These moist and fluffy frosted mini Gingerbread loaves are bursting with warm baking spices and the earthy essence of molasses. They are topped with vanilla bean and maple cream cheese frosting and then sprinkled with crunchy anise seed toffee bits. These festive cakes are the quintessence of Christmas aromas and flavors baked into cute mini cakes!
This recipe is so easy! You can whip it up in one bowl and the mini cakes only take about 30-35 minutes of baking time.
I love how you can individualize these cakes. For example, some of my mini cakes are frosted with vanilla bean and maple cream cheese frosting. I love cool and creamy frosting to balance out spice forward cakes. However, Bea hates frosting of any kind, so I always make her special cakes without any icing. For her individual gingerbread loaf, I opted for a dusting of powdered sugar. I also made homemade anise seed toffee bits to add some crunch and a touch of toffee flavor, but you can feel free to omit them or swap out toasted nuts like walnuts. So feel free to individualize your cakes for more gingerbread fun! Kids absolutely love having their own cute cake. The girls really light up when I make mini anything!
The following recipe make 4 mini loaves, and I have added recipe notes for turning this into one large loaf, if desired. Furthermore, I made it simple to change the quantity of this recipe, so you can make as few or as many as you need.
These gingerbread cakes make a tasty addition to holiday dessert tables for Thanksgiving or Christmas. And they are perfect for gifting. I mean, who wouldn’t be thrilled to receive baked goods for a hostess gift?!
Gingerbread Flavor & Using Regular Vs. Blackstrap Molasses
These gingerbread cakes are full of molasses and warm baking spices that create the feel good holiday flavor and aroma we all get giddy for. When it comes to spice for these cakes, I make a homemade gingerbread spice. I have added recipe notes if using the spice blend in lieu of individual spices. I add a touch of ground cardamom, black pepper, and coriander for extra zing and citrus notes! Check out the video I made on Instagram showing you how to make gingerbread spice mix!
These moist and fluffy gingerbread cakes use a generous amount of regular molasses. For baked goods, be careful not to buy blackstrap molasses. Blackstrap molasses is extremely bitter and is thicker than regular molasses, so I stick with regular molasses for baking. Additionally, adding sour cream and buttermilk not only moistens the gingerbread, it rounds out the robustness of the spices and molasses. I I also opt for granulated over brown sugar in this gingerbread recipe. In combination with white granulated sugar, the molasses flavor isn’t too overpowering or smoky like it can be with brown sugar (which contains molasses).
Frosting and Toffee
For those of you would like to add creaminess and some toffee flair to your gingerbread, then read on! The gingerbread frosting is made up of butter, cream cheese, vanilla bean paste, and a touch of pure maple syrup.
The anise seed toffee is super easy to make and the only essential equipment you need is a candy thermometer. It only takes about 5-10 minutes and three ingredients to make the toffee. Anise seeds have a unique flavor of licorice. I love it, but feel free to omit the seeds if you want standard toffee bits.
Thanks for baking with me! XO, Sarita
Mini Gingerbread Loaves With Maple Cream Cheese Frosting and Toffee Bits
These moist and fluffy frosted mini Gingerbread loaves are bursting with warm baking spices and the earthy essence of molasses. They are topped with vanilla bean and maple cream cheese frosting and then sprinkled with crunchy anise seed toffee bits. These festive cakes are the quintessence of Christmas aromas and flavors baked into cute mini cakes!
Ingredients
Gingerbread Loaves
- 1/2 Cup unsalted butter Melted
- 2/3 Cup granulated sugar
- 2 Large eggs
- 1/3 Cup molasses not blackstrap
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 Cups all purpose flour
- 2 Teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 Teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/8 Teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 Teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 Cup buttermilk well shaken
- 1/4 Cup sour cream
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2/3 Cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Anise Seed Toffee Candy Bits
- 1/4 Cup Butter unsalted
- 1/2 Cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds
Instructions
Gingerbread
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 4 mini loaf pans with parchment paper, leaving overhang for easy lifting.
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In a large bowl, melt butter. Then add sugar and whisk until smooth.
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Add eggs, molasses, and vanilla extract, and whisk until smooth.
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Whisk in buttermilk and sour cream.
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In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Then add to wet mixture and whisk gently until smooth.
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Divide batter evenly into loaf pans. Bake 32-36 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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Cool for 5 minutes in pans. Then lift out of pans using parchment overhang (or turn out onto wire racks). Remove parchment and cook completely on wire racks.
Cream Cheese Frosting
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In a medium sized bowl, use your hand mixer to cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
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Then add in the remaining ingredients and cream on low speed until smooth.
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Frost cakes as desired.
Anise Seed Toffee
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Then, In a medium sized heavy bottom saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
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Add brown sugar and whisk. You will constantly whisk this for up to 8-10 minutes, until a candy thermometer shows 295-300 degrees F. The mixture will look like creamy peanut butter.
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Then mix in the anise seeds, if using. Immediately ,Pour mixture into parchment paper. It will spread out. Allow to harden and cool completely.
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The gently crush it up using a rolling pin that you tap onto the toffee. Alternatively, you can put the toffee into a large ziploc bag and then tap it with a rolling pin.
Recipe Notes
*I have made this recipe easy to divide in half or double, etc.
*If you would like to make one full gingerbread loaf cake rather than 4 mini ones, bake the cake for 50-60 minutes. Check with a toothpick to ensure doneness.
* To use homemade gingerbread spice in lieu of individual spices, omit all of the spices listed in the recipe and use 2 teaspoons of gingerbread spice instead.
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