This gingerbread chocolate cake is a chocolately and warmly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. It’s topped with a thick orange chocolate ganache.
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Chocolate gingerbread cake is a chocolatey twist on a classic holiday flavor. It’s a moist chocolate spice cake topped with a luscious chocolate orange ganache.
This is a holiday cake recipe that both chocolate fans and gingerbread fans will love! It’s the perfect balance of both flavors. There’s also orange zest for a hint of fresh fruity flavor.
For more delicious recipes, try my chocolate chip zucchini bread, chocolate chip loaf cake, and cinnamon swirl banana bread.
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Why This Recipe Works
- This chocolate gingerbread cake is super chocolatey like my carrot chocolate cake! It’s made with cocoa powder and chopped chocolate and chocolate ganache!
- Enjoy a slice for breakfast, an afternoon snack or dessert! For another unique chocolate cake, try my sweet potato chocolate cake.
- You probably have most of the ingredients you need.
- It’s warmly spiced and delicious!
- You’ll love the luscious 3 ingredient orange chocolate ganache!
Ingredients
Below are useful notes about some of the ingredients needed to make this chocolate gingerbread cake recipe.
- Molasses: Molasses is the syrupy byproduct of the sugar making process. It has a strikingly dark color and standout smell and taste.
- Cocoa powder: Use natural unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch processed cocoa powder. Check out my chocolate rice pudding for another cozy chocolate dessert!
- Cake flour: Cake flour gives this cake its soft, light texture.
- Orange zest: Orange adds a hint of fresh, fruity flavor to the batter and ganache. It’s delicious with chocolate and gingerbread. You’ll just need the zest of one medium orange. If you love this combination, you’ll love my chocolate orange cake and chocolate orange cookies.
- Sour cream: Sour cream adds extra moisture. Use full fat, room temperature sour cream.
- Milk: Use full fat, room temperature milk.
- Cocoa powder- Use unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Semi-sweet chocolate: This cake uses chocolate in the batter and in the ganache. Use bars of semi-sweet chocolate from the baking aisle.
- Spices: The combination of ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cardamom gives this cake its warm gingerbread flavor. For more spice filled treats, try my apple fritter bread and chai bars.
- Heavy cream: Use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream for the chocolate ganache.
Please see recipe card below for full list of ingredients and their measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Swap in buttermilk for the whole milk and sour cream.
- Use all-purpose flour in place of cake flour. You can also make a DIY cake flour substitute at home.
- Chocolate chips can be used in place of chopped chocolate, but I recommend chopped chocolate if possible. It melts better than chocolate chips.
- Instead of ganache, top the cake with orange icing (recipe included in the notes section of the recipe). You can also enjoy it with a dusting of powdered sugar or without a topping!
How to Make Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cake
Quick Video Recap
Ingredients
Step 1: (See photo 1 above). Whisk to combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
Step 2: (See photo 2 above). Mix the butter and sugars with an electric mixer til light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Step 3: (See photo 3 above). Add the eggs one at a time. Mix in the molasses til incorporated.
Step 4: (See photo 4 above). Mix in the dry ingredients and milk and sour cream mixture using a spatula or the mixer on low speed, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate.
Step 5: (See photo 5 above). Pour the batter into a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan coated with baking spray and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 F for 52-60 minutes.
Step 6: (See photo 6 above). Enjoy as is or allow to cool then top with chocolate ganache, orange icing, or a dusting of powdered sugar.
Recipe FAQs
Instead of ganache, top this cake with orange icing. Just mix a cup of powdered sugar with a few tablespoons of orange juice. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake and enjoy.
Store the cooled cake it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. To freeze, wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature for a few hours.
Expert Tips
- Use a microplane to grate the orange part of the peel. Do not grate the white pith part of the peel.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter.
- Line the pan with parchment paper and leave an overhang of a few inches on two of the sides. This makes it easier to lift the cake out of the pan.
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Gingerbread Chocolate Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Gingerbread Chocolate Cake
- 1¾ cups (218.75 g) cake flour substitute all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2½ teaspoons ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- 2½ tablespoons (12.5 g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch processed cocoa powder
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar light or dark, packed
- 1 teaspoon orange zest optional
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup (118.29 ml) whole milk room temperature
- ¼ cup (57.5 g) sour cream full fat, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (112.33 g) unsulfured molasses not blackstrap
- 1½ ounces (42.52 g) semi-sweet chocolate chopped, optional
Chocolate Ganache
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) semi-sweet chocolate finely chopped
- 6 tablespoons (88.72 ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon orange zest packed, optional
Instructions
Gingerbread Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan or coat with baking spray. Line it with parchment paper leaving an overhang on two sides.
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, spices and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir to combine the sour cream and milk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars on medium speed til light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Mix in the molasses til incorporated.
- Turn mixer to low or use a spatula to alternatively mix in the dry ingredients and milk and sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to gently fold in the 1½ oz (¼ cup) chopped semi-sweet chocolate.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick when inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. Place the cake on a rack to cool in the pan for ten minutes and then remove the cake from the pan and allow to cool on the rack.
Chocolate ganache
- Bring a medium saucepan with water to a simmer. Chop the chocolate and add it to a medium heat safe bowl with the cream and orange zest (if using). Set the bowl over the saucepan. Make sure not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Stir until chocolate has melted.
- Remove from heat and allow ganache to cool slightly at room temperature until ganache has thickened slightly, about 20 minutes. Pour/spread over the cooled cake.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
Alexandra
Natalie’s recipes are my go-to now. the 7+ cake and baking recipe books I have are now gathering dust since I discovered her website!
This cake was no exception. It was pretty easy to make, and I love the option to use metric measurements. I made this loaf cake for a family Christmas-time party and it was heavily praised. I like to put a twist on recipes, so I went in a little heavier with the ginger by adding more powdered/ ground ginger and using the ‘drizzle’ method with ginger syrup (from a jar of candied ginger) when the cake came out of the oven. This made it ultra sticky and moist, and I got an “mmmmm this is soooo goooey” from my Mom which made me smile. I also added thin slices of the candied ginger on top of the ganache to decorate and increase the gingery flavour.
Natalie
This truly made my day! Thank you Alexandra! I love this recipe and so honored you made it for a family Christmas party! Thanks for sharing your yummy recipe notes. Happy new year and cheers to lots of fun and delicious bakes this year! xo Natalie