Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting and Gingersnap Crumbles
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Enjoy a slice of this Gingerbread Loaf with your afternoon coffee or tea this winter. The spiced loaf is topped with cream cheese frosting and a dusting of gingersnap crumbles and tastes oh so good! This baking recipe is simple to make, so why not bake an extra one to give as a delicious gift this holiday season!
This post is part of Create the Holidays (formerly Create Christmas) – a series of festive recipes, crafts, printables, and more on The Purple Pumpkin Blog!
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Gingerbread Loaf
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions; to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required, and to understand the steps and timings involved.
Despite the name of this recipe, it’s not a loaf of bread! I don’t know why they (whoever “they” are!) call this type of baked good a loaf when it’s really just a cake!
I guess it’s to do with the shape of it and the pan it is cooked in?
Semantics aside, this gingerbread loaf recipe is really quick and simple to prepare and takes about an hour to bake. The final result is a deliciously moist sweet treat that is full of spice flavor, which of course is ginger, but also cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
The addition of a cream cheese frosting on top and the sprinkling of crushed up gingersnap cookies is a yummy extra touch!
The loaf is perfect for serving at afternoon tea parties, and even giving as an edible gift to a friend, family member, or someone in your community.
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
You may already have some of the basic ingredients for this recipe – the full list with measurements is found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
For your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed for this recipe have been listed below and linked to Amazon if available online.
- Pure Vanilla Extract – use good quality vanilla as it really does make a difference to the flavor.
- Unsweetened Applesauce – not a common ingredient in the UK, but it is essentially apples that have been cooked then mashed or puréed. Don’t confuse it with the condiment apple sauce! Holland & Barrett sell a no added sugar apple purée which you could use, and in the past, I’ve used a jar of baby food!
- All-Purpose Flour – also known as plain flour.
- Baking Soda – also known as bicarbonate of soda.
- Ground Ginger
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Cloves
- Ground Nutmeg
- Gingersnap Cookies – these are crushed and crumbled on top of the frosting.
- Loaf Pan – you’ll need a 1lb / 9×5″ pan to bake the gingerbread loaf in.
Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog! I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. You can mix cup measurements with weighted measurements, but never imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, litres, etc.,).
More Recipes Using Ginger
One of the hero ingredients in this recipe is the ground ginger, so here are some more recipes using the same:
More Loaf Recipes
Looking for more sweet loaf recipes? Check these out next:
- Gluten-Free + Paleo Spiced Apple Loaf
- Spiced Pumpkin & Walnut Tea Loaf
- Cranberry, Almond & Orange Fruit Loaf
How Do I Make a Gingerbread Loaf?
Just check out the recipe card below with full ingredients, and instructions. You can print the card out too (don’t worry, the pics don’t print to save your ink!).
Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting
Enjoy a slice of this Gingerbread Loaf with your afternoon coffee or tea this winter!
Ingredients
For the Gingerbread Loaf
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce (apple purée)
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1½ - 2 cups powdered sugar
- 8 gingersnap cookies, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 degrees. Spray a (1lb/9x5") loaf pan with non-stick baking spray and set aside.
- Using an electric stand or handheld mixer, place the butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg in the bowl and beat together. Add the applesauce and mix to combine.
- In another bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
- Slowly beat into the wet ingredients until combined.
- Pour the gingerbread batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Using an electric stand or handheld mixer, place the cream cheese and butter in the bowl and beat until smooth and combined. Beat in the vanilla extract.
- Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until combined and smooth.
- Evenly spread the cream cheese frosting onto the cooled loaf.
- Sprinkle with the crushed gingersnap cookies.
- Slice and enjoy!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 602Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 251mgCarbohydrates: 95gFiber: 2gSugar: 70gProtein: 5g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Meal!
You’ve made the dessert, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal!
- Appetizer: Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Appetizers
- Main Dish: Pan-Seared Fish with Lime Butter Sauce
- Side Dish: Garlic Mashed Potatoes – A Quick & Tasty Side Dish
- Side Dish: Simple Oven Roasted Asparagus
- Beverage: Vodka Cranberry Spritzer
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too!
The Create the Holidays series on The Purple Pumpkin Blog features free printables, crafts, recipes, and more for Christmas and the Winter Holidays. Check out Create the Holidays (formerly Create Christmas) from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012.