Avocado Gingerbread Loaf Cake

Mashed avocado – along with almond milk, molasses, and coconut oil – gives this vegan gingerbread loaf its moist and cakey texture.

When it comes to holiday baking, I gotta admit: I’m not much of a cookie girl. I can appreciate the artistry that goes into royal icing decorations and strategic sprinkle placement – it’s just not where I personally want to spend my energies.

I prefer holiday sweets that are low in sugar, big on flavor, and hassle-free. This healthy-ish vegan gingerbread loaf precisely fits the bill.

The recipe was born during a snowed-in weekend baking binge, back when we were living in Syracuse. Back when “snowed-in” wasn’t as much a weekend descriptor, but more of a lifestyle.

Since avocados are so rich and creamy (I secretly refer to them as “butter of the earth”), I was curious about how they’d behave in a dessert. Turns out, much like bananas in banana bread, mashed avocado gives this spicy, fragrant gingerbread its moist and fudgy texture. 

The cake has since become our go-to wintertime treat. It makes a great snack alongside my afternoon coffee/tea, and is virtuous enough for breakfast, especially with a schmear of vegan yogurt or cream cheese.

The Ingredients

Mashed avocado – along with non-dairy milk, molasses, and coconut oil – gives this vegan gingerbread loaf its cakey, slightly sticky texture. In place of eggs, this recipe uses a slurry of flaxseed meal (ground flaxseeds) and water – a mixture known as a “flax egg.”

Unlike a lot of the traditional loaf cake recipes out there – which can call for upwards of  two cups of sugar! – this one only needs a half-cup. I like to use raw (turbinado) sugar here, since it’s less refined than white sugar; you can swap in coconut sugar or maple crystals, too.

If you want to make this loaf a little healthier, swap out the all-purpose flour for whole wheat pastry flour. (Or use half all-purpose and half regular whole wheat flour – just bear in mind that the final product will be a bit more dense).

The Technique

This recipe uses a pretty standard technique of mixing the dry and wet ingredients separately, and then combining them together – it’s really that simple! Be careful not to overmix the batter, though, as you’ll end up with a denser cake.

One of my favorite things about this gingerbread loaf is that it doesn’t require any special equipment, like a stand mixer or food processor, so almost anyone can make it at home! All you need is a loaf pan.

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