Ultra moist, perfectly spiced holiday Gingerbread Loaf with rich cream cheese frosting!
Soooo I’ve been a little MIA this week – whoops! Thanksgiving festivities and baby blessing preparation madness took over about one hundred and three percent of my brain the past few days. Plus: turkey coma. Am I right??
Just like that Thanksgiving came and went and now it’s Christmastown. I luuuuuv me some Christmas everything. Now that turkey day is over, I’m on board with the lights and the tunes and the SMELLS of Christmas. I basically want my house to smell of cinnamon and gingerbread from now until January one.
And if it lingers a little while longer, I wouldn’t be upset about that.
And speaking of gingerbread – THIS gingerbread! ^^^^^^^^ Holy smokes you guys. THE BEST. It is insanely moist and flavorful, but not overwhelmingly gingery. And top it all off with an ultra rich cream cheese frosting?? You had me at gingerbread.
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 ¼ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- frosting
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 4-6 tablespoons milk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×5 inch bread pan with nonstick foil and spray with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, salt, and baking soda. In a large bowl cream together butter, sugar, and applesauce.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until blended. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool on a cooling rack.
- For the frosting, in a medium bowl cream together butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth and spreadable. Spread over cooled gingerbread loaf. Allow to set up for 1 hour (or if you can’t wait you can serve it immediately, but I like it best when the frosting has a chance to set up a bit!). Store in airtight container.
Recipe adapted from here.
I cooked this today but its taking a LOT longer to cook than the recommended time
How long will this be good in the frig.
50 min was perfect for my time!
I would say about 5-7 days