Recently my dad came to me with an idea he saw online for a molasses frosting. He is a huge fan of molasses and since it's the holiday season and more treats have molasses I knew I had to come up with something good. Of course with frosting we need some cake. I used my classic vanilla cake recipe and substituted some of the sugar for molasses along with adding some spices to make a gingerbread flavor. A gingerbread cookie, along with being a slightly different texture than standard cookies, mostly just has molasses as some of the sugar and spices for flavor. It was an easy substitution since I have done honey subs before and molasses is similar to honey but with a little more water content. I also took some of the milk away to account for the added moisture in the molasses.
As for the frosting, I made a simple American buttercream with a good amount of molasses to get the strong flavor across. Since the frosting went with the cake and I wanted the molasses to stand out I didn't add any spices to the frosting, but if you want to use it in other treats a little cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger will really help it come to life and bring a whole new flavor. Check out the final recipe below! It makes a single 8-inch layer with a nice layer of frosting on top. Perfect for a smaller holiday celebration or for a nice snack to have around the house.
Gingerbread Cake with Molasses Frosting
210g All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
Pinch Salt
2 ea. Eggs
115g Granulated Sugar
100g Molasses
169g Unsalted Butter, soft
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
100g Milk
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, spices, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla and molasses.
Keeping the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture then slowly add half the milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk, ending with the final 1/3 of flour.
Spread into a greased and parchment lined 8in cake pan.
Bake 40-50 min until center springs back when pressed.
Allow to cool before frosting.
Frosting:
55g Unsalted Butter, softened
80g Molasses
175g Powdered Sugar
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream with butter and molasses together.
Slowly add the sugar, one spoonful at a time until fully incorporated.
If the mixture is too thick, water can be added in 1 tsp amounts to soften.
Spread frosting over the top of the cooled gingerbread cake.