If you’re looking for a delicious and relatively easy Christmas dessert to make this holiday season, I suggest you try out this festive gingerbread loaf.

Every year I like to make something gingerbread- whether that be cookies, cake or muffins. The mix of spices and a delicious orange cream-cheese frosting is so quintessentially Christmas and I love the smell that fills our home when we have a fresh one right out from the oven. This year I opted to make a loaf instead of muffins or a cake and both Jonas and I loved it. We enjoyed it as dessert in the evening and sometimes even with a cup of tea or coffee mid-morning. It was gone after 4 days, but I think I will have to make another one next week, closer to the holidays. If you end up trying out this recipe, let me know in the comments how you liked it. I’d love to hear your thoughts! 🙂

Recipe: Makes a standard, 1lb loaf.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 1/4 cup plain flour
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp ground clove
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup warm water

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 50g softened butter
• 110g cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• zest of 1/2 orange
• juice of 1/4 orange

Steps:

1. In a bowl mix the dry ingredients (apart from the sugars), set aside.

2. In a bigger bowl- mix oil, eggs, white sugar until pale and thick. Then add the brown sugar and honey – mix well.

3. Add the dry ingredients and warm water to the bowl containing wet ingredients. Mix well until smooth.

4. Line a standard 1lb loaf tin with a baking sheet, pour the batter into the tin and bake for 40-45 minutes at 190 degrees C/375 degrees F.

5. Once the time is up, stick a toothpick into the center and if it comes out clean, it’s done. Leave the loaf in the oven but turn it off and open the door up a bit to allow the cake to cool gradually – this will prevent it from collapsing in the middle from a sudden drop in temperature.

6. As the loaf cools, beat the soft cream cheese and butter until completely smooth. Then add the powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated. Grate in the orange zest and squeeze in the juice, mix well.

7. Take the loaf out of the tin and once it’s fully cooled- spread the cream cheese frosting on top. If you have extra left over, keep it in the fridge for a future recipe or as a topping when you slice into the loaf in case you want more!

Enjoy!