Nothing beats a gingerbread cake made with fresh ginger and brown butter frosting. People will go crazy for this cake, and the best part? It’s only about 20 minutes of work for you. Yeah, she’s real low maintenance, and she tastes like Christmas in a bite.

Gingerbread Cake with Brown Butter Icing

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 30–35 minutes
Total Time: About 50 minutes
Servings: 9 (or fewer, if you “taste test” aggressively)

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup molasses (I use Grandmother’s brand)
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp fresh grated ginger (you can use 1 tsp
• ground but fresh is better. Do I sound like Ina?)
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup hot water

For the icing:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned in a saucepan (or, if you’re feeling a little lazy, just melt it in the microwave without browning, but it will be a little bit worse.)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 C milk (higher fat content the better)

Instructions

1. Preheat + Prep
   Heat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×9 inch pan like you mean it—this cake is clingy.
2. Mix the cozy stuff
   In a medium bowl, melt the butter. Stir in the brown sugar, molasses, and egg until it’s glossy and suspiciously good.
3. Whisk the dry squad
   Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. This is your holiday-scented dust.
4. Bring it together
   Mix your dry ingredients with the wet. Pour in the hot water and stir until smooth. Don’t panic—it’ll look thin. It thickens into greatness in the oven.
5. Bake
   Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. Try not to “test” 47 times. Let it cool completely.
6. Make the icing
7. Brown your butter. You do this by sticking a stick of butter into a saucepan over low heat and watching it and swooshing it around ever couple minutes until it’s golden brown. Trust me, this step is worth it. Add your powdered sugar and vanilla to a bowl and add your browned butter. Make sure you get all the bits. Give it a quick mix, it’s going to be clumpy. Don’t panic. Add your 1/3 cup of milk and keep beating until smooth and dreamy. Try not to eat it all with a spoon. (No judgment if you fail.)
8. Frost + Serve
9. Spread the icing over the warm cake. This helps it soak in and get especially lovely. Slice into squares and serve to people you like… or keep it in the fridge and “forget” to tell anyone.