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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 😉

Homemade Starbuck's Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting, sliced on a white tray.

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.

Copycat Starbuck's Gingerbread Loaf recipe from The Country Cook. Slices shown on a long white bread tray.

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
ingredients needed: salted butter, sugar, vanilla, egg, apple butter, flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, chopped walnuts
powdered sugar, cream cheese.

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.

butter and sugar mixed together with an electric mixer.

Beat in the vanilla and the egg. Blend in the apple butter.

vanilla extract, apple butter, egg added to sugar and butter in a bowl.

Slowly add the flour, baking soda, salt and spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.)

flour, spices added to gingerbread loaf batter.

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. 

Copycat Starbuck's Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and topped with chopped walnuts on a white serving tray.

Spread a thick layer of the frosting over the gingerbread cake. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Then dig in!

Starbuck's Gingerbread Loaf Cake, slices shown close up on a white plate.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Originally published: March 2017
Updated & republished: December 2021

Starbuck's Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

Starbuck’s Gingerbread Loaf (+Video)

This copycat Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting tastes even better at home! Moist, delicious with a thick, creamy frosting!
5 from 96 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

For the loaf:

For the frosting:

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

YouTube 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.  
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Sodium: 314mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28g

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.

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Recipe Rating




83 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    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.

  2. 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.

  3. 5 stars
    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.

  4. 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?

    1. 5 stars
      So good! Everyone wanted the recipe! And I finally have a use for all that apple butter everyone gives me – LOL.

  5. 5 stars
    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!

  6. 5 stars
    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.

  7. 5 stars
    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.

  8. I would add a couple of Tablespoons of oil and replace some of the applesauce with buttermilk powder, yum. It will be very moist.

  9. Hi there!

    Would love to add this to my Christmas baking treats! Do you think it could be frozen with the icing on?
    Thanks!

      1. 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.

    1. 5 stars
      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!!

  10. 5 stars
    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.