The perfect recipe for tea lovers is my refreshing and cleansing gingerbread loaf iced with lemon glaze. It’s sweet and zesty, with just the right level of spice.
A Potent Combination of Ginger and Lemon
Of course, you don’t have to love tea to indulge in this delightfully complex treat. Texturally, it’s just as complex as it is in flavour. The gingerbread cake ends up so balanced that you can easily eat way too much of it before you even notice. All the best cakes are that way, right? It’s all thanks to pairing the gingerbread cake from scratch with bright and delightful lemon glaze.
What to Do with a Gingerbread Loaf with Lemon Glaze
In theory, this iced gingerbread loaf serves up to 10 people, for a nice one time treat, but I recommend making extra to keep around for a few days so you can enjoy it as a quick breakfast or a mid-morning snack. Making this easy gingerbread loaf cake actually tastes even better if you let it sit a while after making it! The gingerbread cake loaf recipe is for the cake and the glaze, so it’s a little bit of time management, but you can have a whole batch whipped up in under an hour.
Homemade gingerbread cake recipe
I hope you enjoy this soft gingerbread cake recipe as much as I do. It’s become a perfect way to start each day. It’s especially enjoyable on cold dark mornings, just before sun-up, but I also love it as an end of the evening snack as I wind down for bed. You can also serve the gingerbread cake for Christmas dessert.
How To Store the Gingerbread cake
Leftover gingerbread cake can be stored in a plastic container in refrigerator for up to 5 days. The flavour gets even better after a day.
Equipment Needed
- Bowls
- Loaf pan
- Whisk
- Handheld mixer
- Spatula
Recipe for lemon glaze
The lemon glaze is a very simple recipe, you can use on any baked dessert, but as a component to the ginger cake, it’s absolutely stellar!
lemon Glaze Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
How to Make the lemon glaze
Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice in a bowl until sugar dissolves.
Recipe for gingerbread loaf
The gingerbread loaf and the tangy sour glaze are a dynamic combination that will keep you going back for more, especially if you enjoy it with a cup of your favourite loose leaf tea blend.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: serves 8-10
Gingerbread cake ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (180ml) molasses (for making molasses take 1/2 cup honey +1/2 cup brown sugar)
- 3/4 cup (180ml) hot water
- 1/2 cup (115g; 1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
How to make a gingerbread loaf
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the molasses and hot water together.
In a large bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on high speed for 1 minute until creamed together fairly well.
Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the hot water/molasses, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Avoid over mixing. Batter will be thin. Whisk out any big lumps.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for around 35 minutes or until the cake is baked through. All ovens are different and your cake could take a little more or less time. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean with only a couple moist (not wet) crumbs, it is done. Allow cake to cool a bit in the pan set on a wire rack.
Pour lemon glaze mixture over cake while cake is still warm. Spread the mixture around with a spatula to ensure even distribution. Sprinkle the granulated sugar over the icing for the delicious crunch. Let cake cool completely before serving. Slice and serve the gingerbread loaf!
I hope you enjoyed this Recipe for gingerbread loaf iced with lemon glaze as much as I did! If you make it, please share your photos with us on Facebook or Twitter! Also, check out all of our other recipes!
Gingerbread Loaf Iced With Lemon Glaze
Equipment
- bowls
- Loaf pan
- Whisk
- Handheld mixer
- spatula
Ingredients
LEMON GLAZE INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
GINGERBREAD CAKE INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups 250g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1.5 tsp ground ginger
- 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup 180ml molasses (or for making molasses take 1/2 cup honey +1/2 cup brown sugar)
- 3/4 cup 180ml hot water
- 1/2 cup 115g; 1 stick butter softened to room temperature
- 1/3 cup 67g packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
HOW TO MAKE THE LEMON GLAZE
- Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice in a bowl until sugar dissolves.
HOW TO MAKE A GINGERBREAD LOAF
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the molasses and hot water together.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on high speed for 1 minute until creamed together fairly well.
- Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the hot water/molasses, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Avoid over mixing. Batter will be thin. Whisk out any big lumps.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for around 35 minutes or until the cake is baked through. All ovens are different and your cake could take a little more or less time. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean with only a couple moist (not wet) crumbs, it is done. Allow cake to cool a bit in the pan set on a wire rack.
- Pour lemon glaze mixture over cake while cake is still warm. Spread the mixture around with a spatula to ensure even distribution.
- Sprinkle the granulated sugar over the icing for the delicious crunch. Let cake cool completely before serving.
- Slice and serve the gingerbread loaf!
This looks like a delicious festive recipe I love the idea of adding a lemon glaze
We love anything lemon for desserts so we easily decided the gingerbread loaf with lemon glaze would be enjoyed by our children.
This Gingerbread Loaf looks so delicious. It would be the perfect afternoon snack with a cup of coffee.
The lemon glaze does give the ginderbread loaf the finishing touch.
Yes, and it’s so good with a cup of tea!
I need to make this delicious recipe to have with my tea
My family love eating gingerbread during the holidays, but gingerbread men can get a little boring. This recipe is the perfect solution. The glaze sounds delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
My pleasure!
I would love to make this with the kids so they can try something new.
My brother loves gingerbread one of his favorite year around. Sharing this with my sister in law so she can make it for him
Thanks for sharing our recipe!
My husband loves a gingerbread cake. He would really enjoy this.