Gingerbread Loaf Recipe with Walnuts and Pears

My gingerbread loaf recipe is the quintessential holiday bake. Made with molasses, ginger, walnuts, caramelized pears, and warm autumn spices, I love this pear gingerbread loaf because it captures all of the best flavors of the season.

Why Make This Gingerbread Loaf Recipe?

Gingerbread loaf is one of my favorite things to bake during the fall and winter months. As the air turns crisp and leaves begin to fall, there’s nothing quite like this freshly baked loaf which captures the scents and flavors of fall. 

I just love ginger in general. The fresh, ground, and crystallized versions add a firey note  to homemade chocolates, candies, and baked goods, like these chewy chocolate molasses gingerbread cookies. (And ginger is pretty pretty crucial in making gingerbread houses, too!)

Featuring true, unsulfured molasses, grated ginger, walnuts, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom, this gingerbread loaf celebrates the season by going all in on the ‘cozy’ vibes. The caramelized pears take things to the next level by infusing each slice with bits of sweet, tender fruit.

This recipe is fairly simple and straightforward to prepare. (It’s a quick bread-style recipe, so no yeast or proofing time required!) Although caramelising the pears requires a bit of extra effort, I promise it’s well worth the trouble. And since gingerbread loaf lands halfway in between a bread and a cake, so it’s perfect for any time of the day. Try serving it for breakfast or brunch, or slathering a slice in butter for a mid-afternoon accompaniment to a cup of tea.

Gingerbread Loaf Ingredients

To make this gingerbread loaf recipe, begin by gathering the following ingredients:

• Unsalted Butter – For caramelizing the pears, and for making the gingerbread batter.
• Dark Brown Sugar – Again, you’ll need dark brown sugar for caramelizing, and more to make the cake.
• Demerara Sugar – Provides a sweet contrast to the dark brown sugar. (Save the extra to add a bit of crunch to your next batch of shortbread biscuits or apple turnovers!)
• Cardamom Pods – If you love making Indian food like I do, you probably already have whole cardamom pods in the cabinet. If not, look for these in the Indian ingredients aisle at the supermarket.

• Pears – You’ll need three small (80g) pears, cored and diced. I don’t bother to peel the pears.
• Molasses – Gives the batter a deep, smoky flavor. Choose true, unsulfured molasses, not blackstrap. If you can’t find molasses, you can substitute black treacle, such as Lyle’s Black Treacle Syrup.
• Vanilla Bean Paste – I prefer vanilla bean paste, but you can also use vanilla extract.
• Self-Rising Flour and Egg – This is a quick bread recipe, so the rise comes from self-rising flour and egg (plus a small amount of baking powder) rather than yeast.
• Ground Spices – You’ll need ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground cardamom, plus a bit of kosher salt.
• Whole Milk – Or subsitute your favorite plant milk, such as oat, soy, or almond.
• Vegetable Oil – I like to use vegetable oil, but coconut oil would also work nicely in this recipe. I don’t recommend using olive oil, unless you enjoy a distinct “olive oil” taste.
• Grated Ginger – Peel a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, then grate using a box grater or Microplane. You can add a second tablespoon of ginger for a more pronounced, fiery flavor.
• Walnuts – If desired, you can replace the walnuts with pecans. Or, to make this gingerbread loaf allergy-friendly, you can omit the nuts from this recipe entirely.

Caramelizing the Pears

The brown sugar-caramelized pears truly elevate this recipe from standard gingerbread to a next-level holiday bake. Don’t skip or rush the caramelizing step! The pears will take about 10-12 minutes to fully caramelize. As they caramelize, the pears will begin to smell sweet and buttery, and will take on a golden brown color.

When done, the pears should look like this:

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

Store gingerbread loaf in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.

Gingerbread loaf can also be frozen, either as an entire loaf (to freeze the whole loaf, opt for disposable aluminum pans and freeze directly in the pan) or in individual portions. To freeze in individual portions, slice, wrap in clingfilm, and then wrap in foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months, and thaw at room temperature.

Other autumn recipes you might enjoy:

Parsnip Cookies
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Caramels
Spiced Pumpkin Butter

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

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