in each bite, but not overpowering. Even the biggest gingerbread skeptics are sure to love this cake!
How to Make Eggnog Whipped Cream:
Eggnog whipped cream is just amazing as it sounds. It has delicate eggnog flavor that beautifully complements the gingerbread bundt cake.
The flavor pairing is inspired by these gingerbread and eggnog ice cream cookie sandwiches!
- Ingredients You’ll Need: heavy cream, full fat eggnog (I recommend Organic Valley brand), pure vanilla extract, granulated sugar, and freshly grated nutmeg.
Combine and whip together until soft peaks form. Eggnog whipped cream holds for several hours in the refrigerator if you wish to make it ahead. It also happens to be an amazing way to use up leftover eggnog.
Tips for Success: Since eggnog does not contain as much fat as heavy cream, it is very important that you follow the ratio provided in the recipe below. If you use more eggnog than called for (and not enough heavy cream), the cream will not whip up properly.
Storage Notes:
Once the bundt cake has fully cooled, wrap tightly in plastic wrap for storing. It can hold at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Like most cakes, it is best served the day it is baked.
More Festive Holiday Cakes:
If you enjoy this bundt cake, try these other simple one-layer holiday cakes next:
Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Eggnog Whipped Cream
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Gingerbread Bundt Cake:
- 2½ cups (300g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (200g) packed dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup (180 mL) avocado or vegetable oil
- ½ cup (170g) unsulphured molasses
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (180 mL) buttermilk room temperature
- powdered sugar for dusting
For the Eggnog Whipped Cream:
- ½ cup (120 mL) chilled heavy cream
- ¼ cup (60 mL) whole-fat eggnog *I recommend Organic Valley brand
- 1 teaspoon (4g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- freshly grated nutmeg for garnishing
Instructions
- Prepare the Gingerbread Bundt Cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the center position. Generously grease a 10 or 12-cup bundt cake pan with baking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dark brown sugar, oil, molasses, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly with a whisk until no lumps remain. Pour in the buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two additions, whisking just until each flour addition is just absorbed. Using a spatula, transfer the batter to the greased bundt pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, a few moist crumbs should be visible. Do not over bake.
- Set the pan with the cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert and carefully remove the cake from the pan. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack. Just before serving, dust lightly with sifted powdered sugar. Storage Note: Once the gingerbread cake has cooled, it is best to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap for storing. It can hold at room temperature for up to 3 days; it is best served the day it is baked.
- Prepare the Eggnog Whipped Cream: Combine the heavy cream, eggnog, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium deep-set bowl. Using a hand-held mixer or balloon whisk, whip the mixture until it reaches soft peaks. It will take several minutes. Storage: The eggnog whipped cream can be prepared several hours in advance and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator.
- Serve: Slice the cake with a serrated knife and serve each piece with a dollop of eggnog whipped cream. Garnish with a light grating of fresh nutmeg. Serve.
How to Store:
- Once the gingerbread cake has cooled, it is best to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap for storing. It can hold at room temperature for up to 3 days; it is best served the day it is baked.
- The eggnog whipped cream can be prepared several hours in advance and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator.
22 Comments on “Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Eggnog Whipped Cream”
This was perfect for our Christmas meal! So flavourful
A new holiday tradition! My brother usually hates all cake but he loves this one!
A new and already much-beloved and highly-anticipated Christmas tradition!
Thank you so much!!!
Hi Laura,
I’m new to your website, attracted to your healthy ingredients. However, in this gingerbread Bundt you include vegetable oil. Dr. Mercola discourages using vegetable oil. Instead there are much healthier oils like high quality coconut, olive and avocado oils. Or grass fed butter. Please consider my suggestion for your wonderful recipe.
Thank you,
Julie
Feel feee to use avocado oil, I use that all the time for baking. It isn’t accessible or affordable for many (and most people are not necessarily aware they can substitute it!) so I list both.
I’m making this for a church Christmas party this year. I’m going to use the Nordic Ware gingerbread house bundt pan! Can I ask where you got that amazing cake stand? I’m obsessed with it.
Oooh! That sounds lovely. I love that pan, and I think this cake will work really well for that (just be sure to grease that pan very well, because it has a lot of intricate details). Here’s the link to the cake stand, it’s from Target: http://bit.ly/2M3wOXZ
Hi Marion, I honestly have no idea because I have never baked with my Instant Pot before. I am just not the right person to ask. I personally wouldn’t recommend it, unless you don’t have access to an oven, because it just seems like it would take longer and the results wouldn’t be any better. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
I made this for Christmas Eve dinner and it was delicious! I have to ask how the recipe might be altered to make it taste fresher for more than a day, though. By Christmas night it already was stale, even though it was tightly wrapped and stored in a cool place. With another batch of eggnog whi[pped cream, though, it was still pretty good! Made the cake as directed except added 3T of finely chopped crystallized ginger.
For those having issues with the eggnog whipped cream (which we also floated on top of our eggnog, then dusted with more nutmeg as well. Yum.) CHILL THE BOWL AND BEATERS before starting to make it. I put them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Also realize that this makes a soft whipped cream not the kind with stiff peaks. The only change I made to the recipe was that I used 2 teaspoons of powdered sugar rather than the 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar called for.
Thanks Victoria! Your feedback is great and very valuable for others. I do agree that this cake is absolutely best the day it is baked, it doesn’t hold up quite as well after that. I may try to tinker with it next year and switch/adjust the fat, and see if that can help. Great tips about the cold beaters, etc. – I always do that, but I’ll add that note in!
Beautiful photography and recipe , thank you!
My whip cream failed….so sad
Followed directions to a T
Any suggestions?
Oh no! Was your cream chilled and did you use a different brand of eggnog? Or was the eggnog reduced fat by any chance? I didn’t have any trouble with mine, although it does take a bit longer to whip. Not much longer though! I’d love if you could provide a bit more info so that I can help troubleshoot.
Happy New Year! This is such a gorgeous cake. I love the aesthetic of bundt cakes and how elegant they look. And eggnog?!? Yes, please. Cheers to 2018!
This is a perfect holiday recipe! I cannot wait to try it out! And the eggnog part will make it just irresistible 🙂
OMG! I love everything with ginger!! And this cake looks amazing, especially with the cream :))
Gosh, these photos just make me mouthwatering. It definitely sounds like a wonderful gingerbread cake! Thanks for sharing.
Making this for Christmas Day. For the Molasses, I found this one at Whole Foods — Plantation Blackstrap Unsulphured Molasses. Is there another brand/type that you recommend?
Blackstrap will be a touch stronger in flavor. I tend to use the Wholesome brand, but I think what you picked up will work fine! Great question – hope you like the cake!!!
This looks so yummy! I want to try it, and I love the idea of the eggnog whipped cream, over the top!
SO COOL to find someone else who realizes that Organic Valley full-fat egg nog is one of the ultimate treats of this season! I can barely wait to try it in this rdcipe! You Rock!