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wedge of gingerbread cake with whipped cream

Molasses Gingerbread Cake with Whipped Yogurt Cream

This wholesome cake is deeply flavored with ginger and molasses. It's light and tender and quite wonderful topped with a generous spoonful of yogurt whipped cream. The batter works well for cupcakes, too. Fill 12 (or so) generously greased cupcake cups nearly to the top and bake for about 25 minutes. 

Course Dessert
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 8 to 10 servings
Author Katie Morford

Ingredients

Cake

  • 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (see notes)
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • ¾ cup pumpkin puree unsweetened
  • 2/3 cup molasses I use blackstrap molasses
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • Confectioners’ sugar for dusting the finished cake

Whipped Yogurt Cream

  • ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9-inch cake pan. Cut a piece of parchment to line the bottom of the pan.

  2. In a medium bowl whisk together the whole-wheat pastry flour, brown sugar, baking soda, ginger, and pumpkin pie spice.

  3. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the pumpkin, molasses, buttermilk, and olive oil. Add the egg and mix again until smooth.
  4. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the bowl. Beat until blended and creamy. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, mix again until the batter is smooth with no streaks of flour.

  5. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake. It's done when you insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out with crumbs and no wet batter, 40 to 45 minutes.

  6. Let cool for at least 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, invert the cake, and then turn it upright on a serving plate.

Whipped Yogurt Cream

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt and sugar until smooth.
  2. Using an electric mixer and a large bowl, beat the heavy cream into pillowy peaks.
  3. Add the yogurt to the whipped cream and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the ingredients together.

To Serve

  1. Use a sieve to lightly dust the top of the cake with confectioners’ sugar. Cut into wedges and serve with big spoonful of whipped yogurt cream.

Recipe Notes

If you can't find whole-wheat pastry flour, substitute 1 cup whole-wheat flour plus 1 cup all-purpose flour