Spiced Gingerbread Loaf #Christmas #cake

While we're all in gratefully mode right now, I want to share something you can make during the weekend and the weeks leading up to Christmas. This spiced ginger bread will make your home smell absolutely divine as guests come and go, not to mention puts you in a vacation State of mind really. Even more festive than the Buddy the elf! Smile in my favorites.

What I love about this bread is that it's a breakfast, snack and dessert all rolled into one. Orange icing and all. You can make bread as a muffin (see my notes!) or serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. Have a slice with coffee in the afternoon or top with fresh whipped cream and homemade cranberries.

The possibilities are endless, and if you have a few minutes to spare, you can prepare this gingerbread dough.

Spiced ginger bread
yield: 1 loaf preparation time: 10 minutes total time: 10 minutes (PLUS cooling)
Ingredients:

• 2 cups (250 g) plain flour (spoon & leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 and 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) unsulphured molasses or dark
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) of hot water (about 100 ° F (38 ° C))
• 1/2 cup (115g; 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature1
• 1/3 cup (67 g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Orange Icing:

• (120 g) 1 cup confectioners ' sugar, sifted
• 2-3 tablespoons (30-45ml) orange juice

Direction:

1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350 ° F (177 ° C). Grease loaf pans 9 x 5-inch. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper together until combined. Set aside. In a separate bowl or dish, whisk molasses and hot water together.
3. In a large bowl using a hand-held or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on high speed until smooth and creamy--about 1 minute. Add sugar and beat on high speed for 1 minute until creamed together quite well. Scrape down the sides and bottom of Bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, beat the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of Bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients in three additions alternating with hot water/molasses and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Avoid overmixing. The batter will be thin. Shake out any large lumps.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes or until gingerbread loaves are baked through. All ovens are different and the bread You could take a little more or less. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of gingerbread. If it comes out clean with just a few crumbs moistened (not wet), this is done. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack set before removing from pan.

Make icing: whisk confectioners ' sugar and orange juice together. Drizzle over cooled loaf.
The rest of the bread makes excellent covered tightly in the refrigerator up to 5 days. The taste will be better after a day or two!
Make the front end: bread can be baked, cooled, and tightly covered at room temperature overnight. The bread can be frozen for 2 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.