This Gingerbread Cake Recipe is At Least 100 Years Old!

Updated: Jan 14, 2021

...but it's still just as tasty as ever. Try it for yourself!

This cake comes together like magic! It's the perfect snow day dessert.

One of my favorite things to make when the snow is blanketing everything and midwinter warmth and comfort needs to be on the menu is gingerbread cake. Luckily, one of our amazing crafters, Donna, shared a recipe for just the thing!

It was passed down to her from her grandmother on her father's side. This recipe is reprinted and reformatted below with Donna's permission.

Donna's grandma. Judging by the hemline and the cropped hair, this photo may have been taken sometime in the mid-1920s.

Here's the cake. So cozy and oh-so-simple to make!

Grandma Doll's Gingerbread Cake with Butterscotch Sauce

Yield: one square or 10-inch circular cake or approx. 9 servings

Active Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 35-45 minutes

Cake Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 egg

1 cup molasses

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves

pinch of salt

1 cup boiling water

Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:

Part 1: Mix and Bake the Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Oil and dust cake pan and sit aside.
Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Add egg and molasses to butter and sugar mixture and combine.
Sift together dry ingredients.
Fold dry ingredients into wet until they resemble cookie dough.
Pour hot water over ingredients.
Mix well until batter is evenly combined.
Pour batter into pan. Smooth the top so that the cake bakes evenly.
Make the sauce while waiting for cake to bake completely. (Instructions below.)
Bake cake for 35-45 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Part 2: The Sauce

Combine all ingredients except the vanilla in a medium saucepan.
Using medium heat, stir until butter has melted and all ingredients have fully combined.
Whisk combination until sauce thickens, about five minutes on medium-high heat.
Remove from stovetop and add vanilla, whisking again until combined.
Pour or spoon over cake just prior to serving.

Both the cake and sauce can be made days in advance. I can imagine that the cake freezes beautifully too. The sauce though? It will last for at least a few weeks in the refrigerator.

Thanks again for the recipe, Donna!

Do YOU have a recipe you'd like to share with our community? Be sure to check out Old Fashioned AF's Discord server and post it today. See you there!

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