This gingerbread loaf is a simple, classic bake with the flavors of ginger, cinnamon, and molasses. It's soft, lightly sweet, and finished with a easy glaze, perfect for the holidays or any time you want something cozy.
What Is Gingerbread Loaf?
Gingerbread loaf is a loaf cake that tastes like classic gingerbread. It's made with molasses and warm spices, which give it a dark color and a cozy, slightly sweet flavor. The texture is soft and moist, and it makes it a good choice for breakfast, dessert, or an afternoon snack. It's especially popular around the holidays, but it's good any time of year.
Ingredients You Will Need
Flour: Regular all purpose flour is all you need here. It gives the loaf enough structure to slice nicely while staying soft.
Baking soda and baking powder: The two work together to give the loaf a good rise. The baking soda also reacts with the molasses, which is slightly acidic, so don't skip it or swap it for more baking powder.
Ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves: The spices that make this a gingerbread. Ginger is the main flavor, cinnamon adds warmth, and cloves go in just in a small amount because they are strong. Check the date on your spices, because old ground spices lose their flavor and the loaf will taste flat.
Salt: Just a little to balance the sweetness and bring out the spices.
Molasses: The star of the recipe. Use unsulfured molasses, which tastes sweeter and cleaner than the sulfured kind. Regular (light or dark) molasses works well here. Blackstrap molasses is too strong and bitter, so I don't recommend it. If you enjoy baking with molasses, you'll also love these molasses cookies.
Butter: Unsalted butter adds richness and keeps the loaf moist. It melts right in the saucepan with the molasses, so there's no need to melt it separately.
Vanilla extract: A small amount rounds out the flavor and goes nicely with the spices.
Milk: Whole milk makes the loaf soft and tender. It gets heated together with the molasses and butter.
Powdered sugar and water: That's all the glaze is. It's simple, but it adds a little extra sweetness and makes the loaf look finished.
If you love gingerbread flavors, you might also like this gingerbread cake or these gingerbread cookies.
Cooking Tips
Heat the molasses, butter, milk, and vanilla together. Put them in a saucepan and warm them over medium heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling. This saves you from melting butter and heating milk separately, and the hot liquid helps the spices bloom.
Whisk the dry ingredients really well. Baking soda and spices can clump, and you don't want to bite into a pocket of baking soda. Whisk for a full minute so everything is evenly spread out.
Don't worry if the batter isn't smooth. Once you pour the hot molasses mixture into the dry ingredients, whisk until just combined. The batter won't look perfectly smooth, and that's okay. The most important thing is that no dry specks of flour are left. Overmixing makes quick breads tough, so stop as soon as the flour disappears.
Check with a toothpick. Insert a toothpick into the center. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Every oven is a little different, so start checking a few minutes early.
Cool before glazing. If you pour the glaze on a warm loaf, it will melt and run right off. Let the loaf cool completely on a wire rack first, and the glaze will set into a nice, thick layer.
How to Make Gingerbread Loaf
Prep the pan: Preheat the oven to 350F (175C) and line an 8 by 5 inch (20 by 13 cm) loaf pan with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a large bowl.
Heat the wet ingredients: Combine the molasses, butter, milk, and vanilla in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling.
Combine: Pour the hot molasses mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined and no dry specks of flour remain.
Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan, tap it on the counter, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Cool: Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift it out and cool completely on a wire rack.
Glaze: Whisk the powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of water, adding more water a little at a time until the glaze is thick but pourable. Drizzle it over the cooled loaf and let it set for a few minutes before slicing.
Serving Suggestions
Gingerbread loaf is lovely on its own with a cup of coffee or tea. For something a little more special, serve a slice slightly warm with a spoonful of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It also makes a great breakfast with a smear of butter or cream cheese on top.
Because it travels well, it's a good loaf to bring to a holiday gathering or wrap up as a gift. If you're building a festive dessert table, it goes well next to this christmas bundt cake and a plate of snickerdoodles.
Flavor Variations
Orange glaze: Replace the water in the glaze with fresh orange juice and add a bit of orange zest. The citrus goes really well with the molasses and spices.
Brown butter glaze: For a richer topping, try this brown butter glaze instead of the simple sugar glaze.
Nuts: Fold in a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans for some crunch. If you like nutty quick breads, take a look at this banana walnut bread too.
Pumpkin spice twist: If you're a fan of fall baking, you might enjoy this pumpkin bread, which has a similar cozy spice flavor.
Storing Tips
Store the gingerbread loaf in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. It stays moist and often tastes even better on the second day.
To freeze, wrap the unglazed loaf tightly in plastic wrap, then in foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it at room temperature, then add the glaze before serving.
Recipe card
Gingerbread Loaf
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Saucepan
- Whisk
- 8" by 5" (20cm by 13cm) loaf pan
Ingredients
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 250 g unsulfured molasses
- 60 g unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 125 g whole milk
Glaze
- 120 g powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (175C) and line an 8" by 5" (20cm by 13cm) loaf pan or similar with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt until well combined.
- In a saucepan, combine the molasses, butter, milk, and vanilla extract. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling.
- Pour the hot molasses mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined and no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix. The batter won't look smooth, and that's okay. The most important thing is that no dry specks of flour are left.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and tap it gently on the counter to release any large air bubbles.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift it out using the parchment paper and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of water until smooth. Add more water, a little at a time, until the glaze is thick but still pourable.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled loaf and let it set for a few minutes before slicing.
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