Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf

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Do you love Starbucks classic gingerbread loaf? You can make this easy and delicious copycat version of Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf right in your own home that is sure to impress.

More Holiday baking? You’ll love these Gingerbread Bars, these Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars, this Starbucks Banana Bread and this Starbucks CopyCat Lemon Loaf!

Why We Love This Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf

This spiced old-fashioned gingerbread recipe is the perfect loaf to bake when you want the flavors of Christmas and you’re craving Starbucks! We added a creamy, dreamy tangy lemon cream cheese buttercream frosting on top of to really get your your taste-buds a-dancing.  Oh My Gosh!

Throughout the years, my mom would make a boxed gingerbread cake and served with warm lemon pudding on top.  I remember how much we loved it and were always excited when she made it and lemon and gingerbread go awesome together, like it was always meant to be.  The gingerbread and lemon duo!

That’s why this Gingerbread Loaf with Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting is now a reminder of my mom’s memorable dessert back in my childhood days.

This “Copycat” Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf is going to be fantastic and by making it at home, it costs a lot less too! Wait until you taste a slice or 2! Let’s get to baking!

Ingredients You Need

Copycat Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf Recipe

• unsalted butter, room temperature
• sugar
• coffee extract or vanilla extract
• egg room, temperature
• applesauce or apple butter
• molasses
• flour
• baking soda
• salt
• ground ginger
• ground cinnamon
• ground cloves
• nutmeg freshly grated or ground

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

• butter softened 
• cream cheese, room temperature
• vanilla extract
• confectioners’ sugar
• lemon juice

Instructions How to Make Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf 

starbucks gingerbread bread loaf

1. Set oven to 350F. Line an 8×4 loaf pan or a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper leaving ends long so you can lift it out when cooled. Spray non-stick spray over parchment paper/pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices and set aside
3. Cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and coffee or vanilla extract.
4. Mix in the applesauce/apple butter and molasses.
5. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients slowly until just incorporated.
6. Add the batter into loaf pan and level.
7. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until it is risen and a toothpick comes out clean. Check it early to make sure you don’t overbake. 8×4 loaf pan will bake longer, and will thicker than the 9×5 loaf pan.
8. Let cool completely on a rack before frosting.

Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and softened butter together until smooth, then add the lemon juice.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until well blended.
3. Frost the gingerbread loaf.

More Variations

• You can also top with a simple glaze of vanilla, powdered sugar and milk like on this Apple Fritter Bread.
• You can also flavor the frosting with orange juice instead of lemon juice for another flavor option!
• I wish I would have had some lemon curd on hand, because I think it would look super, pretty adding some drizzles of it on top of the gingerbread loaf with lemon frosting.  Next time!
• Want to get more flavors?  Add some candied ginger, dried cranberries, orange zest, pecans, walnuts or pistachios in the bread or on top of the loaf to give it some textures and wonderful flavors every time you take a bite!
• The flavor of this recipe for Starbucks gingerbread loaf will intensify after two days, but enjoy it for up to 5-6 days!
• BTW…with this Starbucks copycat recipe, you can use applesauce or apple butter, but I really liked using the apple butter to change it up and give it an extra depth of flavor!  But either one will work fine!
• Speaking of depth of flavors, besides the apple butter and gingerbread spices of ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, I added in some molasses.  You can leave it out, but I recommend using it, along with coffee extract.  YIKES!  I’m addicted! 🙂

  I love using coffee extract!  I used coffee extract in these Butter Pecan Turtle Cookies and Hearty Pumpkin Chai Spiced Oatmeal Cookies (Chocolate Chips & Cranberries included too.  You really should try it!

Pro Baking Tip For Your Starbucks Gingerbread Bread

• Don’t over bake your loaf! Don’t open the oven while it is baking or the cake can sink. After 50 minutes, test it by sticking a knife or toothpick in the middle. If the knife comes out clean, take the cake out of the oven.

Storing Copycat Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf

• Store this bread in a sealed airtight container or cover it in plastic wrap for up to 6 days.

Our Copycat Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf with Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting is a wonderful addition to the holiday baking fun! Perfect for snacking, breakfast, gifting to friends and family and when you’re wanting Christmas Holiday flavors! 

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More Holiday Baking!

• Starbucks CopyCat Coffee Crumb Cake Recipe
• Christmas Eggnog Cranberry Bread Pudding with Vanilla Rum Sauce
• Starbucks Banana Bread
• Pumpkin Greek Yogurt Bread
• Starbucks Pumpkin Pound Cake – CopyCat Recipe

Gingerbread Loaf with Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

Kim Lange

This "Copycat" Gingerbread loaf recipe is adapted from Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf, so you know it's going to be fantastic, (which it is, duh!) and by making it, it costs a lot less too! We added a creamy, dreamy tangy lemon cream cheese buttercream frosting on top of this spiced old-fashioned gingerbread loaf that will get your taste-buds a-dancing.  Oh My Gosh! 

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Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Servings 8 Servings

Calories

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Gingerbread Loaf

• ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon coffee extract or vanilla extract
• 1 large egg room temperature
• 1 cup applesauce or apple butter
• 1 ½ tablespoons molasses
• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated or ground

Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

• ½ stick butter softened (4 tablespoons)
• 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ¾ cups confectioner's sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

 

• Set oven to 350F
• Line am 8x4 or 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper leaving ends long so you can lift it out when cooled. Spray non-stick spray over parchment paper/pan.

Gingerbread Loaf

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices and set aside
• Cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and coffee or vanilla extract.
• Mix in the applesauce/applebutter and molasses.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly until just incorporated.
• Add into loaf pan and level.
• Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until it is risen and a toothpick comes out clean. Check it early to make sure you don't overbake. 8x4 loaf pan will bake longer, and will thicker than the 9x5 loaf pan.
• Let cool completely on a rack before frosting.

Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

• Beat the cream cheese and softened butter together until smooth, then add the lemon juice
• Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until well blended.
• Frost the gingerbread loaf.

Keyword BREAD, frosting, ginger, gingerbread, Starbucks

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