Moist Homemade Gingerbread Loaf is a popular holiday dessert that can be easily made at home! Today, I tried getting my hands on this popular Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf. Well, it's the season of gingerbread cookies and after trying Gingerbread crinkle cookies and Gingerbread Truffles, I thought, why not make a delicious gingerbread loaf today!
Also try Gingerbread Crumb Cake or No-Bake Gingerbread Cheesecake
And, the best part, I had all the ingredients at home today. All I needed was Flour, Baking soda, Ground Cloves, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Freshly Grated Nutmeg, Salt, Egg, Vanilla, Molasses, Brown sugar, and of course Unsalted Butter.
As a baker, things like Butter, Vanilla, Brown sugar, Eggs are always a staple at my home! Since I have been working on Gingerbread recipes of all kinds, I have already kept a big 128 fl oz jug of Unsulfured molasses at home. It's really good.
All I needed was a Gingerbread man cookie cutter for that Unique Icing that I had thought about! I got the cookie cutter yesterday from Amazon and finally made this Gingerbread loaf cake today just as I had thought about! 🙂
God! The warm Gingerbread Spices! There is something so special about those spices, especially at this time of the year! They remind us of those good 'ol days which were so simple and yet so special!
Gingerbread Loaf is a recipe that will bring you back all those happy memories from the past. In my opinion, this is one of the most Christmassy desserts, I can ever think of!
It's moist on the inside and so decadent and soft on the outside. In my opinion, it doesn't need any icing. But, feel free to drizzle your favorite icing on this Gingerbread Loaf.
You have got a couple of options when it comes to choosing the icing. Either you can make a Vanilla icing (with Vanilla Extract, a splash of Milk, and loads of Powdered sugar) or Orange Icing - the citrusy flavor goes incredibly well with this loaf cake (Orange juice and confection's sugar) or Cream Cheese Frosting (Cream Cheese, Vanilla Extract, and Powdered Sugar)
Ingredients you'll need to make Gingerbread Loaf?
- AP Flour - Flour forms the base of the gingerbread loaf. In case you are looking for a gluten-free version, replace AP Flour with Gluten-Free flour.
- Baking Soda - Just a little leavening agent is all that we need for this recipe!
- Egg - Egg is important to bind the ingredients together.
- Gingerbread Spices - I like to make my own gingerbread spice mix and store it in a jar. It helps save so much time. I use Ground Ginger, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Cloves, and Freshly Grated Nutmeg. Guys! grating nutmeg at home is so much more rewarding than using store-bought grated nutmeg. Seriously! If you haven't already, you MUST give this a try.
- Unsulfured Molasses: Well, without molasses you can't think of Gingerbread! And, in this case, I like to use Unsulfured Dark Molasses. They give that nice dark color to the gingerbread loaf.
- Unsalted Butter - For that rich, buttery, decadent and moist loaf.
- Light Brown Sugar - Just to give it that extra boost of sweetness to our gingerbread loaf!
- Pure Vanilla Extract- For that ultimate baking touch!
- Salt - For that slight punch so that the flavors hit the right spot.
How to Make Gingerbread Loaf?
I will tell you the easiest possible way to make gingerbread loaf! And I bet! You'll LOVE it.
- First, whisk flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, grated nutmeg, and salt.
- Next, cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. I like to use my handheld mixer for this step. Now add in egg, vanilla, and molasses, and mix well.
- Now add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Your batter will be thin. But, make sure that there are no lumps in it. I like to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl frequently using a rubber spatula so that I do not leave out any of the good stuff in the bowl.
- Lastly, pour it into a loaf pan. Tap it on the countertop. To be honest, I learned about tapping this on the surface from a popular chef! He says, that once you tap it on the counter, any air bubble remaining in the batter, settles down!
- Pop it in the oven and let it get baked for 50-60 minutes.
- For the icing, sugar place a gingerbread man cookie cutter on the center of the gingerbread loaf. Stuff it with tissue paper or parchment paper. Dust sugar powder on the cake and remove the gingerbread man cookie cutter.
Other Substitutions for Gingerbread Loaf:
- Walnuts: You can add some chopped walnut to the icing if you like. If you want you can add toasted walnuts as well.
- Pecans: Instead of walnuts you can add pecan nuts. Both pecan and walnuts work really well.
If you are making this Gingerbread Loaf then please leave a rating below. Also, share your gingerbread loaf image on Instagram with #recipemagik and tag me @recipemagik.
Moist Homemade Gingerbread Loaf
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour 250g
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 1½ Teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Cloves
- ½ Teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg
- ¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ Cup Unsulfured or Dark Molasses I used Grandma's Unsulphured Molasses
- ¼ Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar 110g
- ½ Cup Unsalted Butter 1 stick
- ½ Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 Large Egg at room temperature
- Icing Sugar for dusting on top
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl mix dry ingredients using a wired whisk until everything combines. Preheat oven to 350F OR 180C and grease a 9X5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a separate medium-sized bowl cream butter and sugar using a handheld mixer or stand mixer until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Now add one egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Mix on medium speed until combines. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Bring the speed to low, and add dry ingredients in parts. Try not to overmix. Your batter should be thin. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared baking tray. Tap on the counter so that air bubbles go down. Place it in a preheated oven and bake it for approximately 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the gingerbread loaf comes out with few moist crumbs. (Make sure that they are not wet crumbs). All ovens are different and depending on your oven, it can take either 52-minute or 55-minute or somewhere in between 50 to 60 minutes. So, make sure you check, before taking it off the loaf pan. Keep the pan on the wire rack and allow it to cool completely before removing from the pan.
- Place your gingerbread man cookie cutter on the center of the gingerbread loaf. Stuff the inside of the cookie-cutter with tissue paper or parchment paper.Sprinkle icing sugar on the loaf. Remove the cookie cutter and your gingerbread loaf is done. Cut in slices and enjoy with some butter spread on each loaf.
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