Gingerbread Sheet Cake with Orange Cream Icing

Flavorful, festive, easy to make, kid-approved, sheet pan sized gingerbread cake with orange cream icing! This is the PERFECT cake for a holiday get-together. It’s large enough to serve several people and definitely tasty enough to get people wanting more. The lightly sweetened gingerbread cake goes perfectly with the 3 ingredient orange cream icing, which is so light and airy. 

A little tip that I thankfully discovered – the cake stores best in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat a piece, or two, pop it in the microwave for 8-10 seconds. The icing literally melts into the cake, creating a creamy and dreamy treat!

My kids LOVE this cake. I don’t feel bad about giving them some either. If you don’t want to make an entire sheet cake, you can cut the recipe in half and make mini muffins. Simply spoon the cake batter into mini muffin molds and bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes! Top with icing. It DOES freeze incredibly well, so keep that in mind before you decide against the sheet pan size.

Ingredients

Cake 

2½ cups sprouted whole-wheat flour

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1¼ cups coconut sugar

½ cup coconut oil, at room temperature

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

½ cup unsulphured molasses

3 tablespoons egg replacement (*see notes)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Icing

2 cups coconut cream, chilled (*see notes)

1 cup powdered sugar

Zest of 1 orange

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 12x18” sheet pan with non-stick spray or coconut oil.

2. Combine the flours, baking soda, ginger and cinnamon in a medium sized mixing bowl.

3. Combine coconut sugar and coconut oil in another separate large mixing bowl. Using a hand-held mixer, mix on medium speed until combined.

5. Add applesauce, molasses, egg replacement, and vanilla to the bowl of coconut oil/sugar. Mix until smooth.

6. Add half of the dry ingredients to the bowl mix on low speed until well combined.

7. Add the milk to the batter and mix until well combined.

8. Add in the remainder of the dry ingredients to the large mixing bowl and mix until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary to ensure all of the ingredients are incorporated. Take note not to over-mix the batter.

9. Pour cake batter into prepared pan, spread down evenly, and bake for 14-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.

10. Let cake cool completely and sit in the fridge for at least an hour before adding frosting.

11. Scoop out the solid portion of the coconut cream into a mixing bowl. Discard liquid (or set aside and save for future use). Beat on high speed for 1-2 minutes, or until creamy and fluffy.

12. Add in powdered sugar and orange zest. Beat on high speed until smooth.

13. Spread on top of cooled cake. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon. Cut into 30 squares and serve.

Macros for 1 serving

166 calories, 2g protein, 23.4g carbs, 7.2g fat, 15.5g sugar, 1.3g fiber

Notes:

* I used an egg replacement that was a combination of chia seeds and garbanzo beans.

* Place the canned coconut cream in the fridge for at least 8 hours, preferably 12. This encourages separation of the cream and liquid. You should be able to scoop enough out of 3 (15 oz.) cans.

* I also recommend placing your mixing bowl into the fridge for 30 minutes prior to making the icing.