Every Helping
Sign in

Baking recipe · from the recipe book

Gingerbread Molasses Sheet Cake with Cherry Filling

A dark, moist molasses cake warm with ginger, cinnamon and cloves, split around a jammy sweet-cherry layer and finished with a tangy cream cheese glaze.

Gingerbread Molasses Sheet Cake with Cherry Filling

Ingredients

  • 2⅔ cups pitted400 gSweet cherrieshalved
  • 2 tbsp15 gCornstarch
  • 1 tbsp15 gLemon juice
  • 2⅓ cups300 gAll-purpose flour
  • 1½ tbsp8 gGround ginger
  • 2½ tbsp grated15 gFresh gingerfinely grated
  • 2 tsp5 gGround cinnamon
  • ½ tsp1 gGround cloves
  • 1¼ tsp6 gBaking soda
  • ½ tsp3 gSalt
  • ½ cup115 gUnsalted buttermelted and slightly cooled
  • ⅔ cup packed150 gBrown sugarpacked
  • ½ cup170 gMolasses
  • 2 large100 gEggsat room temperature
  • 1 cup (240 ml)240 gButtermilk, low-fatat room temperature
  • ⅓ cup85 gCream cheesesoftened
  • ¾ cup100 gPowdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml)15 gMilk, 2%

Steps

  1. Make the cherry filling first: in a small saucepan, toss the cherries with the cornstarch and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring, for 6 to 8 minutes until the juices bubble and turn thick and glossy. Spread on a plate and cool for 20 minutes.
  2. While the filling cools, heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease and line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment.
  3. In a bowl, whisk the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, molasses and grated fresh ginger until smooth, then whisk in the eggs one at a time.
  5. Stir in half the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, then the remaining half of the flour mixture, mixing just until no dry streaks remain.
  6. Spread two-thirds of the batter in the pan. Spoon the cooled cherry filling over it, leaving a small border, then dollop the remaining one-third of the batter on top and gently spread to mostly cover the cherries.
  7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick in the cake (not the cherry layer) comes out clean.
  8. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for at least 1 hour.
  9. For the glaze, beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar, then beat in the milk until pourable. Drizzle over the cooled cake and cut into 12 slices.

Food safety: Don't taste raw dough or batter: raw flour and raw eggs can carry germs.

Contains: Milk, Egg, Gluten.

Cook mode Log it in Today

Made it

Made it? Share how yours turned out.

Saved in the Every Helping recipe book on October 24, 2026.

Want one that fits your numbers?

Pick the meal, the pan and your targets, and the Every Helping recipe generator writes a recipe with every number worked out. Free on the web.

Make a recipeMore from the recipe book