Gingerbread Loaf Cake with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting is a holiday treat you and yours will absolutely LOVE this season! It makes a beautiful holiday food gift, and tasty morning, noon, and night snack.
Winter calls for bundling up and cozying up to yummy desserts. I love baking this time of year because all of those lovely holiday spices - gingerbread, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice - make your house smell amazing while the holiday cakes, cookies, and pies bake in the oven!
Gingerbread is a classic winter holiday and Christmas flavor that we love to bake with in my house. From our annual cookie exchanges with Soft Gingerbread Cutout Cookies and Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies, to gingerbread cakes like Gingerbread Swiss Roll and Mini Gingerbread Bundt Cakes.
This Gingerbread Loaf Cake recipe is one of my favorites, and we make it a LOT. I hope you love it as much as we do!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
This holiday bread has all of the amazing seasonal spices rolled into one tasty treat that you could enjoy morning, noon, and night (and definitely late night too!).
- There's only about 15 minutes of hands-on prep time. The rest of the time it's baking in the oven!
- It's a rich, decadent gingerbread loaf with molasses and holiday spices.
- You can bake mini loaves and give them as holiday gifts.
- This gingerbread loaf cake is delicious on its own, but is even more festive with the peppermint cream cheese frosting!
🍫 Ingredient notes
Holiday spices - Ginger, cinnamon, all spice, and cloves.
Peppermint - A little bit of peppermint extract goes a long way!
Candy cane - Then I crushed a couple of candy canes and sprinkled the crushed canes over the top for added flavor and crunch.
✅ Step-by-step baking instructions
To make the Gingerbread Loaf
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
- Prep loaf pan by greasing it lightly with butter and then lining the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, spices, salt.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together melted butter and molasses until well blended. Beat in the eggs and then add the buttermilk and vanilla. Then slowly add the butter and egg mixture (the wet ingredients) to the dry ingredients, mixing until well-combined.
- Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake for about 50-55 minutes. Do the toothpick test and if the toothpick comes out clean after sticking it gently through the middle of the loaf, then it's done.
- Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Gently lift out of the pan and place on a cooling rack until it has cooled to room temperature.
- Once the loaf is completely cool, spread Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting evenly over the top of the entire loaf, and then sprinkle crushed candy canes on top.
To make the Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a stand mixer, cream together the butter cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, peppermint extract and milk until smooth.
🍽 Serving ideas
When you make this Gingerbread Loaf with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting, your house will smell AMAZING!
This is a great baked treat to give as holiday gifts to teachers, neighbors, and friends. It's also a delicious dish to bring to holiday parties.
Or simply enjoy a slice or two of this gingerbread loaf with a warm cup of coffee, hot cocoa, or tea by the fireplace. It makes for a hearty afternoon snack on a cold winter day.
👩🏻🍳 Baking FAQs
You can make this a day or two ahead of the time you intend to serve it. Just keep it unfrosted until you are ready to serve.
Store the unfrosted loaf in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two or three days, or in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Yes! Wrap unfrosted gingerbread loaf cake with plastic wrap, then store in a freezer safe resealable plastic bag or in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to one month. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
⏲ Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to make this Christmas dessert? Here's what you'll need:
More holiday dessert recipes
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Gingerbread Loaf with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Gingerbread Loaf
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup 8 tablespoons/1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup molasses
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk* see notes for dairy-free option
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup butter softened to room temperature
- 2 ounces vegan cream cheese
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 4 tablespoons almond milk
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 small candy canes crushed
Instructions
To make the Gingerbread Loaf
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
- Prep loaf pan by greasing it lightly with butter and then lining the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, spices, salt.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together melted butter and molasses until well blended. Beat in the eggs and then add the buttermilk and vanilla. Then slowly add the butter and egg mixture (the wet ingredients) to the dry ingredients, mixing until well-combined.
- Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake for about 50-55 minutes. Do the toothpick test and if the toothpick comes out clean after sticking it gently through the middle of the loaf, then it's done.
- Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Gently lift out of the pan and place on a cooling rack until it has cooled to room temperature.
- Once the loaf is completely cool, spread Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting evenly over the top of the entire loaf, and then sprinkle crushed candy canes on top.
To make the Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a stand mixer, cream together the butter cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, peppermint extract and milk until smooth.
Notes
* You can substitute vegan butter for regular butter if you wish
* You can substitute
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
Create/Enjoy says
Never had that but it sounds delicious! I love gingerbread flavor!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Me too! Thanks!
Danielle says
This sounds so good! And my boyfriend loves gingerbread so I'll have to give this a try! Thanks for the tips on the dairy-free buttermilk - he's dairy-free/very minimal dairy, so this is a great option! Even for buttermilk pancakes too :)
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Sounds perfect for him! Thanks, Danielle! :)
Meg says
HOLY BUSINESS this sounds goooooooooood! So many flavors I love. I am going to have to make this. Thank you for the recipe!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Let me know how you like it! Thanks, Meg!
Eva says
Holy cow this looks amazing! I am always looking for new quick bread recipes and the flavor combination looks divine. I love anything within peppermint so I may be putting this frosting on everything...
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Thanks, Eva! The frosting is pretty versatile!
Ushmana Rai says
This gingerbread loaf screams Christmas so loud! The perfect epitome for the holiday season to bring cheers!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
I love making holiday desserts! Thank you, Ushmana! :)
Catherine @ Ten Thousand Hour Mama says
How pretty! Sounds like it was as delicious as it looks. Maybe I need this craving now!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Thanks, Catherine! :)
Hannah says
I cannot agree with you more, this is pure craving! It looks so soft and moist, I bet it was even better as the days gone by. I love the smell of ginger and cinnamon. Nothing better when served with coffee! :)
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
I agree! It's great with coffee! :)
Pech says
This looks so moist and delicious, and I can imagine it was torture smelling that but having to wait to enjoy it
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
It was! LOL Thanks, Pech!
Ali from Home & Plate says
This looks moist and delicious and perfect for the holidays. I think the peppermint sprinkle is my favorite part. YUM!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Thank you, Ali! I love the peppermint, too!
Sandi says
I think I could devour the whole loaf. It's so good!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Thanks, Sandi!
Kristen says
This looks like the perfect thing to leave for Santa!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
That would be a fun way to mix up the traditional cookie routine! :)
Melissa says
Wow, gingerbread loaf is something I've never tried, it looks delish in the pictures with that frosting!
Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says
Thank you, Melissa!