Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting

Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting

Anita Schecter 

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 65 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Yield: 1 loaf

The aroma of gingerbread baking is probably one of the most memorable scents of the Christmas holiday. The combination of spices is hard to mistake and we automatically envision decorated cookies or houses. If making gingerbread from scratch seems too complicated, you're not relegated to those elaborately constructed houses—just skip the architectural project and bake up a rich, moist, and fragrant loaf cake instead.

Gingerbread is also wonderfully customizable. Love the earthy sweetness of molasses? Use more of that and less of the granulated sugar. Want just a hint of molasses? Feel free to reduce it a bit. This recipe strives for a good balance between the two, but sample the batter and decide for yourself.

As for the spices, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove are common, but you can alter the proportions to suit your taste. This recipe leaves out the clove for a milder taste. Finally, the sweet tangy notes of cream cheese frosting adds a decadent touch to this simple cake, but a plain icing or powdered sugar will work fine if you'd like to lighten it up.

This loaf is lovely and rich enough to serve as dessert, but we won't judge if you decide it makes a great breakfast.

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1/4 cup molasses

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup buttermilk

For the Frosting

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 pinch salt

  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients and preheat the oven to 350 F.

  2. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (you can also use a hand mixer) and beat for a few minutes until the sugar has been completely incorporated.

  3. Add the eggs one at a time and continue beating.

  4. Add the molasses and vanilla extract and beat to incorporate.

  5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and salt.

  6. Alternate beating in the buttermilk and the flour mixture until fully incorporated, but do not over mix.

  7. Butter and flour a loaf pan and pour in the batter.

  8. Bake for 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let rest before removing from the loaf pan.

  9. Add the softened cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt to a bowl and beat together until smooth.

  10. Stir in the powdered sugar until fully incorporated and the frosting is smooth and spreadable.

  11. When the loaf cake has cooled, top with the cream cheese frosting.

  12. Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
719 Calories
35g Fat
96g Carbs
8g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 719
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 35g 44%
Saturated Fat 21g 104%
Cholesterol 137mg 46%
Sodium 546mg 24%
Total Carbohydrate 96g 35%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 70g
Protein 8g
Vitamin C 0mg 2%
Calcium 108mg 8%
Iron 2mg 13%
Potassium 306mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)