Sweet, simple vegan gingerbread loaf cake is so delicious and festive for the holiday season! We're making this vegan ginger loaf cake with oil for a moist texture And we’re topping this easy vegan ginger cake with a quick orange glaze!
And if you like this vegan gingerbread cake recipe, you’ll love my Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies, my Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and my collection of 50 Vegan Desserts for Christmas that you'll love!
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Sweet, Simple Vegan Gingerbread Loaf Cake Recipe
If you're like me and always looking for crowd-favorite recipes that are great for lots of dietary needs, you're in the right place! This vegan gingerbread cake recipe is a winner that everyone will love -- vegans and non-vegans alike!
It's a rich, moist, deeply spiced gingerbread cake that's so easy to make and bake up. Then we'll top our vegan ginger loaf with a simple orange glaze that complements the gingerbread flavor so perfectly! You'll be making this cake again and again!
What is the difference between ginger cake and gingerbread?
Gingerbread is a term for a type of cake or cookie made with ginger and usually a mixture of other spices, as well as molasses. The ginger-spice mixture combined with the rich, dark molasses creates the traditional look and flavor of gingerbread treats. Ginger cake can refer to gingerbread cake, or to any cake made with ginger.
What is gingerbread cake made of?
- all-purpose flour - be sure to measure your flour correctly to make sure you have the accurate amount.
- baking soda - helps to give our cake a boost!
- salt - brings out all those lovely spicy flavors.
- light brown sugar - adds rich sweetness along with our molasses. To keep this gingerbread cake vegan, use an organic brown sugar like Florida's Crystals. You can also use coconut sugar for an unrefined sweetener option.
- unsulphured molasses - creates that deep, dark gingerbread look and taste! I use Grandma's molasses.
- egg replacer - I love the Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer! It's an even swap for eggs and gives you both the texture and left of regular eggs! If you can't get your hands on it, you can use any other storebought egg replacer or see the tips below to make flax eggs!
- vanilla extract - be sure to use a high-quality pure vanilla extract. Or better yet, check out my post on how to make vanilla extract at home with just 2 ingredients!
- vegetable oil - we're making our vegan ginger loaf cake with oil to add a nice richness to our cake and keep it moist for days! You can use any vegetable oil you like -- I like avocado oil or olive oil.
- hot water - this is the trick for a soft, tender gingerbread cake!
- ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, & nutmeg - classic warm and cozy spices to give our cake that classic gingerbread flavor! If you like, you can use freshly-grated nutmeg like I do in my Oat Milk Eggnog!
- cracked pepper and cayenne pepper - these stronger spices add a deliciously unique twist to make this vegan gingerbread cake recipe unforgettable!
And to make your quick orange glaze, you'll need:
- powdered sugar - like your flour, measure your powdered sugar by weight if you can using a kitchen scale.
- orange zest - use a microplane zester to zest just the outer rind to add more bright citrus flavor to your glaze.
- freshly squeezed orange juice - once your orange is zested, we'll squeeze out a few tablespoons of its juice to get our glaze to the perfect consistency.
Equipment
First, you'll need a loaf pan. I use an 8½ in. x 4½ in. loaf pan for this recipe. You can also use a 9 in. x 5 in. loaf pan, but your loaf won't rise quite as much and will cook more quickly, so keep an eye on it. You'll also need a whisk and rubber spatula to whip up your batter.
How is ginger bread made?
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions and a recipe video, but here are the simple steps to make vegan ginger loaf cake with oil:
In a large bowl, whisk together wet ingredients: brown sugar, molasses, egg replacer mixture, vanilla, and oil.
Sift in dry ingredients (or whisk together in a separate small bowl) and gently fold in until just combined.
Add boiling water and mix until just combined.
Pour into an 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan and bake!
To make icing, whisk together powdered sugar, orange zest, and orange juice in a mixing bowl, adding additional orange juice if needed to thin it out.
Spread icing over cooled cake and allow to set before slicing.
Hint: For a soft, tender cake, be sure not to overmix your batter, especially when mixing in the dry ingredients and the hot water.
Variations
Make this vegan gingerbread loaf cake recipe your own!
- Vegan Chocolate Ginger Cake - Replace ¼ cup of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder to add a rich chocolatey flavor that complements this vegan loaf cake so well!
- Vegan Banana Ginger Cake - Replace the Egg Replacer with 2 mashed bananas and reduce brown sugar to ⅓ cup.
- Vegan Ginger Cake with Lemon Icing - replace the orange zest and juice in the icing with lemon zest and juice for a burst of lemony flavor!
- Low Sugar Gingerbread Cake - You can reduce the brown sugar in this cake down to ¼ cup if you like to cut down on sugar!
And check out my Vegan Olive Oil Cake with Lemon and Pistachio or my Vegan Coconut Cake for more fun vegan cake ideas!
Storage
Store your vegan gingerbread loaf cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerated for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze this recipe! Once the icing is fully set, place your cake in the freezer for about an hour until the icing is frozen. Then wrap the cake in a couple layers of plastic wrap and place in a heavy-duty freezer bag. You can keep the cake in the freezer up to two months.
Tips and F.A.Q.
Gingerbread can mean a cake, quick bread, cookie, or other dessert made with ginger, molasses, and other spices.
There are a few reasons for this traditional method -- first, the hot water helps to loosen up the molasses, making the cake easier to mix. Also, hot water helps to provide a more tender, moist cake by loosening gluten strands in the flour.
It's possible your baking soda is expired, or you added too much of it. You may also need to add an extra ¼ teaspoon of baking soda if you use a flax egg instead of egg replacer (as I explain below). Also, your cake won't rise quite as much if you're using a 9x5 inch loaf pan instead of an 8½ in. x 4½ in. loaf pan. 
If you can't get your hands on egg replacer, you can make an easy egg substitute with ground flaxseed! Just mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 2 tablespoons of water for each egg called for in the recipe. So for this vegan gingerbread cake recipe, you'll need two tablespoons of ground flaxseed and ¼ cup of water. Mix those together and let them sit for about 5 minutes to thicken. Then mix into the recipe as usual.
When you're using a flax egg, you may want to add an extra ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to your dry ingredients to make up for the baking soda you're missing from the egg replacer.
Absolutely! Once the icing is fully set, place your cake in the freezer for about an hour until the icing is frozen. Then wrap the cake in a couple layers of plastic wrap and place in a heavy-duty freezer bag. You can keep the cake in the freezer up to two months.
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a star review rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
More Holiday Recipes You'll Love
- Mistletoe Margarita
- Keto Cranberry Sauce
- Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte (Starbucks Copycat)
- Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
- baking spray
- 2 tablespoon Egg Replacer - or ground flaxseed -- instructions in notes below
- ¼ cup water
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg - freshly ground, if possible
- pinch cracked black pepper
- pinch ground cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup organic light brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsulphured molasses
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup boiling water
Orange Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 3-4 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8½ in. x 4½ in. loaf pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.baking spray
- In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoon of egg replacer or ground flaxseed with ¼ cup water. Stir until smooth and let sit for at least one minute (5 minutes if using ground flaxseed).2 tablespoon Egg Replacer, ¼ cup water
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt. Set aside.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, pinch cracked black pepper, pinch ground cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, molasses, egg replacer mixture, vanilla, and oil.⅔ cup organic light brown sugar, ¾ cup unsulphured molasses, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ½ cup vegetable oil
- Fold in dry ingredients gradually until just combined.
- Carefully stir in hot water until smooth.1 cup boiling water
- Pour into prepared loaf pan and drop onto counter a few times from 2 inches high to minimize air bubbles.
- Bake in preheated oven 1 hour, or until a toothpick entered into the loaf comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
- Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Orange Glaze
- Stir together powdered sugar, orange zest, and 3 tablespoon orange juice in a bowl. Add additional orange juice as needed for desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.2 cups powdered sugar, 3-4 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice, 1 teaspoon orange zest
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Last Updated on October 27, 2022 by Chenée Lewis
Michelle
This is definitely the way to kick off the holiday baking season! Love all of the spiced flavor
Chenée Lewis
So glad you liked it!
Tara
I'm so glad that this cake is vegan because EVERYONE should try this dessert! It's so tasty, sweet and festive! The topping is delish!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much!
Irena
Made a trial in the lead-up to Christmas and it was delicious!!! My niece is vegan so I wanted to make sure I have a dessert she could enjoy and stumbled on your recipe. Loved the hints of all the spices and the depth of flavour from brown sugar and molasses.
Chenée Lewis
I'm so glad the cake worked for you! 🙂
kushigalu
Drooling over this loaf cake. Looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing
Caitlin
This was the best cake! Love it for Christmas it has the best flavors!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much!
Gina Abernathy
Loved the addition of molasses in this recipe. So delicious, festive and perfect for the holiday season!
Jess
Loving how moist this cake is!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you like it!
Mirlene
This bread was so moist and delicious. Will be making it again for Christmas.
Chenée Lewis
Great to hear that you liked it!
Priya Srinivasan
Aww that gingerbread looks totally delish, and bonus it is vegan, yaayy! Love that snowy icing on top! perfect bake for the holiday season!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you so much! 🙂
Moop Brown
I'm always looking for more vegan dessert recipes to try and I also love how festive this one is.
Chenée Lewis
Thank you! It's definitely festive!
Jessica
This cake is so moist and flavorful - absolutely delicious! Can't wait to make this again!
Chenée Lewis
So glad you liked it! 🙂
silvia
I was surprised at how easy was to make it at home. It's my first time doing a flaxseed egg, very interesting. A delicious, fast to make and aromatic bread, perfect for the season.
Chenée Lewis
Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it!
Cathleen
This is so perfect for the holidays!! I am definitely going to give this a go for Christmas, thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
Chenée Lewis
I hope you love it!
Sharon
This vegan gingerbread cake is so delicious and the perfect treat for the holdiays! I love that it's vegan so that it's perfect for every guest at the holiday party.
Chenée Lewis
Absolutely! Everyone loves it, even non-vegans!
Heather
i absolutely love the addition and surprise of black pepper and cayenne - it's an unexpected but totally works
Chenée Lewis
Thanks! Yeah I love a bit of more intense spice in there!
Colleen
This gingerbread loaf looks so dark and rich. It's going on my list of holiday baking. Thanks for sharing!
Chenée Lewis
I hope you enjoy it!
susan | the wimpy vegetarian
I've been flirting with the idea of going vegan a couple days a week - I've been most vegetarian for 10+ years now. I've seen the egg replacer, but haven't tried it. I'm going to make this cake and try it - this looks soooo good!
Chenée Lewis
I love the egg replacer! It's a great way to get texture and lift!
Jenny
Oh my goodness, your gingerbread cake is so good! We try to eat mostly vegan, so I love such great recipes. Delicious. My husband also loved it, I am making this again and again!
Chenée Lewis
Thank you! I'm so glad you both liked it!