Starbuck’s Gingerbread Loaf
This Copycat Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting tastes even better at home! Moist, delicious with a thick, creamy frosting!
A HOMEMADE SWEET CAKE WITH CREAM CHESE FROSTING
Apparently I am all about them copycat Starbucks loaf recipes lately. I shared a recipe recently for the Starbuck’s Lemon Loaf and I promised I would share the recipe for their gingerbread loaf. This one took a little longer to get on the blog than I initially had planned on. The truth is, I wasn’t real crazy with my first attempt. It wasn’t as moist as I had wanted. And I made WAY too much frosting for one loaf – not that I’m complaining 😉
A GREAT USE FOR APPLE BUTTER
After realizing it needed something to help make it more tender, I went back to the drawing board. It turns out that it really needed something else. After testing out applesauce and apple butter, it turns out apple butter adds that additional moistness without adding a bunch of oil. You can certainly use applesauce but we all preferred the apple butter version. Side note: if you have fresh nutmeg – use it here. Freshly grated nutmeg has the best flavor but the pre-grated nutmeg will do the job in this.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- unsalted butter
- sugar
- vanilla extract
- egg
- apple butter
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- salt
- ground ginger
- ground cinnamon
- ground cloves
- nutmeg
- chopped walnuts
- cream cheese
- powdered sugar
HOW TO MAKE STARBUCK’S GINGERBREAD LOAF:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9×5-inch 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 apple butter.
Slowly add the flour, baking soda, salt 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 is risen and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely on a rack before frosting. To make the 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!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Originally published: March 2017
Updated photos & republished: December 2021
Starbuck’s Gingerbread Loaf (+Video)
Ingredients
For the loaf:
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup apple butter
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
For the frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 block), room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ – 2 cups powdered sugar
- chopped walnuts, for topping (optional)
Instructions
For the loaf:
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9×5-inch 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 apple butter.
- Slowly add the flour, baking soda, salt 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 is risen and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely on a rack before frosting.
For the 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 (optional). Then slice and serve!
Video
Notes
- If you only have salted butter, just leave out the additional salt in the recipe.
- You can substitute applesauce for the apple butter in the recipe but I think you lose some of the moistness in the bread.
- Oil can be substititued for the butter.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
it says Apple butter but says applesauce?
Should say apple butter 🙂
I just made this loaf, and came out so delicious that I couldn’t stop tasting it. Great recipe with just a few simple ingredients. I will definitely make it again
So happy to hear that – thanks so much!
Loved it! Used my homemade apple butter and got rave reviews!
I just made this. Waiting for it to cool. Watched the video just now AFTER i made the cake. The video shows salt. The recipe does not call for salt. The recipe says to BELND in the applesauce after beating the butter, sugar, then egg and vanilla. The video shows them being beat all together at one time. I am serving this tomorrow at a tailgate so I wont know until then how it turned out, but I’m nervous now. I didn’t see mention of the missing salt in the comments.
I always loved the Gingerbread loaf at Starbucks. I recently saw your recipe and decided to try it in our new mini loaf pan. It was amazing! Your recipe makes 7 mini loaves in 25 minutes. Perfect for holiday gifting.
Thanks so much Dave – that’s good to know!!
This recipe is amazing! It was so delicious. I haven’t made gingerbread before, this recipe was easy and exactly what I wanted for Thanksgiving weekend.
Wow, Taste of Home literally copied your recipe almost word for word: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/starbucks-gingerbread-loaf/
I even check with wayback and your recipe was published years before theirs. I would happily have called them out, but of course you can’t comment. Thought you should know!
I look forward to giving your recipe a try based on all the amazing reviews.
Oh my! They really did, huh? I can’t say I’m surprised. Sadly, it’s not the first time its happened. They could at least re-write it in their own words! So disappointing. Well, I hope you love the recipe and I really appreciate you doing the work and finding my original recipe and I hope you LOVE it!!
I made this for my wife today. Tasted good.
It had very good flavor! Very moist and easy to make.
Even better than Starbucks – OMG!
Followed recipe exactly, making sure butter was completely softened, and was careful not to over-mix. I did add one ingredient-1 tbsp maple syrup. Batter was thick but extremely airy. Turned out perfectly tender and flavorful! Love this recipe since it does not have the overpowering flavor of molasses.
I so miss the Starbucks Gingerbread loaf but you hit this out of the park! This absolutely was the next best thing! So glad I found it! Thanks so much!
This recipe is EXCELLENT! I made these into whoopie pies! *funny story- husband bought me applebutter and accidentally broke it when he was carrying it in. I went to the store the next day and went to get some off the shelf and it slipped out of my hand and broke.. so be careful that’s is slippery stuff!
I’ve made this several times and it’s a huge hit. Moist, dense and flavorful. I make 2 loaves and freeze one (unfrosted) to have on hand but they both get eaten quickly. I do use an 8 oz. block of cream cheese for frosting each loaf as my husband loves thick frosting.
Add one extra yolk:
When making this the egg had a double yolk, and the extra protein did make the crumb looser but much much more tender. The family consensus is the extra yolk made this recipe that much better.
Store in the fridge, or countertop?
I would store any leftovers in the fridge (wrapped well) for about 3-4 days max. Note: cakes can tend to dry out in the fridge so if you are comfortable leaving it on the counter even though it has a cream cheese frosting…
Great adaptation recipe! The only 2 ingredients missing to make it exactly like the real deal, is 1 tsp grated orange zest and some chopped candied ginger mixed into the cake batter. As a Starbucks employee, I give it my 2 thumbs up lol
Oh nice! Thank you! I’ll definitely add that next time!
Question – just making sure there’s no baking powder in this. . .only baking soda?
Correct
In your video you added salt, however, in the directions there is no mention of salt. How much salt do you need to add? I have a loaf baking in the oven now but didn’t add salt. The smell in my kitchen is wonderful!
It’ll be fine. I ended up changing the recipe to using salted butter and removing the salt. I find most people tend to have salted butter on hand rather than unsalted. But if unsalted butter is used, then a 1/4 tsp salt can be added.
Delicious! I made three small loaves, baked about 32 minutes. I used apple butter and added about a tablespoon of molasses. Batter was thick, but turned out great. I didn’t ice, but know that would be good. Thanks!
So happy to hear that Bridget! Thanks so much!
Very easy to make and tastes delicious!
Thanks so much Lisa!
I made this as written and it turned out perfectly, absolutely love it!
FYI, I had previously pinned this and fortunately printed out a copy of the recipe because the link no longer works. When I tried to pin it again, it was blocked by Pinterest, saying that it might link to spam.
I know! I’m sorry! I have a help ticket into them. I’ve heard it’s part of a recent update glitch. Bear with me – we’ll get it fixed.
So happy you loved the recipe!!
Wonderful! The best I’ve ever ate.. Thank you for sharing!
My family loved this!
I actually made cupcakes out of this (it made 12). Don’t have a loaf pan. I didn’t have any issues at all with caving but they cooked REALLY FAST. About 15m and they were done. Good thing I was checking on then frequently! I used the apple sauce and also pieces of candied ginger in the batter. The icing recipe as is was just enough for all the cupcakes. Really tastes exactly like Starbucks!
Tastes great! I’ve made this twice and both times, mine caved in pretty badly so it wasn’t the prettiest but tasted really good!
I love the taste but all of mine sunk in the middle! Not so great looking to give for gifts and of course I made a double batch! Anyone else have the sinking middle problem and any solution?
Yes, I had the same problem with sinking in the middle. I saw your comment prior to cooking my first batch and decided to add some baking powder as well as a bit of salt (because I thought the salt would make the flavors pop). I’m glad I added both. I’m going to cook another batch and see if lowering the temp to 325 for an hour and fifteen minutes might help. I’ll update later.
Okay, I made another batch. After a little research I decided to put more flour* in the mix without increasing anything else. Reason being, I used applesauce which is quite a bit runnier than apple butter. Also, I sprayed only the bottom of the bread pans so the dough would grab onto the sides of the bread pan while rising. I’m happy to say my new loaves turned out beautifully!
*I changed the serving scale to 20 and added another 3/4 cup of flour to the 3 & 3/4 cups the recipe called for. If you’re making the regular 8 servings I’d say another 1/4 cup would be good.
This gingerbread loaf is a wonderful treat. I used apple butter instead of applesauce which I think is the trick that sets this loaf apart from all the others. I made a cinnamon buttercream frosting instead of a cream cheese frosting that paired really well with it. Thanks for sharing your talent of creating great recipes.
Hi Bev! Thank you so much for coming back to comment!! Love hearing that!
The flavor of this was great – I used apple butter as instructed and I tend to use “heaping” measurements of spice in spice cakes and breads because I like them to bite. My only concern is that the finished product is really dense and kind of dry. Like another baker, I came back to double check because my bread mixture was SOOO thick, but aside from a little extra spice, I seemed to have followed instructions well. Any pointers for lightening the mixture? Did I over-mix, maybe? Has anyone added additional liquid successfully? I thought about molasses, since that tends to pop up in gingerbread recipes, but didn’t give it a try this time. Maybe more eggs? I don’t know.
This recipe is easy and tastes great!
Does the icing harden?
How would you adjust the baking time and temp is you used mini loaf pans?!
Loved it!
Hi Rebecca, it should hold its shape in a decorative loaf pan. 🙂
Salted butter was used, no need to add extra salt.
This looks SO good!
If I use mini loaf pans to make for gifts, would the cooking time change?
I’m making this recipe at this very moment & I had to come back to check the recipe because I thought there had to be a mistake as there is no liquid anything except the applebutter (I just happened to have one last pint from the previous batch I canned! YuM!!). When I watched the video – which I did not do before – I see your batter is very thick also! I can’t wait to try this! Thanks so much for sharing your recipes.
Do you think this can be made in a bread machine? I’m new to bread machine and would like to try this recipe in it, does anyone know in what order the ingredients would go in?
*3/4 cup Molasses
So good! Everyone wanted the recipe! And I finally have a use for all that apple butter everyone gives me – LOL.
Oh My Goodness – this is truly the BEST Gingerbread I EVER tasted!!! I did make a small adjustment – I was making a double batch – I added 3/4 cup (because that was all I had) and reduced the applesauce to equal the 2 cups requested for a double batch!
Thanks for an awesome recipe! I made it to give away as small loaves and am trying to remind myself that I “can always make more!” so that I won’t keep it all at home!
Honestly this is WAY better than starbucks. I added a splash of milk to the icing and didnt add any nuts to the top. This was fabulous. Will be making this again very soon.
If you really want it to be like the Starbucks Gingerbread loaf, add chopped, candied orange peel to the top of the cream cheese frosting instead of nuts. This recipe looks delicious.
I would add a couple of Tablespoons of oil and replace some of the applesauce with buttermilk powder, yum. It will be very moist.
Would be wonderful with raisins throw in, I think.
What is Clove?
It is a spice…ground cloves in the spice aisle. Whole cloves are harder to find.
Beyond delicious! I am so pleased with the flavour.
I love the Starbucks version I will definitely make this this holiday season.
Hi there!
Would love to add this to my Christmas baking treats! Do you think it could be frozen with the icing on?
Thanks!
I love loaf breads! I do wonder though, do we have to use applesauce in it? I have none right now.
Is there a gluten free version of this?
I’m sorry Shay – I’m not on a gluten free diet so I can’t offer one. 🙁
You can buy Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour with the xanthum gum already in it, in a large bag for around $8 at SAMs Club. I use it 1:1 like regular flour.
Just made this gluten-free with Bob’s 1:1 baking flour and it was beyond amazing!! Had it today for Christmas eve breakfast and have slices ready for tomorrow. Was worried as I’m new to a gluten-free diet and usually everything tastes like cardboard, but this bread is plenty moist and delicious with that substitution. Thank you for this amazing recipe which is sure to become part of our holiday tradition!!
Loved this bread before I was vegan. Now I will veganize it so I can enjoy it again!
Love that! Make it your own 🙂
Sounds yummy. I have never had the Starbucks one, but your recipe sounds amazing!
Hope you love it Kelly! I feel like every time I am actually at Starbucks – they have already sold out! Ha! So now we can make it at home!
Looks SO scrumptious! I am in love with fresh grated nutmeg too. Thanks for sharing! I am especially fond of quick breads..and this one is very unique.
Thank you SO much Mrs. B!