Healthy Gingerbread Loaf Cake

Irresistibly soft and full of warm winter spices, this Gingerbread Loaf Cake is ideal for upcoming Holidays. It’s made with all HEALTHY wholesome ingredients and refined sugar-free. Guilt-free dessert that goes perfectly with cup of tea or coffee.

I really thought that my Almond Sugar Cookies will be the last recipe that I publish before I unplug myself from the internet and go on deserved holiday break. But things quickly turn around in this digital world of food blogging.

So on Sunday, I decided to make Gingerbread Loaf Cake for dessert. Nothing fancy. Just plain simple gingerbread cake for us family to enjoy after dinner.

And that afternoon when I served the fully decorated cake on the table and wanted to pierce it with my cake knife and slice it, my hubby stopped my hand literally in the air. And then he asked me that ultimate THE question: Are you sure you don’t want to photo shoot that gingerbread loaf cake first? (…. crickets). 

That Sunday I didn’t plan to turn on my camera or to take any pictures of ANY food. Or do anything blogging related. But he insisted that I take few pictures of that Gingerbread Loaf Cake before we rush to it.

So I set up my studio in a hurry, adjusted the cake for photo shooting and took few photos before daylight was completely gone.

Husband also INSISTED that I post the recipe before Christmas. That Sunday my weakness was that Gingerbread Loaf Cake … and my husband.

After dinner, we all throw ourselves on the couch and enjoy in that fragrant perfection that lured us all afternoon with its fragrance. Our favorite Christmas movie was on,The Christmas Story.

And so the season of watching movies and enjoying in holiday atmosphere officially started in our house.

This Gingerbread Loaf Cake is made with whole wheat flour and is full of fragrant winter spices – cinnamon, minced ginger, allspice, cloves and vanilla. I wanted to emphasize the taste of ginger, so I added some freshly grated ginger too. Fresh ginger gave a slight spiciness to the cake and deepened its fragrant aroma.

I sweeten the cake with molasses, unrefined brown sugar rich in caramel flavor. Molasses gave the cake that beautiful brow color. Instead of butter, which is normally used for making gingerbread, I used super healthy coconut oil. That way I enriched furthermore this Gingerbread Loaf Cake with nutritious and healthy ingredients.

I decorated the cake with royal icing made from xylitol or birch sugar. Xylitol is a granulated sweetener that looks like white sugar and tastes almost exactly like it but is 34% lower in calories than table sugar and has a much lower glycemic index which makes him a healthier alternative. So I made this Gingerbread Loaf Cake and the royal icing completely healthy and perfect for a carefree holiday enjoyment.

GINGERBREAD LOAF CAKE is …

• made with all healthy ingredients,
• needs only a few simple ingredients,
• doesn’t contain unhealthy fats, refined white sugar or white flour,
• rich in nutrients,
• full of super spices – Ceylon cinnamon and fresh ginger,
• full of high quality fibers.

This Gingerbread Loaf Cake is so irresistibly fragrant, soft and just perfect for holidays. Or actually, perfect for cold winter days. It may seem simple, rustic, but the taste and texture are just superb.

You can serve this cake with a cup of freshly brewed coffee or hot tea, and I bet your kids will love it with the cup of warm milk.

Happy Holidays everyone!

4.2 from 10 votes

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Healthy Gingerbread Loaf Cake

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 12

Author Natalie | Natalie's Food & Health

Ingredients

• 2 cups 240g whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons of Ceylon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/3 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup coconut oil melted and cooled
• 1 inch 2.5 cm fresh ginger root, grated
• 1 cup buttermilk

For the glaze

• 1 egg white
• 1 cup 125g of xylitol
• lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 356F (180C). Put baking paper in a 9x5 baking pan and grease a bit with coconut oil.
2. Mix the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, salt, spices and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add molasses, oil and grated ginger and mix.
4. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients into the wet. Add buttermilk and mix once again.
5. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan.
6. Bake for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in comes out clean.
7. Let the cake cool completely before decorating with icing.
8. For royal icing: Beat the egg white. Add the powdered xylitol and lemon juice. Mix.
9. For buttermilk: Stir 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in the cup of warm milk. Leave 10 minutes at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

Keep in airtight container until serving.
As a measure, I used a US cup (240 ml).

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