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You don’t have to give up your favorite holiday flavors for the sake of being healthy. This Gingerbread Loaf Recipe makes a few simple swaps, like coconut sugar and gluten-free flour, to make a sweet treat that’s more nutritionally balanced, but still delicious.
This simple moist gingerbread loaf recipe uses applesauce and coconut sugar to sweeten the batter and also adds pumpkin puree to up the fiber and moisture. Those healthier swaps are complemented by warm spices, ginger, and molasses to give this cake its signature gingerbread flavor. Your family and friends will adore this cake for dessert at your holiday parties!
If you like healthy gingerbread recipes, you will love my healthy protein gingersnaps and gluten-free gingerbread donuts!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Holiday Flavor, But Better for You: Don’t give up your favorite holiday flavors! A few simple substitutes make this dessert healthy, but it still tastes like classic gingerbread.
- Lower in Sugar and Higher in Fiber: The use of applesauce and coconut sugar reduces the overall amount of sugar in the cake, while the pumpkin puree increases the fiber. A good nutritional balance is the key to eating better without giving up the flavors that you love.
- Great for a Snack or Breakfast: Enjoy a slice of this loaf cake for breakfast with a slather of nut butter or snack on it for an afternoon pick-me-up or evening dessert.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Eggs: Not only are eggs a great binder that helps cakes and other desserts rise, but they are also an excellent source of protein.
- Pumpkin Puree: Pumpkin is a great source of fiber, and it’s naturally sweet, so you can reduce the amount of added sugar in your baked goods.
- Applesauce: Using applesauce is a great way to reduce the amount of oil and sugar in a recipe, which helps lower the calories and total fat.
- Molasses: You can’t have gingerbread without molasses. This thick, dark, slightly bitter sugarcane syrup gives gingerbread desserts their signature flavor. You can also use it to make some skinny gingerbread pancakes.
- Gluten-Free Flour: For this cake, a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour is ideal, but you can also use oat flour. If you wanted to use almond flour, I’d suggest following my almond flour gingerbread muffin recipe instead, because it absorbs more moisture, and you don’t want your cake dry.
- Coconut Sugar: This is a less processed sugar with a lower glycemic index, so it won’t spike your blood sugar like regular sugar.
- Spices: The warm spices in this cake are the stars of the show for that signature holiday flavor. You’ll need ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Add Frosting or a Glaze: This best gingerbread loaf recipe doesn’t need any additional topping, but if you really wanted to add a frosting, I’d recommend my light cream cheese frosting from this healthy gingerbread cake. You can also melt chocolate and drizzle it over the top of the finished loaf.
- Make Cupcakes or Mini Loaves: Easily serve this cake at a party by turning the recipe into cupcakes or mini loaf cakes. You need to adjust the cooking time down by half, so 25 minutes instead of 50.
- Slather with Nut Butter: Add more tastiness to your slick of gingerbread loaf by covering them in almond or cashew butter. This makes the chocolate loaf perfect for a snack.
How to Make Easy Gingerbread Loaf
This gingerbread loaf with molasses is a tasty treat for the holiday season. You can enjoy it for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert, because it’s both sweet and good for you. All you need to make it is a greased 9×5” baking pan lined with parchment paper and an oven preheated to 350°F.
Step 1: Cream the Sugar and Wet Ingredients. In a large mixing bowl or using a stand mixer, mix the eggs, coconut sugar, applesauce, pumpkin puree, molasses, and extra-virgin olive oil until smooth.
Step 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients. In a separate bowl, sift together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.
Step 3: Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients. Slowly add the mixed dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Then add half of the chocolate chips to the batter.
Step 4: Transfer to the Baking Pan and Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the batter.
Step 5: Bake. Bake the gingerbread loaf for 50 minutes at 350°F or until you can remove a toothpick cleanly from the center of the cake. Let it cool in the pan for 30 minutes before you remove it. Then let it cool completely for at least an hour before slicing it. Have a slice for breakfast or as a snack. It would also make a delicious holiday gift for those who enjoy healthier holiday recipes!
Expert Tips
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients: Be sure to use room temperature eggs, pumpkin puree, and applesauce. Room temperature ingredients help ensure a smoother batter and a better consistency for the baked cake.
- Measure the Flour Properly: With gluten-free baking, it is especially important to measure your flours properly. Use a spoon to fill your measuring cup instead of scooping and packing it in. This guide for measuring in baking is helpful until you get the hang of it.
- Cool Completely Before Slicing: Be sure you allow the cake to completely cool out of the pan for at least an hour before slicing and serving it. This gives the flavors time to meld and ensures your slices don’t crumble apart.
- Storing: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-6 days. You can also slice the cake, wrap the slices individually, and freeze them for up to a month.
Serving Suggestions
Gingerbread is one of my favorite flavors for the holidays. This loaf made with ginger makes for a great dessert, but you can also enjoy it with breakfast since it’s not a sugar bomb. Pair it with coffee any time of day so the flavors really shine through. Your holiday guests are sure to love it whenever you serve it!
- You have to make a batch of my gingerbread coffee creamer to go with your cake and coffee.
- If you’re taking your slice of bread for breakfast on the go paired with these salsa quinoa egg bites to increase your morning protein.
- Enjoy this best gingerbread loaf recipe for dessert during the holidays after enjoying my high-protein vegetarian lasagna for dinner. It’s great as a dessert!
Chocolate Gingerbread Cake Recipe FAQs
Unfortunately, not really. There isn’t a great substitute for molasses in gingerbread. You could use honey or maple syrup instead, but it won’t have the same ginger flavor.
Over mixing is usually the culprit in a dense bread. Be sure to stop stirring once the ingredients are combined to ensure a fluffier and lighter bread.
More Delicious Healthy Holiday Dessert Recipes
If you tried this Best Gingerbread Loaf Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Gingerbread Loaf Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Pumpkin Puree
- ½ cup Applesauce, unsweetened
- 2 tablespoons Molasses
- 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or oil of choice
- ¼ cup Coconut Sugar, or sugar of choice
- 2 cups Gluten Free Flour , or regular oat flour
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 teaspoons Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Cloves
- ½ teaspoon Allspice
- 4 tablespoons Mini Chocolate Chips, or dairy free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a 9×5" baking pan with parchment paper.
- Place eggs, coconut sugar, applesauce, pumpkin puree, molasses and extra virgin olive oil in a standing mixer and blend until smooth or blend in a mixing bowl by hand.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet with half the chocolate chips.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top of the batter, pressing them slightly into the batter.
- Bake at 350 F 50 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted clean.
- Cool the bread in the pan after removing from the oven 30 minutes. Then remove from the pan and let it sit another 60 minutes before slicing and enjoying.
Video
Notes
- Avoid clumps in your batter and ensure a great cake consistency by using room temperature eggs, pumpkin, and applesauce.
- Don’t pack your flour into measuring cups. Instead, spoon the flour into the cup and gently level it to avoid dry or dense baked goods, especially when working with gluten-free flours.
- Ensure the best flavor and non-crumbly cake slices by letting the cake cool for a full hour after removing it from the baking pan.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was delicious! My whole family loved the chocolate and ginger flavor.
Hi, what I can use instead molasses?
Maple syrup or honey. The flavor will not be the same without the molasses as that is part of what gives it the gingerbread flavor.
Guessing it would be difficult (dense or gummy?) to make this egg free with a substitute (flax or No Egg) due to anaphylactic allergy?
I think it might be a bit more dense and need a bit more liquid to balance it out. I would try an egg replacer.
Turned out perfectly! I loved that it’s not overly sweet.
Hello. The ingredients call for applesauce, but the directions don’t say what to do with it, so I just mixed it with the wet ingredients. While the texture is awesome (thick & hearty), it tastes more like pumpkin bread than gingerbread. I believe perhaps it needs more molasses & less pumpkin? Thank you!
Hi Lisa! The nutrition is intentionally balanced to make it lighter and better for you. Molasses is higher in calories so the quantity is controlled to keep the bread lighter and the pumpkin and applesauce are meant to add texture and sweetness without significantly increasing calories and sugar. Of course, you always have the option to add molasses or ground ginger to the recipe to enhance the gingerbread flavor to your liking. I’ve added the applesauce to the instructions. Thanks for the catch on that!
Could I swap a Greek yogurt and a drop or two of monk of liquid monk fruit in place of the applesauce. I find Greek yogurt tends to result in better rise and texture compared to applesauce, and it’s also playing the duel role of sweetener, I figure the monk fruit would balance that. However, I don’t know if you also included it to impart the apple taste as well.
Ha ha! Yum! Like you Megan I could probably eat my body weight in gingerbread, I love it so much! Your website is looking fab, I’m looking forward to seeing all the delicious new recipes in 2018! Have a good one!
Aww, thanks Neil! The website was a huge undertaking. Still a work in progress! 😉
I love those big, thick slices! This looks incredibly moist and mouthwatering! Happy holidays 🙂
Thank you! Happy Holidays to you too Nicole!
I love gingerbread flavored everything, it is such a comforting winter flavor. Can’t wait to give this a try.
It really is comforting. I just wish it was a touch cooler in Arizona so I could really crave cold foods!