This Moist Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting loads all your favorite holiday flavors into one delicious bread. The festive flavors of ginger, molasses, and spices give this moist loaf an irresistible aroma.
2-3cupspowdered sugar, depending on desired level of sweetness
Optional: toasted chopped pecans for topping
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F with rack on lower middle position. Generously grease a deep, nonstick 9" loaf pan. Flour bottom/sides of pan and tap out excess. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, coconut oil, beaten egg, cider, maple syrup, and molasses. Use a hand whisk to combine until fully incorporated.
In a separate bowl, use hand whisk to gently stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Use rubber spatula to gently fold dry ingredients in small increments at a time, into wet ingredients just until combined and most lumps are gone; do not over stir it (some tiny lumps remaining are fine.)
Evenly distribute batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake about 60 minutes or just until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean, with a few crumbs attached. Take care not to overbake. The center may be slightly indented, which is normal. Allow loaf to cool completely before removing and frosting.
Meanwhile, make the Cream Cheese Frosting: In a bowl with hand whisk, whisk together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Add confectioners' sugar a little at a time, beating until mixture is smooth. Cover and set aside at moderate room temp (or chill) until ready to use. If you chill it, be sure to let it soften enough before using it.
Notes
To measure flour, be sure to gently scoop and scrape; this helps to avoid over measuring. I sometimes like to sub with "white whole wheat" flour, as it's milder than whole wheat but still utilizes whole grains. Warm apple cider helps prevent the melted coconut oil from solidifying while stirring. No matter how many variations I've baked, gingerbread is notorious for coming out slightly depressed in the center; just use frosting to cover up the imperfections :)