Serves:
8 people
Cooking Time:
1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
For the Loaf:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 cup applesauce, or apple butter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- Chopped walnuts, for topping (optional)
- 4 oz cream cheese (1/2 block), room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray (the kind with flour in it - like Baker's Joy.)
- Using a stand mixer or an electric mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and the egg. Blend in the applesauce.
- Slowly add the flour, baking soda, and spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.) When everything is mixed, pour the batter into your loaf pan.
- Bake for about 55 minutes until it rises and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool completely on a rack before frosting
- Beat the cream cheese with the vanilla and then add 1 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. Add a little more sugar if it's not as thick as you like.
- Spread a thick layer of the frosting over the gingerbread cake. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Then dig in!
