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If there’s anything that truly screams Christmas, it’s gingerbread. Therefore, I can’t think of a better way to kick the holiday season off than with this Cream Cheese Swirled Chai Gingerbread Cake. This sweet, super moist gingerbread cake is made with brown sugar, molasses, and a touch of vanilla extract. It’s spiced up with the warming flavors of chai and baked with a swirl of cream cheese throughout the center. The final touch is a generous drizzle of buttery lemon glaze. This perfectly sweet and spiced up version of gingerbread cake is so delicious. Perfect for baking on cold December days while cozied up inside!
This post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes.
There’s nothing I love more than a festive dessert. I know I’ve said this many times, but this time of year is truly my favorite. Something about the holidays always brings out my most creative side. I love the types of recipes I share in November and December more than any others throughout the year. This gingerbread cake turned out even better than I envisioned, so I am so excited to share the recipe with you guys.
Not only is this cake delicious, it’s also simple to make. This truly is a wintery cake…warming, lightly spiced, a touch buttery, and slightly decadent… just about as close to perfect as a cake can get.
This time of year, my fridge is stocked with my favorite Land O Lakes® Extra Creamy Butter. You may not know this, but the variety of butter you use can really make a difference, especially when baking. I love the rich buttery flavor and hints of salt in Land O Lakes® Extra Creamy Butter. It creams wonderfully into batters and always turns out a moist delicious cake.
The first step is to cream the butter with brown sugar and molasses. The sugar adds sweetness, while the molasses adds that classic gingerbread color and rich flavor. Once the wet ingredients have been thoroughly mixed in, add the dry.
For my dry mix, I use the basics…flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
But for the spices? I didn’t use just ginger. I also incorporated the spices used in a steaming cup of chai tea…ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, and pepper. It’s the ultimate spice blend that gives you a very gingery gingerbread cake, hinting of the flavor of chai.
Once the batter is mixed up, there is one last key ingredient, cream cheese. At the last minute, I decided to add a swirl of creamy cream cheese to the center of this cake. Something about all the spices and rich molasses paired with cream cheese sounded so good to me.
And you know? The cream cheese ended up truly complementing all the spices. It adds a nice creaminess to every bite…so delicious.
Layer the batter with the cream cheese and bake. As the cake bakes, your house will be filled with the smells of ginger and cinnamon. At this point, holiday music should be playing. And in a wintry movie world, a fire will be roaring, snow will be falling, and the lights on your tree will be twinkling away.
The perfect picture, right? To me, yes. But again, I love this cozy time of year. If it snowed every day this month, I’d be happy. It’s a great excuse to stay inside and bake…specifically this gingerbread cake.
Originally, I had a completely different icing in mind for this cake, but after my first round of testing, I knew I wanted an icing that would lighten the cake while enhancing its flavors.
Enter this lemony, buttery, vanilla icing. It has hints of sweet butter, lemon, and plenty of vanilla. It’s perfect for finishing this spiced gingerbread cake and adds just the right amount of sweetness.
every chance you get this month.
No really, I can’t begin to tell you how much I love this cake. I’ve already made it several times over the last two weeks. It’s the easiest cake to mix up, and it always comes out looking impressive with the swirl of cream cheese inside and that pretty off-white icing on top.
I’ve enjoyed this cake slightly warm with a cup of cocoa. I’ve also gifted it twice to friends as a holiday thank you (it wraps up beautifully in a cute little gift box).
So my suggestion? Take some time off this weekend for a little holiday baking. Nothing is better than a gingerbread cake baking in the oven on a cozy wintery weekend.
PS. Looking for more gingerbread recipes…check out some of these oldies but goodies!
If you make this cream cheese swirled chai gingerbread cake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
{This post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}