Moist, fluffy, flavorful paleo gingerbread loaf with an easy coconut glaze – a cozy, comforting quickbread recipe perfect for sharing with guests during holiday season.
This is the story of how my culinary nemesis became my culinary triumph.
Let’s back up. I first tried making this grain-free gingerbread last year after driving around looking at Christmas lights with one of my friends a couple of weeks before Christmas.
Having woken up at 4:23 in the morning, hot to trot and ready to bake all the holiday quick breads after the twinkle-light extravaganza, I thought I’d give myself an extra challenge by making the loaf grain-free, and also vegan.
While the loaf tasted amazing, it sank down deep into a Grand Canyon-like crevasse in the middle as soon as it came out of the oven.
Whomp whomp.
I blamed the fog in the harbor due to the early waking hour and tried again. After another attempt, I still wasn’t getting it.
About to throw in the towel, I decided to give it another whirl with eggs for a still paleo, but un-vegan loaf. Closer, yet still not perfect.
Several bottles of molasses and four failed attempts later, the holiday came and went and I was plumb over gingerbread.
I back-burnered the project for the rest of the winter, spring, summer and a good portion of the fall…until I recently found myself craving – you guessed it – gingerbread.
Funny how sometimes all you need is to put a project on the sideline for a hot minute (or ten months), then revisit it when you’re good and ready.
My first attempt back at the bread resulted in a resounding win. Nailed it.
It turned out so well, in fact, that I daresay I conquered the Paleo Gingerbread beast!
Moist, sweet but not too sweet, and somehow light and dense at the same time. It’s what every quick bread aspires to be.
Don’t let all my trials and errors fool you into thinking this bread is difficult to bake. It’s actually super easy!
I made an easy glaze using coconut milk while the bread was baking. Adding a little lemon zest to the glaze resulted in a cream cheese-like flavor, which – by my calculations – equals heaven.
My attempt at being fancy was sprinkling some candied ginger on top. Then, I proceeded to ravage approximately a third of the loaf.
For lunch. In broad daylight. No witnesses.
This Paleo Gingerbread Loaf is made with almond flour, coconut flour and tapioca flour.
Naturally sweetened with blackstrap molasses and pure maple syrup, and warmly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, this loaf is full of holiday flavor while still being completely healthful – as in healthy enough to eat for breakfast.
The way I see it, this loaf is the perfect post-holiday meal treat.
It’s 200% healthy, decadent enough to serve as dessert, and the best part is that your guests will be thanking you for a tasty treat that won’t put them in a gluten, dairy or sugar coma.
If you love quickbread recipes, you may also enjoy my Paleo Morning Glory Quickbread.
Also check out my Paleo Gingerbread Pancakes, Paleo Gingerbread Muffins, and my Chocolate Dipped Molasses Cookies for more gingerbread goodness.
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!
If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
Paleo Gingerbread Loaf
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1/3 cup unsulphered molasses
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 6 Tbsp avocado oil or melted coconut oil
- 1½ Tbsp fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1 2/3 cups almond flour
- 3 Tbsp tapioca flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Zesty Coconut Milk Glaze:
- ¾ cup full-fat canned coconut milk*
- ¼ tsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- Pinch sea salt
- 2 Tbsp candied ginger chopped, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the glaze. Add all the ingredients for the glaze, except for the candied ginger, to a small saucepan. Bring to a full boil, reduce the heat to a gentle boil and cook until thick, whisking frequently, about 10-15 minutes. Pour the glaze into a bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours. The glaze will thicken more in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 375° F and lightly oil a 9” x 5” loaf pan. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the first six ingredients (eggs through ginger) until combined. In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining (dry) ingredients (coconut flour through nutmeg). Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until combined. (Note: you can also add all the ingredients for the bread to a blender and blend until smooth).
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth evenly. Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the loaf is brown around the edges and tests clean when poked in the center with a toothpick.
- Allow the bread to cool at least 30 minutes before turning it out onto a cutting board. Drizzle with the glaze and sprinkle with chopped candied ginger. Slice thick slices using a sharp knife and serve.
YUM! Just had my first slice, the bread is perfect – never happens on the first try, I’ll credit the great recipe 🙂 I’m not sure I got the glaze right though, it’s not very thick. Will definitely be making this bread again, probably this weekend!
Hi Steph! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe! When I make the glaze, it’s relatively thin too. You can thicken it by heating it up on the stove top and boiling it until it reaches a thicker consistency if you’d like! As an alternative, if you do regular cane sugar, you can make a powder sugar glaze by mixing 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of water. Thanks so much for the sweet note! xo