Gingered Gingerbread Loaf

 

Gingerbread is one of my loves. I can honestly say that I have never met a Gingerbread that I didn't enjoy!  There is something about the flavor of it that just whispers, "Home Sweet Home" and "Holidays" to me.

I have baked many beautiful gingerbreads through the years so when I saw this gingerbread recipe over on a page called Baking At Home, I knew that I wanted to bake it. It looked and sounded fabulous.

 

It looked dense and delicious, which is how I love my gingerbreads.  Dense, delicious and spiked with plenty of Ginger.

This one has ginger in spades, from a rather generous amount of ground powdered ginger and then an indulgence of chopped crystalized ginger, so you get a double whammy!

 

I confess that I misread the recipe when I was making it. I thought it said 3/4 cup of chopped crystalized ginger, instead of 1/4 cup. Blame my aging eyes.  

In any case I added 3/4 cup and I have to say, it totally worked.  However, if you are not really fond of the flavor of ginger, do cut it back to 1/4 cup (35g). I thought the larger amount was perfect!

 

I also cut way back on the glaze ingredients. It was my thinking that if I went overboard on the glaze, I would be taking away from the cake/loaf itself.  This is just the right amount.

I did add some pretty cake dragrees for the Holidays, because, well . . . I think you just want a bit of sparkle at this time of year!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GINGERED GINGERBREAD LOAF

Pretty basic baking cupboard ingredients, with the exception of the crystalized ginger.

For the loaf:

• 2 cups (280g) plain all-purpose flour
• 1 TBS Ground Powdered Ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground Cinnamon
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground Cloves
• ¾ cup (180ml) Molasses
• ¾ cup milk, gently warmed
• ½ cup (120g) butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup (100g) soft light brown sugar
• 1 large free-range egg
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 3/4 cup (135g) chopped crystallized Ginger

For the glaze:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
• 1 TBS milk
• Chopped crystalized ginger to decorate

 

I know that in the UK molasses can be a precious commodity if you can find it.  I used to substitute equal parts of golden syrup and dark treacle for the same measure of molasses in any recipe I used that required it.  

So, for this recipe you would use 90ml of each golden syrup and treacle.  Treacle on its own is far too harsh a flavor. When I first moved over there, I made the mistake of thinking that treacle and molasses were the same thing.  

They are not the same thing.

 

Whereas they are both by-products from the sugar can juice, dark treacle has a more pronounced and almost bitter flavor in comparison to molasses. Mixing it together with golden syrup makes it much more palatable.

I remember making gingersnaps with the treacle when I first moved over there, and they were largely inedible. I had to throw them away as the flavor of the treacle was very overpowering.

 

You might think that 1 TBS of powdered ginger is a lot but trust me when I tell you that it totally works in this gingerbread. 

 

And do take a leap of faith and use the larger amount of the crystalized ginger. You will not regret it, I promise! 

 

 

    HOW TO MAKE GINGERED GINGERBREAD LOAF

This is a very simple loaf/cake to make.

Preheat the oven to 325*F/160*C/ gas mark 3. Butter a 9 X 5-inch loaf tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.

Sift the flour, powdered ginger, cinnamon, cloves and baking powder into a bowl along with the salt.

Whisk the warmed milk and molasses together in a measuring cup.

Cream the butter with the sugar until light. Beat in the egg and lemon zest.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk/molasses mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in the candied ginger.

 

Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin. Smooth the top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top should spring back when lightly touched.

Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully lift out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely before glazing.

Whisk the icing sugar and milk together until you have a smooth thick drizzle. Spoon this over the top of the cooled cake. Sprinkle with the chopped candied ginger to decorate.

Cut into slices to serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

 

As you can see there is not too much crystalized ginger in the loaf. I think that 1/4 cup is not enough to really notice it. More is much better in my opinion.

Too little and it will get lost in the loaf.

My loaf did take a bit longer than the recipe stated to finish baking.  I would say an extra 15 minutes in total.  Just check it about 10 minutes before the end of the bake time and then check it every 5 minutes or so afterwards. You can't go wrong if you do that.

This is a really lovely gingerbread loaf cake.  It is dense, which I love in a gingerbread. Moist, which I also love.  And the ginger flavors are excellent.

I highly recommend it and do make the glaze. It goes with the cake perfectly! 

If you like gingerbread as much as I do, you may also enjoy the following:

GINGERBREAD BLONDIES - These are the most fabulous brownie type of square with beautiful ginger flavor.  Moist and dense. These go wonderfully with a hot cuppa.

DEEP, DARK & DELICIOUS GINGERBREAD - This is the kind of gingerbread cake that you could imagine Meg, Amy, Jo and Beth sitting down to enjoy on cold winter's evening while the fire burns low in the grate, whilst Marmee reads to them the latest missive from their pa. It is a gingerbread cake that gets more delicious with each day that it stands. Like magic it gets denser, moister

Yield: 12 slices

Author: Marie Rayner

Gingered Gingerbread Loaf

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 55 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

This easy loaf cake sings with lots of bright ginger flavor. Its dense and delicious

Ingredients

For the loaf:

• 2 cup (280g) plain all-purpose flour
• 1 TBS Ground Powdered Ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground Cinnamon
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground Cloves
• ¾ cup (180ml) Molasses
• ¾ cup milk, gently warmed
• ½ cup (120g) butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup (100g) soft light brown sugar
• 1 large free-range egg
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 3/4 cup (135g) chopped crystallized Ginger

For the glaze:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
• 1 TBS milk
• Chopped crystalized ginger to decorate

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325*F/160*C/ gas mark 3. Butter a 9 X 5-inch loaf tin and line with baking paper. Set aside.
2. Sift the flour, powdered ginger, cinnamon, cloves and baking powder into a bowl along with the salt.
3. Whisk the warmed milk and molasses together in a measuring cup.
4. Cream the butter with the sugar until light. Beat in the egg and lemon zest.
5. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk/molasses mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in the candied ginger.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin. Smooth the top.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top should spring back when lightly touched.
8. Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully lift out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely before glazing.
9. Whisk the icing sugar and milk together until you have a smooth thick drizzle. Spoon this over the top of the cooled cake. Sprinkle with the chopped candied ginger to decorate.
10. Cut into slices to serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

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