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    Gingerbread Loaf

    May 14, 2022

    This gently spiced gingerbread cake is topped with fluffy cream cheese frosting and studded with candied ginger and just a hint of orange, making it the perfect holiday treat!

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    Gingerbread Loaf With Cream Cheese Icing orange zest, candied ginger and dried cranberries sliced on a cooling rack

    The Very Best Gingerbread Recipe, We Promise

    You could call me the super-fan of quick breads. And chances are, if you’re familiar with them yourself, then their simplicity and ease has already won you over, too. If you haven’t yet discovered the genius of quick breads, than this gingerbread loaf recipe is the perfect recipe to get you acquainted. Aside from this trusty and truly tasty recipe, we’ve got a little trick up our sleeves that makes this quick bread even easier to make than usual...the blender!

    ingredients laid out for gingerbread cake flour, sugar, eggs, oil, apple sauce, cream cheese, orange, cranberries, ginger
    sugar and eggs in a blender
    Quick bread being made in a blender
    quick bread batter in a blender

    How to Make Gingerbread in the Blender?

    Did you know that you can make this gingerbread recipe in a blender? I’ve been using my new Ascent Series Vitamix Blender to make so many yummy things (like the marinade in this Easy Harissa Chicken or this Butternut Squash Soup), but I’ve just recently discovered how useful it is in making all different types of batters. I tried out the method for this gingerbread cake and I’m convinced it’s the way to go!

    In the name of research, I’ll also be making (and tasting) the following quick bread recipes using my Vitamix Blender:

    A blender filled with quick bread batter next to a parchment lines loaf pan.

    How Do You MakeThis Super Moist Gingerbread Cake Recipe?

    I’m glad you asked!

    To make this gingerbread loaf cake really moist, we’ve added some unexpected ingredients and the flavor and texture that result are incredible!

    • Applesauce
    • Canola oil
    • Fresh-squeezed orange juice

    Quick disclaimer: with the addition of cream cheese frosting, this gingerbread cake has plenty of sugar. It’s a great little treat, dessert, or indulgent breakfast come Christmas morning. With that being said, a little over-the-topness once in a while (especially come December) is just fine in my book.

    pouring batter from a vitamix blender into a parchment lines baking pan.
    Gingerbread cake in loaf pan fresh out of the oven
    hand spreading cream cheese frosting onto a gingerbread loaf sitting on a cooling rack
    gingerbread loaf with cream cheese frosting with candied ginger, dried cranberries and orange zest.

    Tips For Keeping This Cake Moist:

    Don’t over bake it! There is nothing worse than an overbaked quick bread. We recommend baking this gingerbread loaf for 60 minutes in a 9x5 bread pan. Don’t be tempted to check on the cake by opening the oven, as you might cause the temperature in the oven to drop and your cake to sink in the middle. When it has baked for an hour, test by inserting a knife into the center. If it comes out clean, get that baby out of there!

    Sliced gingerbread loaf with cream cheese frosting with candied ginger, dried cranberries and orange zest.

    A Little History Lesson: What is Old Fashioned Gingerbread?

    One of the things I absolutely love about cooking, and baking specifically, is the origin story of the dish I am working on. I knew gingerbread had been around for a long, long time, but I wanted to learn more. So I did a bit of digging and found out that gingerbread as we know it originated in Germany, and came to the Americas along with the first European settlers more than 200 years ago. Back then, molasses was less expensive than sugar so it became a common ingredient in many sweet recipes, gingerbread included. While molasses is still the gold standard, gingerbread can also be sweetened with honey or sugar. What has remained constant is the use of certain spices that create a quick bread that is full of warmth.

    Gingerbread spices are:

    • Ginger
    • Cloves
    • Nutmeg
    • Cinnamon
    Sliced gingerbread loaf with cream cheese frosting with candied ginger, dried cranberries and orange zest.

    To Frost or Not to Frost Your Gingerbread Loaf?

    There are three types of gingerbread lovers in this world:

    1. Those who do not want frosting or icing of any kind. This results in a bread that’s less sweet and really lets the gingerbread spices shine.
    2. A thin layer of gingerbread icing. The middle ground—just a hint of a sheen, for looks and texture.
    3. Go for the gold- I’m talking a thick layer of cream cheese frosting, making for a rich and decadent treat. While I’d eat this loaf anyway it was served, there’s just something magical about a generous spread of slightly sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting.

    Thankfully, this cream cheese frosting comes together in a flash thanks to (drumroll please…) our Ascent Series Vitamix Blender yet again! A perfectly fluffy cream cheese frosting in 3 seconds flat? Sounds good to me!

    Sliced gingerbread loaf with cream cheese frosting with candied ginger, dried cranberries and orange zest.

    How and When Should You Serve this Gingerbread Loaf?

    Gingerbread cake is absolutely lovely for all occasions, but especially in the fall and winter, when you are craving warm spices.

    We like to serve ours:

    • without frosting for a breakfast treat.
    • topped with a dollop of whipped cream to indulge an occasional sweet tooth.
    • with cream cheese frosting (studded with candied ginger and dried cranberries) for the perfect Christmas dessert.

    How will you eat yours? With frosting? Without? Do you have some other trick or tradition up your sleeve when it comes to gingerbread loaf? We’d love to hear about it!

    Sliced gingerbread loaf with cream cheese frosting with candied ginger, dried cranberries and orange zest.

    Did you Try Our Knock-Off Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf Recipe?

    When you decide to give this quick bread recipe a try, we’d love to hear about it! Be sure to snap a photo, add it to your Instagram feed or stories, and tag @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Also feel free to leave a comment on this post and be sure to tell your friends where you discovered the recipe.

    This sponsored post is written by TMP on behalf of Vitamix in partnership with TheFeedFeed. The opinions and text are all ours. Thank you for supporting the brands we love.

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    Gingerbread loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting

    Updated on May 14, 2022

    • Serves:  8
    • Prep Time:  20 min
    • Cook Time:  1 hr
    • Calories:  611
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    Ingredients

    • ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
    • 2 eggs
    • ½ cup vegetable oil
    • 1 orange, zested and juiced (about ½ cup orange juice)
    • 1 ½ cups white sugar
    • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
    • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
    • 2 tsp ground ginger

    Cream Cheese Frosting

    • 2 cups powdered sugar
    • 8 oz cream cheese
    • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 3 tbsp heavy cream
    • candied ginger, roughly chopped
    • orange zest, mixed with 1 tsp white sugar
    • dried cranberries, roughly chopped

    Method

    1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
    2. Grease and flour 1 (9”) loaf pan.
    3. Place applesauce, eggs, oil, juice and white sugar into the Vitamix container. Select Variable 1. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 5. Blend for 10 seconds.
    4. Add to the Vitamix the flour baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean.
    5. Rinse out the vitamin container and add to it the powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla extract, salt and heavy cream. Select Variable 1. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 5. Blend for 10 seconds, until the frosting comes together. This makes enough for 2 loaves (or more).
    6. Let the gingerbread cool before frosting.
    7. Sprinkle the frosting with the candied ginger, candied orange zest and dried cranberries.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 611
    • Protein 6 g
    • Carbohydrates 93 g
    • Total Fat 26 g
    • Dietary Fiber 2 g
    • Cholesterol 76 mg
    • sodium 582 mg
    • Total Sugars 936 g

    Gingerbread Loaf

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

    or
    • Linda

      Can I add pecans?

      Sure!

    • Linda

      Can I use a standard mixer?

      Should work fine, hope you enjoy!

    • Braden

      Does the mixer have to be a Vitamix or can we handmix or put in a stand mixer?

      You could use any blender or a stand mixer should be able to do the trick.

    • Debbie

      Hi! Can I ask if this bread rises in the oven? Does it rise just a bit, quite high or nearly nothing at all? I have a batch of two small loaves in the oven now. I'm unsure if I want to wait an hour to see how they rise.

      YEs. this bread will rise in the oven. It won't quite double, but it does raise quite a bit.

    • Catherine

      Great recipe. I put about 40 grams diced candied ginger and 30 grams diced candied orange peel in the batter and skipped the frosting. I cut the sugar back to 1 cup. Used a bundt pan and baked 45 minutes. Cut the oil to 4T and the other 4t used evap milk. Fantastic flavor

    • Paula

      I’ve never baked with candied ginger. Should it be the hard crystallized kind or the soft and chewy kind?

      Soft and chewy, hope you enjoy!

    • Jorden

      I mixed the recipe with my old fashion hand-held mixer. It worked just fine. I used only 1 cup of sugar, which was more than sweet enough. First, in a saucepan I put in about 3/4 cups of dried cranberries and added some orange juice to rehydrate the cranberries. I left them sit while I mixed the rest of the recipe. I added the cranberries to the batter at the end. I baked my loaf in an expandable loaf pan, so it was about 12" long and smaller in the other dimensions. I turned it upside down and when cool frosted it on all sides with half the frosting recipe recommended for 2 loaves, adding some dried candied cranberries and zested orange peel on top. I didn't have candied ginger. Next time I would bump up the amount of ginger added to the batter maybe by 1/2 teaspoon. The cake was very moist with explosions of the juicy cranberries filled with orange juice inside. In short, this was the best gingerbread loaf/cake I have eaten. Lots of raves.

      Thank you so much Jorden! So happy it's the best you've ever had! We really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review, thanks for trying this out!

    • Brooke

      This is excellent! So easy and quick to whip up. I made just as directed (sans blender) and it was perfect! Another killer recipe from TMP 👏🏼

      Thank you Brooke! So glad you enjoyed it!