With the festive season in full swing, treat yourself to this gingerbread loaf cake! It's soft, moist, packed with warm gingerbread spices, frosted with the best cinnamon cream cheese frosting and topped with adorable gingerbread cookies! Not only is it delicious, but it’s the perfect festive centrepiece for your holiday table. This gingerbread loaf cake will surely make your holiday season brighter!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE!

• Super easy to make.
• It is made with vegetable oil that gives it a moist texture and the cake stays fresh and soft for days.
• No electric mixer is required and you can make it by using simple ingredients. It is super easy to make.
• Packed with warm spices and is perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

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INGREDIENTS YOU"LL NEED!

Scroll down to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and their exact quantities.

Here’s your ingredients list,

FOR LOAF CAKE

• Plain flour (or all-purpose flour): Make sure to measure it correctly. The best way to measure all-purpose flour is by using a digital scale. If you don’t have it, then spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level the flour.
• Vegetable Oil: I used Sunflower oil but you can substitute it with any neutral oil. The oil keeps this bread soft and moist even if you keep it in the fridge.
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Both are used to rise the bread. 
• Whole Milk (Full fat): It gives a creamy texture to the loaf cake and also adds flavour.
• Eggs: should be at room temperature.
• Salt: It balances the sweetness and enhances the flavours.
• Light brown sugar: It makes the bread soft. Don’t replace it with white sugar but you can substitute it with dark brown sugar. That makes the bread slightly darker.
• Treacle or Molasses: It gives a deep rich caramelised flavour.
• Golden Syrup: I love golden syrup in baking. I used both molasses and golden syrup in this bread. It gives caramelised taste to this bread and increases its shelf life. Golden syrup is easily available in the UK. Outside the UK, if you can't find it, either substitute it with light corn syrup or you can make this cake with treacle or molasses only.
• Mix ground Spices: Blend of different ground spices like; ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove gives a warm flavour to this loaf cake.

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FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• Cream cheese: It should be COLD. Always use full-fat cream cheese as it gives the frosting a creamy consistency. I used the Philadelphia original here.
• Unsalted butter: Softened to room temperature.
• Icing sugar/powdered sugar (sifted): This sugar is great for frosting. It is light and fine, blends into the cream cheese easily and makes the frosting fluffy.
• Vanilla extract: For flavour
• A dash of ground cinnamon 
• Lemon juice: It is used to balance the sweetness.  

FOR GINGERBREAD COOKIES

See this blog post.

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HOW TO MAKE GINGERBREAD LOAF CAKE

STEP 1: Preheat the Fan oven to 150C/302F (For a conventional oven: 170C/338F). Prepare a 9x5 inch loaf pan with baking paper leaving the overhangs on the larger sides of the pan for easy removal. Set aside.

STEP 2: Sift plain flour (all-purpose flour), baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk them together and set aside.

STEP 3: Combine light brown sugar, treacle (or molasses), golden syrup and vegetable oil in a saucepan. Let it melt on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. When it just starts to boil around the edges of the pan, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly (for one minute). Stir in the room-temperature milk then stir in the beaten eggs.

STEP 4: Then add the above mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix the batter after mixing the dry ingredients to get the more tender bread.

STEP 5: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter. The batter will be thin, but don’t worry because it will bake into an amazingly moist loaf cake.

STEP 6: Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre, comes out clean.

STEP 7: Let it cool for 15-20 minutes before removing it from the pan. Remove from the loaf pan using overhang baking paper. Place on the wire rack to cool completely before frosting. In the meantime, make cream cheese frosting.

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THE BEST CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Here's how you can make the cream cheese frosting,

• Cream the softened butter on medium speed (with a hand mixer or stand mixer) until smooth and light in colour (about 2-3 minutes).
• Add in the vanilla extract and 1 cup of icing sugar/powdered sugar (sifted). Mix with a spatula then beat on low speed until well combined, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
• Take out the COLD cream cheese straight from the fridge, shift to a small bowl, add in the lemon juice, then give it a good mix using a spoon or a hand mixer then add in the above butter mixture. Beat it until combined and fluffy. 
• Then add the remaining icing sugar/powdered sugar, a dash of ground cinnamon and beat until fluffy and well combined. Be careful, not to overbeat the frosting as it becomes runny. Use it right away.

ASSEMBLY

• Once the cake has cooled completely, place it over a serving tray or board. Frost the top of the cake with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting and make swirls, using an offset spatula. You can also make different designs using any nozzle of your choice as it’s a very stable and pipe-able frosting.
• Top it off with beautiful gingerbread cookies.
• Make 8-10 slices, using a sharp knife.
• Serve straight away or you can microwave your slice of cake for a few seconds to enjoy a warm piece of cake. 

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PRO TIPS TO GET THE BEST GINGERBREAD CAKE

• Always use room temperature ingredients, like milk and eggs to keep an even consistency of the batter. 
• Measure your flour accurately to get the best results. The best way to measure the flour is by using a digital scale but if you don’t have a digital scale, spoon and level your flour carefully. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level the flour.
• Sift your dry ingredients before adding them into the wet mixture. This helps to combine everything evenly.
• Don’t over-mix the batter. Once the dry ingredients are just combined with the wet ingredients, stop mixing too much otherwise it results in dense bread.
• This cake will bake at a low temperature for a longer time otherwise it can burn easily.
• For the best cream cheese frosting, use softened butter (which means it should be softened enough, so when you press it with little pressure, your finger will leave a dent) and COLD cream cheese, straight out of the fridge. Just change the mixing order of the ingredients to get a stable frosting that has less amount of sugar. You don’t need to add tons of icing sugar to make it stable (Check this blog post on how to make stable and pipeable frosting).

FAQ

How do you measure treacle or molasses or golden syrup?

Before you pour the treacle or molasses or golden syrup, gently coat the measuring cup with vegetable oil. Oil helps them to remove easily from the cup. Or place the saucepan directly on the digital scale then pour it in directly from the tin.

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How To Store This Cake?

Loaf cake without frosting remains soft and moist at room temperature for up to 2-3 days if you store it in an air-tight container or cover it well with plastic wrap. Store any leftover cake with frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5-6 days. You can reheat it in a microwave for a few seconds to enjoy a warm piece of cake. 

It will last up to 1-2 months in the freezer if it is stored in a freezer-safe ziplock bag. First, cool it completely then wrap it in plastic wrap and finally put it in a large freezer-safe plastic bag. To thaw, you will have to bring it to room temperature, place it in the fridge overnight or leave it for a few hours at room temperature then you can reheat it in the microwave for a few seconds to enjoy the warm piece of cake.

You can store any leftover frosting in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days. Before use, give it a short whip so it will be fluffy again.

I hope that you'll try this recipe and you'll love them as much as my family and I do! If you make this recipe then be sure to tag @kaotickrunch on Instagram. We'd love to see your creations!

Happy baking and eating! 😊