Spiced Gingerbread Loaf
This Spiced Gingerbread Loaf is rich, moist, and packed with warm ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, with deep molasses flavor in every bite. Made with simple pantry ingredients and buttermilk for an extra-tender crumb, this easy gingerbread loaf recipe is perfect for cozy fall mornings, holiday baking, or serving warm with a little butter.
Equipment
- 1 9x13-inch loaf pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature
Optional for Serving
- Powdered sugar
- Softened butter
- Maple butter
Instructions
Prepare the Pan
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang on the sides to easily lift the loaf from the pan.
Combine the Dry Ingredients
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.
Cream the Butter and Brown Sugar
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and dark brown sugar until creamy and well combined, about 2–3 minutes.
Add the Eggs and Molasses
- Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Add the molasses and vanilla and mix until everything is thoroughly combined. The batter may look slightly separated at this point; that's okay.
Add the Flour and Buttermilk
- Add about one-third of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and gently mix.
- Add half of the buttermilk, followed by another third of the flour mixture.
- Mix in the remaining buttermilk and finish with the remaining flour.
- Mix only until you no longer see streaks of dry flour. Avoid overmixing.
Fill the Loaf Pan
- Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
Bake
- Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- If the top begins getting too dark before the center is finished, loosely tent it with aluminum foil.
Cool
- Allow the gingerbread loaf to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.
- Lift it from the pan using the parchment paper and transfer it to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Serve
- Once cooled, slice the loaf into thick pieces.
- Serve it plain, dust it lightly with powdered sugar, or spread a warm slice with softened butter.
Notes
Use regular unsulphured molasses. I wouldn't use blackstrap molasses here. Blackstrap is significantly stronger and more bitter and can overpower the loaf.
Don't overbake it. Gingerbread should be wonderfully moist. Start checking around the 50-minute mark.
Let the spices develop. This is one of those baked goods that's often even better the following day. Once completely cool, wrap the loaf well and let it sit overnight—the molasses and warm spices become even richer.
No buttermilk? Put 2¼ teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar into a measuring cup and add milk until you reach ¾ cup. Let it sit for about 5–10 minutes before using.
Storage: Keep the cooled loaf tightly covered at room temperature for about 3 days or refrigerate it for up to a week. You can also freeze individual slices so they're easy to pull out when you want one.