Gingersnap Spice Cake

Every Thanksgiving, my whole extended family on my mom’s side gets together to celebrate and feast. They are ALL extraordinary cooks. And even that may be an understatement. They always try and top the previous year with all their delicious creations. The dessert table is nothing short of amazing. Any and all types of dessert make an appearance and each homemade.

While my mom was brainstorming what she wanted to bring this year, this idea came to her mind and it is brilliant.

The fall and winter holidays are the perfect time to bust out the spices… ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, the works.  This cake has it all. It is also lathered with a cream cheese icing that is absolutely mouth watering!

This cake is coated with crushed gingersnap cookies which adds to the texture and flavor of the cake.

Gingersnap Spice Cake from chef-in-training.com ...this cake is AMAZING! 4 layers of perfection!

You see that?

That is four beautiful layers of perfection with cream cheese frosting sandwiched in between. If you love spice cakes, then you definitely need to try this delicious spin. It is packed with flavor and is so moist an yummy! It is sure to be a hit!

Gingersnap Spice Cake from chef-in-training.com ...this cake is AMAZING! 4 layers of perfection!

Gingersnap Spice Cake

Four beautiful layers of perfection with cream cheese frosting sandwiched in between. If you love spice cakes, then you definitely need to try this delicious spin. It is packed with flavor and is so moist an yummy! It is sure to be a hit!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 20
Calories 588kcal

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 24 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 9 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Cream butter and brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl for 3 minutes.
  • Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth.
  • Add vanilla and milk and beat until smooth.
  • Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt and beat until smooth.
  • Grease and flour two 8 inch round cake pans.
  • Pour batter evenly between the two pans.
  • Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Turn pans over to carefully put the cakes onto cooling racks. Let cool completely.
  • While cakes are cooling, make cream cheese frosting.
  • In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat until smooth and creamy.
  • When cakes are cooled completely, carefully cut each cake in half height wise two make four circle layers.
  • Put a dollop of frosting onto cake stand. Carefully put the bottom half of one of the cakes on top of the dollop to help secure it in place. Place a generous amount of frosting in the center of that layer and frost carefully to outside edges. Place its top layer on top. Repeat frosting directions until all four layers are completed. Carefully frost the outside of cake.
  • Place crushed gingersnap cookies on the outside frosted edges.

Nutrition

Calories: 588kcal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 444mg | Potassium: 152mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 70g | Vitamin A: 804IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 2mg
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Enjoy!

Gingersnap Spice Cake from chef-in-training.com ...this cake is AMAZING! 4 layers of perfection!

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #chefintraining and/or #chefintrainingblog. I would love to see how these recipes take shape in your kitchens.

Filed under: cake, dessert

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Comments

  1. Averie @ Averie Cooks

    Those layers...I want to take a huge bite and bite through all of them! I love molasses and gingersnaps and spice cake and of course cream cheese frosting! Total winner! Pinned!

  2. Annie @ Annie's Noms

    Oh wow, this is perfect!! Love all the spices with the gingersnaps - they're some of my favourite cookies :D Wish I had a slice of this now!

  3. Lise

    Is the recipe ingredient correct: 9 - cups powdered sugar otherwise sounds great?

    1. Kelly

      4

      I didn't even catch that! lol. I bet you could use less but probably have to taste it to figure out a good amount. 9 cups is crazy! :D

    2. LMR

      Did you use 9 cups? If not can you pls tell me what you did use? I'm not the best baker and am giving this a shot for Christmas!

    3. Gwendalyn

      4

      I have made this cake twice this week, and I find 9 cups powdered sugar makes it too sweet. The second time I made it, I sprinkled crushed gingersnaps between each layer and on top, it was so scrumptious. This is a favorite cake to amaze everyone, just need to work out sugar for our taste. Thank you for recipe, it is not hard to make.

  4. Cindy

    5

    This looks amazing!! Can't wait to try wish I had a huge slice right now!!! Pinned it!!!!!!

  5. Katrina

    3

    Flavor was very good!!! BUT cake was very dry and I followed the recipe to a "t". :( I will try again using oil instead of butter maybe...
    Also had a lot of left over frosting with the NINE cups!!!

    1. Christina

      4

      Try putting 1/4cup sour cream in the cake recipe. I do this with banana bread and it is the very reason I have such moist wonderful loaves :-)

      Gonna make this today worth the added sour cream

  6. Rose P

    This cake was a perfect fit with the cream cheese icing and the blend of spices I did add some crushed walnuts for decoration and a touch of orange rind to the icing it was a hit thanks for posting the recipe !

  7. Connie

    What would be the bake time for this cake if I used a 9x13 pan instead?

  8. lucy

    I'm thinking of making this for Thanksgiving for my in-laws. Can this cake made ahead? Can it be stored in the refrigerator, and if so for how long? Is it easy to transport?

    Thank you.

  9. kathy

    9 cups of icing sugar? Is that right?

  10. Sherry

    can i make the whole cake and keep it in the fridge for next day to serve for our guests?

    1. Sondy

      You wouldn't need to refrigerate it. I can leave red velvet with this same icing on the counter, in a cake pan for 4 to 5 days and it's fine.

  11. Marg

    4

    Scrumchess Spice cake! Nice big mix too! Thanks

  12. catherine

    what size pans do you use

  13. Karla

    Hi just wondering if this cake is still good if it's made 24 hrs before... Trying to make this for Christmas Day desert and I would like to make it today so I'm not so rushed

  14. Karla

    Hi
    Just wondering if this cake is still good and not dry if it's made 24 hours before. I'm going to make this for Christmas Day desert and I would like to cook it today to get a head start:) can't wait! This looks yummy!

  15. Pennyaline

    24 ounces of cream cheese and 9 cups of powdered sugar to ice and fill one 8-inch round cake? Even with four layers, that much frosting will not be necessary.

  16. Cheryl MacEntee

    Im making this on the first day of August/2016. I'm so excited for cool days,holidays and the smells of baked goods,I can't wait.It looks amazing! I will let you know how my Gingersnap Spice cake tasted.
    Thank you for sharing....it warmed my heart!

  17. Teri Alvarez

    5

    My favorite fall flavors.

  18. Mark

    to anyone that bakes cakes...they are usually pretty much all better after a day or so. Some bakeries won't sell their cakes until one day after baking...it allows the flavors to blend and the icing filling to meld with the cake and keeps it moister. Try this with Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Cookies... out of this world!

  19. Dorinda Griblin

    5

    One of my favorite cookies is ginger snaps and I love spice cake ! To have them together ! Wow! I can't wait!

  20. Clarissa

    3

    So, I made these today and in order to get 4 thin layers it's best to double the batch. I used two 8" round cake pans and when I stacked them barely produced a cake that was higher than 4" high. It ended up being a very flat, fat cake. I also added 1/4 sour cream and a pinch of all spice to the mix. The icing does in fact need all 9 cups of powdered sugar to produce a thick, shaping consistency that isn't runny or goup-y. Overall taste was great but it didn't have the same turn out as the pictures promise.

  21. Loree

    How do you put the gingersnap on the outside of the cake? Is there a magical way to tip it? Also, can you just make a 2 layer cake?

    1. Crystal

      Put the crushed cookies in a large bowl. If the cake is on a plate or a board, after spreading icing over the exterior, hold the cake plate with one hand over the bowl and use your other hand to scoop handfuls of cookie and press into the side of the cake, any remainders will fall back into the bowl (less mess). Don't tip the plate or the cake could slide off, just keep it over the bowl. keep rotating the cake until you've pressed the cookies into all sides. :)

  22. Iluka

    4

    Very tasty cake, thanks for the recipe! You dont need so much sugar in the icing, i only used about 2 cups.

  23. Lisa

    9 cups of powder sugar was way to much, the cake was way to sweet to eat it, had to throw it out.

  24. Rachel

    Can you leave out the nutmeg? If not, what is a good substitute?

  25. Catherine

    Hi made this for my Brothers 55th birthday today, had a question about the 9 Cups of Powdered Sugar, but didn't hear back in time so I used our Mexican Wedding Cake Cream Cheese frosting recipe. It was 4 C powdered Sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, and 1 C softened Butter, it was perrrrfect! Hope you didn't mind the change in the frosting but one thing about it, it sets up and holds perfectly! Thanks for sharing your recipe, my brother loves gingersnaps, and this is the fanciest cake I have ever made him!

  26. Christine Pearson

    5

    Amazing!! My husband can't stop licking the beaters!!!!! Thank you! My kitchen smells like gingerbread heaven!!!!!

  27. Erin

    Can I easily make this recipe into cupcakes instead of a cake?

  28. Maureen Austin

    Only 1/4 cup of milk and 4 eggs produced a VERY thick batter almost like quick bread rather than cake batter. Error maybe?

  29. G. Peterson

    I loved the idea of this cake, so I tried it for Christmas. I followed each step carefully, so that it would turn out well. Along the way, I noticed the consistency seemed a little thicker than what I'm accustomed to, and not as large a quantity as other "made from scratch" cake recipes I've made. I thought the 24 oz/ 9 cups of powdered sugar seemed too much, so I made less, but still had plenty extra. I didn't cut the two layers in half, because they weren't all that thick to begin with. After finishing the cake, I realized that the extra frosting and cutting the layers in half must have been to keep the cake moist. Since I didn't do that, the cake was dry. I have been baking cakes for 35 years, and this was the first one that has not been moist. Normally, I have to worry about them being too moist. Overall, the flavors in the cake are delicious. If I had realized the importance of that one step, the cake would have been delicious. Just a suggestion, it may be a good idea to explain the necessity of dividing the layers and adding the extra frosting. Thanks!

  30. Angela

    This was a good recipe! I combined it with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting and it turned out delightful.

  31. Areena McLaughlin

    2

    This did not work for me, unfortunately. The cake didn't rise and was very tough. I ended up throwing the whole thing away! The only thing I can think of that I may have done in error is using extra-large eggs (recipe didn't specify, but I think large eggs are the usual assumption). I also added 1/4 cup sour cream per other reviewers' suggestions. I thought the spices should be increased--wasn't as flavorful as I had hoped; more of a butter cake with subtle spices. I added toasted walnuts and pecans to the crushed gingersnaps and that is absolutely delicious and lends good texture (glad I made the recipe to at least learn that trick).

  32. Gigi

    I just made this for my son’s birthday tomorrow. He asked for something ginger snappy. LOL! I’m concerned because it seems very very very dry. And it made WAY too much icing!! Half the recipe would have been fine. But it looks pretty! Hope it tastes good and not dry.......I cant attach a picture. ?

  33. Billy7861

    3

    Flavor was amazing but even after adding 1/4 cup of sour cream it was too dry.

  34. Susan

    3

    Made this for Christmas and used three 6" pans. It was dense and a bit dry, as some others commented, even though I added some sour cream. But the spices were perfect. I will use the spices but in a different recipe next time. I also used a different cream cheese buttercream frosting that was delish.

  35. Julie

    Was really excited to try this but no luck for me. Followed the recipe exactly and as soon as I added the milk to the batter, it immediately crudled. Also, 4 eggs is a lot.. was rather soupy at this point too. Any insight?