Jevay It’s that time of year again! The holidays are upon us and that means that all of the festive baking can commence! Each year I like to start the holiday baking season with gingerbread. Gingerbread is packed full of warm spices, is super moist, and taste absolutely delicious fresh out of the oven. Plus, I heard that the calories consumed during the month of December don’t even count! Sounds like a win to me.
Gingerbread has a long standing history and to be honest the first gingerbread didn’t contain any ginger at all. Gingerbread before the 16th century contained ingredients like honey, saffron, black pepper, bread crumbs, and cinnamon. Spices at this time were not indigenous to the region, incredibly expensive and difficult to locate. Bakeries that were established would have been close to trade routes where the spices may come across. In towns, cinnamon and saffron would have been ingredients for the wealthy. Using those two ingredients alone was the equivalent of a 2006 making it rain rap song on the dinner attendees.
The cost of cinnamon has since went down since the 1500s and 1600s. And gingerbread has changed as well. By the 17th century honey had phased out and ginger was finally taking up space at the table! Cooks were experimenting more and more with ginger and the palette for spice cakes of that nature was increasing amongst the townspeople. In fact, gingerbread came to mean a few different types of desserts. The first type was the thin and spicy gingerbread cookie! I didn’t like these as a kid, but now I cherish a gingersnap with a warm cup of tea. The second type was the gingerbread loaf moist and cake like. The third type was the gingerbread house! This type was made popular by the Hansel and Gretel story and has remained a popular holiday item during the holidays in the United States.
You, too, can have a delicious piece of gingerbread on your table in no time! However, what might stand in your way is the molasses! In order to get a beautiful loaf that doesn’t sink in the middle you’ll need to dilute your molasses with hot water. I’ve tried using molasses straight out of the jar in this recipe, but the weight of the molasses sits so heavy on the rest of the batter that it keeps it from rising properly. You’ll end up with a tasty loaf, but definitely not one to show off on the Christmas table. You’ll want to add 1/3 cup of hot water to a mixing cup and 1/3 cup of molasses. Stir the mixture until the molasses are no longer thick and then pour that into the batter. And voila…you have a well risen loaf.
You can also choose to put a thick glaze on your gingerbread. Now, gingerbread is totally fine to eat without a glaze. Personally, I like to eat gingerbread fresh out of the oven sans the glaze. But, it’s also delicious with a vanilla bean cream cheese glaze. Tangy toppings always go well with spice cakes and this one fits the bill perfectly! I make the glaze as soon as I pull the cake out of the oven and then smooth it on while it’s still hot. This glaze is too thick to run down the sides of the cake and I’m okay with that. If you’re interested in a thinner glaze try thinning out the cream cheese glaze with more milk. You can also ditch the cream cheese and go with a glaze that’s not as thick! A vanilla bean powdered sugar glaze would also do the trick.
If you’re a gingerbread lover like me then this recipe will be perfect for you! If you make this loaf I’d love to know. Leave a comment below telling me how it turned out for you.
Happy Reading, Happy Eating
-jevaydanielle_
Gingerbread Loaf with a Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Glaze
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cake
- 2 sticks of butter salted and room temp
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup AP Flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup hot water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp allspice
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tbs vanilla bean paste
- 4 tbs powdered sugar
- 4 tbs heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper
- Cream the butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes using an electronic mixer
- Add the eggs and the extract
- Dilute the molasses with the hot water and set aside.
- Add all of the spices, salt, and leavening agents to the AP flour.
- Alternatively add the flour and the diluted molasses and be careful not to overmix
- Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes checking for doneness
Cream Cheese Icing
- Add the cream cheese to the mixer and whip until no large lumps remain.
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and continue to whip.
- Begin by adding 2 tbs of milk of choice, then add more milk until you get the desired consistency.
- Spread onto a warm gingerbread loaf.
Video
Notes
- Diluting the molasses is a crucial step in this gingerbread – don’t skip it. Doing so could mean that you have a large dent in the middle of the cake.
- You can add a glaze/icing or leave the gingerbread bare. It will taste delicious regardless.
- The gingerbread will last fresh wrapped tightly for up to 5 days. After that, get creative and use for french toast, or bread pudding.
