Spiced Gingerbread Loaf

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Made with molasses, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg and glazed in the creamiest vanilla bean glaze, Spiced Gingerbread Loaf is super moist and every bite taste like Christmas!

A sliced bread loaf on a wood board with white glaze on top and fresh cranberries and sage leaf.

Gingerbread is to December what pumpkin is to November 🙂 There is no better way to wake up then with a slice of this delicious, moist and perfectly spiced Gingerbread Loaf! An easy recipe to whip up for friends, family or gifting.

Are you a gingerbread lover? You will love these Gingerbread Cookies, Gingerbread Layer Cake and Gingerbread Snowball Cookies.

Ingredients

Bowls of flour, melted butter, buttermilk, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, spice, salt and two eggs.

Gingerbread Loaf
All Purpose Flour-I don't recommend substituting any other flour, All Purpose Flour is the best for quick bread.
Light Brown Sugar- Light or dark brown sugar will work, but I prefer light for a more mild flavor.
Baking Soda-Make sure to only use baking soda and not baking powder, this will affect the recipe and not turn out the same.
Spices-This bread is super spiced using a lot of ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice , nutmeg
Butter-Unsalted butter is the way to go! Make sure to melt the butter before mixing it in the recipe
Molasses- A traditional ingredient when making gingerbread, molasses will give the bread its dark color and robust flavor
Eggs- Large Eggs at room temperature
Buttermilk- The acid that will react to the baking soda, do not replace this with regular milk. If you don't have buttermilk at home, make your own by combining 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice to 1 Cup Whole Milk

Step-by Step Directions

A gray bowl with flour, sugar, spices and salt next to a whisk, next to a gray bowl with a brown batter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, light brown sugar, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt; whisk to combine
In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, molasses, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla extract until combined
Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until fully combined

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean
Allow the bread to cool completely before removing the bread from the pan

Vanilla Bean Glaze

A bread loaf on a wood board with white glaze on top and fresh cranberries and sage leaf.

Made with only three ingredients; powdered sugar, whole milk and vanilla bean paste. Vanilla Bean Glaze is a creamy and smooth icing that will be the perfect garnish for the robust spice flavor.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla bean paste until it is smooth and creamy
Spread or drizzle the glaze on the top Gingerbread Loaf
Garnish with fresh cranberries and a sage leaf
Allow the glaze to set before slicing and serving

Tips and FAQS To Make The Best Gingerbread Loaf

Ingredients
Make sure that all ingredients are at room temperature to start! This guarantees more even baking because all the ingredients are starting out at the same temperature

Garnish
Fresh or sugared cranberries with a sage leaf are the perfect garnish for this Gingerbread Loaf for the holiday season!

Would This Make A Good Hostess Gift?

Absolutely! Once the glaze is dry wrap this Spiced Gingerbread Loaf up in cellophane and a bow and you are all set!

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