Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Glaze
Ohhhh heeeeyyyy, just over here comin’ to replace your Christmas morning cinnamon rolls with *drumroll please* gingerbread loaf with cinnamon streusel and cream cheese glaze! You. Are. Welcome.
If you followed my stories on instagram (@baranbakery) last year you would’ve seen how many times I tried to make a gingerbread loaf. I was trying to make a gingerbread cheesecake loaf, where the cream cheese filling was layered into the gingerbread batter. I gave it like seven tries and I was still unsuccessful. But new year new me, I made a new gingerbread loaf and it’s phenomenal.
How to make homemade gingerbread loaf from scratch
Where to begin with this little guy?! Let’s start with all the layers. We have a super moiiissssttttt gingerbread loaf. Topped with a beautiful cinnamon streusel that doesn’t get super hard after baking for an hour. The best part? Using only two ingredients, a luxurious cream cheese glaze.
I like to keep things pretty simple around here and this is no different. For the batter, mix wet ingredients, whisk together dry ingredients and then combine the two together. The easiest way to make a streusel is by placing all the ingredients in a food processor. Bake it up and let it cool a bit. So this luxurious glaze I speak of is made using cream cheese and Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk. If you’ve never baked with sweetened condensed milk, you NEED to try it out. It’s so creamy and sweet and you don’t have to mess around with messy powdered sugar.
How long to bake a gingerbread loaf?
I’ve always struggled a bit with quick breads because they’re so thick, they always risk being under-baked in the center or burned on the edges. Fear not, this loaf is perfectly baked. & did I mention the streusel doesn’t get super hard on top?! I baked this loaf for 75 minutes on 325 Fahrenheit. When removed from the oven, give it at least 30 minutes to cool in the pan. The center will continue baking a little because of how thick and hot it is. You can eat it warm but it may be a little difficult to slice before it’s completely cooled.
Once you remove the gingerbread loaf from the pan, GLAZE IT UP! You can even just use the Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk, without the cream cheese, as the glaze. They even come in the new squeeze bottles, so you can just glaze it fresh when serving!
How to easily remove quick bread from a loaf pan?
Generally when I remove cake or loafs, I just flip them over and they slide right out. However, this has a generous amount of streusel on top that we certainly don’t want to lose. So I grease my pan with baking spray and then I use a long thin sheet of parchment paper to line it. Just cut (or rip) a sheet of parchment to about 6″x12″ and place it across the SHORT side of the pan. You want extra paper sticking up past the sides of the pan so you can easily remove it. If the pan is properly greased, the rest of the loaf shouldn’t stick at all.
How long does gingerbread loaf last?
You can eat this gingerbread loaf fresh and warm or let it cool and then eat it. To keep it has fresh as possible, avoid slicing until serving and store in an airtight container. Keep refrigerated overnight and allow it to come to room temperature before serving. You can freeze it as well, I would just hold off on the glaze until serving and make sure it’s in an airtight container.
Ok friends, good chat today. Make sure to snag a bottle of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk to make your Christmas morning a little sweeter. I know I’ll be enjoying this gingerbread loaf with my family and I’d love see if you guys make it too! Make sure to tag me @baranbakery on instagram and as always, have a blessed day and happy baking!
Love, B
Thank you for supporting all things Baran Bakery & the brands that make it all possible. This post was sponsored by Eagle Brand. All opinions are 100% my own.
Can you please give me an alternative for Molases . It’s not available where I’m living . Could I possibly use Golden syrup
Hi Pauline, I would try either golden syrup, maple syrup or honey 🙂 they should all work
Could you add pumpkin to this? If so, how would you suggest I do it? Our local grocery stopped carrying my hubby’s fav pumpkin gingerbread loaf cake so I am trying to recreate it here for him!
Hi Tiffany, I haven’t tried it but my first attempt would be to replace the milk with pumpkin purée 🙂
Maybe even do a whole cup of pumpkin purée instead of 3/4 cup like the milk..
I found this very oily both taste and to touch:(
So this recipe states to mix all dry ingredients, which to me the white and brown sugars are dry, then step 2 states to cream the butter and sugars until creamy. Am I missing something?
Whoops sorry step 2 is all dry ingredients and step 3 states about the butter and sugars
Hi Nichole, sorry about the confusion. The sugar gets mixed with the butter while the rest of the dry ingredients get added later. I will update the recipe, thank you!
i’m sorry to write this it ran all over my oven I left it in for 75 minutes was still jiggly so another 10 it’s awful.i am so sad
Hi Susan, I’m so sorry to hear that. Did your batter look like mine did before you put it in the oven? Also do you live in a higher altitude zone? Would love to hear back from you and help you fix this!
does the eagle brand milk go in batter or regular milk?
Hi Teresa, milk is the “wet” ingredient in step 6, so sorry, I should have specified that! You alternate adding the milk with the dry ingredients. I usually do “flour, milk, flour, milk, flour”.
thank you kindly! it is in the oven now, used regular milk in batter.
Of course! Let me know how you like it:)
I guess the milk goes in with eggs, sugar, and oils?
I don’t like cloves. Can I substitute another spice?
Hi Jane, you can substitute cloves for all spice or just leave it out all together 🙂