A soft yet dense gingerbread full of wonderful holiday spices – ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom. Bake this and make the house smell amazing!
Call me strange, but I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had gingerbread before. I mean, I’ve had gingerbread cookies and gingerbread-flavored things (like ice cream!), but not a real slice of gingerbread. Why? I have no idea.
I’m starting to kick myself for not trying gingerbread sooner.
This loaf is perfectly dense and full of the classic gingerbread spices – ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, with a dash of cardamom and of course molasses. It’s a gingerbread cookie but in bread form.
The gingerbread made my house smell like the holidays, and I kept sniffing the aroma throughout the afternoon. Once I had a taste of the bread, I found myself sampling more and more of it until I almost ruined my dinner. Almost.
Feel free to substitute the all-purpose flour for whole wheat if you want to make this even healthier.
Gingerbread
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 3/4 cup molasses not blackstrap
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a standard 9"x5" loaf pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and salt together. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, boil 1/2 cup of water. Add the butter and stir to melt completely. Add in the molasses and stir until smooth. Take the saucepan off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Fold in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. A few lumps are OK.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared baking pan and bake in your preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (the gingerbread might sink in the center, and that's OK). Cool completely in the pan, then inverted onto a wire rack to release.