This traditional, old-fashioned style gingerbread loaf cake is what makes the holidays for me. As soon as I smell that spicy ginger aroma in the kitchen, it triggers lots of memories from my childhood.
I grew up in Scotland, where gingerbread loaf cake is popular during the winter time, but can be found absolutely everywhere closer to Christmas. I was lucky because my mom would always have a loaf on the countertop, wrapped in plastic to keep the moisture in and preserve that sticky top.
I didn't help my mom with the baking as much as I could have but I watched her a lot. She'd roll out her dough with a soda bottle because for some reason, a rolling pin wasn't necessary.
That's probably what sowed the seeds for me to end up as a baker after leaving college (and then serving some time as a pastry chef too). But the recipes made in my house were simple classics like shortbread, fruitcake, and the gingerbread.
One thing my mom wouldn't short-change herself on would be the butter, which was always kept at room temperature and so important for her baking. Another key ingredient for her gingerbread loaf cakes was the treacle, or molasses as it's better known here in the America.
Now that I live here in the U.S. I've adapted to some new traditions, like Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was new for me because we didn't celebrate it back home.
Here, I still see gingerbread loaf available at Christmas but not quite as widely as when I was a kid. I've been making this recipe for a few years now. You could say that this is a tradition I've carried on, and hopefully my kids will remember it when I'm old and gray.
Land O Lakes® Butter is perfect for my gingerbread loaf. It's sweet, creamy, and perfect not just as part of the recipe, but also as part of eating the recipe.
That's right, the way I learned to eat sticky gingerbread loaf cake was to cut a thick slice and slather it with rich, quality butter. For more recipes and awesome ideas with butter, visit landolakes.com or check out #AddALittleGood.
This is my first loaf this year, but definitely not the last one I'll be making!
This post was sponsored by Land O Lakes Inc. All thoughts and opinions are always my own!
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