The other day, my 8-year-old son and I shared a slice of gingerbread loaf from Starbucks, and he absolutely fell in love with it. Naturally, I had no choice but to recreate it at home.
We pulled up the Starbucks ingredient list and stayed pretty close—ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and even a pinch of ground mustard to make the spices shine. Lots of zest, both orange and lemon, to brighten it up. I added a bit of sour cream for extra moisture and richness, and the result? A soft, flavorful gingerbread loaf that’s even better homemade.
It’s the perfect cozy treat for the season—one we’ll be baking on repeat.
Gingerbread Loaf
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp orange zest
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup apple sauce
2 TBSP sour cream
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger, heaping
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ground mustard
- For the Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 TBSP orange juice
Pinch of Salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, with sides of parchment overhanging from the pan so you can easily remove your bread later. - Measure flour by spooning it gently into your cups, measure, level off with a butter knife without compressing it, and add to a small bowl.
Add baking soda and spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mustard) to the flour and mix it well. - Beat sugar, brown sugar and butter in a bowl of a mixer until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the pan, about 2-3 minutes. On low speed, stir in vanilla and egg. Mix in the apple sauce, orange and lemon zest, and sour cream.
- Sift the flour mixture into the butter sugar mixture and then fold it in gently with a rubber spatula. Be careful not to overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Run a butter knife under cold water and run it in the middle of your bread lengthwise, about 1 cm deep. It will cause the bread to break in the center rather than all over, making it more visually appealing.
- Bake for around 42 minutes. 40-50 minutes should be the range. Start checking after 40 minutes and remove from the oven when the bread passes the toothpick test (toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, but not better.) Lift the bread out of the pan with the parchment paper. And cool completely on wire racks.
- For the glaze, mix all the ingredients together and spread over a cooled loaf. Let it set for at least an hour before slicing into pieces.
Notes
- Here's an optional upgrade: Adding candied ginger is a fantastic idea! It aligns perfectly with Starbucks' recipe and will add little bursts of sweet, spicy flavor and a chewy texture to your loaf. Toss 1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger in 1 teaspoon of flour before folding it into the batter. This helps prevent it from sinking to the bottom. Fold it in gently at the very end, right before pouring the batter into the pan.
