Vegan Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting (Gluten-Free)

This Vegan Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting is light, moreish and fluffy with a gingerbread sugar middle and thick spiced frosting. Top this with mini gingerbread cookies for a fun, gluten-free and festive bake.

December is here which means I am fully gingerbread obsessed. I always have a Tupperware full of gingerbread cookies this time of year for decorating bakes, adding into brownies and for eating, of course. As well as actual gingerbread, I love all things gingerbread flavoured so I turned my hand to a ginger inspired loaf. This one is packed with spices, warming flavours and good-for-you ingredients and makes a great showstopper this holiday season.

Why will I love this loaf cake?

This gingerbread cake is so delicious, it is:

• Moist, fluffy and tender
• Richly warmly gingerbread spiced
• Made with wholesome ingredients like yoghurt and ground almonds
• Naturally vegan and easily gluten-free and nut-free
• Easy to make ahead of time
• Topped with a luscious gingerbread cream cheese frosting
• Has a hidden gingerbread sugar middle swirl
• Decorated with cute gingerbread cookies
• A great cake to make this festive time

If you already love the sound of this festive loaf, then skip ahead to the recipe card below. Or, first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.

What ingredients do I need?

The ingredients for this loaf cake are:

• Thick dairy-free yoghurt: I always use coconut yoghurt from Cocos Organic for baking with as it’s thick, creamy and perfect for cake batters. Other Greek-style dairy-free yoghurts will work, as long as they are thick.
• Plant-based milk: and milk is great here like oat, almond, soya or coconut.
• Lemon juice: this helps to bind the batter as it curdles the milk, forming a buttermilk. You can also use apple cider vinegar.
• Olive oil: for moisture and texture. If you prefer, you can also use sunflower oil or melted and cooled coconut oil.
• Coconut sugar: for sweetness. I love the caramel-like flavour of coconut sugar but you can use golden or regular caster sugar, too.
• Molasses: this is classic gingerbread flavour and adds a lot of richness. It is quite heavy and wet, so we only use a little to make sure the batter still cooks through.
• Vanilla essence: for flavour.
• Plain or gluten-free plain flour: to keep the loaf nice and light. If making this gluten-free, use your preferred gluten-free blend of flour than contains xanthan gum.
• Ground almonds: these add so much texture and a lovely nutty flavour. To make this nut-free, grind up sunflower seeds to a fine meal and use this instead. Or, at a pinch, use more plain flour.
• Vegan vanilla protein powder: this adds so much texture and flavour, too. I love a vanilla protein or also a caramelised white chocolate or cinnamon bun protein – all of which you can find at Macromike (my code AMB-AMY saves you 10% off everything). If you prefer, you can swap this for more plain flour.

• Baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt: for rise and flavour.
• Gingerbread spices: ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spices combine for the best gingerbread flavour.
• Vegan butter: this is for the frosting. make sure this is the vegan block butter and also that it is room temperature before starting to make the creamiest fluffiest frosting. Leave it out for 1 hour or so until softened.
• Vegan cream cheese: again, this is best at room temperature, so leave it out for 30-60 minutes. The cream cheese in the UK is spreadable in texture, so if you’re using a block-style one, you may need more liquid in the frosting. I use the one from NUSH.
• Icing sugar: for the frosting to make this sweet, light and fluffy.
• Gingerbread cookies: I use my cheat’s gingerbread cookies here as they are so easy to make and work every time without any need for bubbling or too much stirring. You can make these into any shapes for decorating this cake, or use shop-bought ones.

How do I make this?

This cake is easy to make in one bowl, like most of my cake batters.

• Stir together the ingredients for the gingerbread sugar: and leave to one side.
• Wisk together the wet ingredients for the cake: until smooth.
• Sift in the dry ingredients: and whisk again to a thick batter.
• Pour half the batter into a lined tin: and smooth over the top.
• Sprinkle over all the gingerbread sugar: and top with the remaining batter.
• Drag a knife through the batter to swirl the sugar: then smooth over the top.
• Bake for 36 to 40 minutes until golden, risen and cooked through: and allow to cool.
• Beat together all the ingredients for the frosting: till light and fluffy.
• Spread the frosting over the cake: and decorate with gingerbread shapes.

How long will this last?

This loaf cake will keep for 3-5 days in a sealed container in the fridge although best enjoyed at room temperature. The cookies will soften over time, so add these just before serving. You can freeze the unfrosted loaf, covered well, for up to 1 month and allow to defrost at room temperature.

Is this gluten-free and nut-free?

This is easily gluten-free, just use gluten-free plain flour in the loaf cake and ensure your gingerbread cookies are also free from gluten. To make this loaf nut-free, swap the ground almonds for ground sunflower seeds and check that all the other ingredients are free from nuts like yoghurt, milk, butter and cream cheese.

I love this cake, what else can I make?

If you are looking for other showstopper cakes and bakes this festive season, how about my:

• Chocolate Pecan Mousse Pie
• Giant Gingerbread Cinnamon Roll
• Christmas Banana Bread
• Vegan Slice and Bake Shortbread Cookies
• Vegan Eggnog Sugar Cookies with Easy Vegan Eggnog

I look forward to hearing what you think of this Vegan Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make this loaf, I’d love to see so please tag me, @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With gingerbread loaf love x