In North America, when we think of “gingerbread” we often think of people-shaped cookies with gumdrop buttons and icing sugar smiles. While these are more accurately referred to as “gingerbread men” the only thing they have in common with traditional gingerbread is that telltale spicy flavour profile. Classic gingerbread is just that, bread. Or perhaps more accurately, a loaf. Because of this, it is also known as gingerloaf, pain d'épices ("spice bread") in French, or lebkuchen (“loaf cake”) and pfefferkuchen ("pepper cake") in German. Whatever you call it, it’s damn tasty and wonderfully warming especially during the winter months when most mouths savour the spicy flavours of this delightfully dense folk food.
There really are endless versions, varieties, and iterations, but no matter how you shake it (or how you bake it), you’re still getting all the joyful goodness of anti-inflammatory and blood sugar balancing cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, and the circulatory stimulating nature of the main star…ginger! Now of course, if you’re tossing in a bunch of refined fours and sugars, you’re basically reversing all those positive effects. Naturally, I’ve got you covered with a recipe that relies on grain-free flours, unrefined sweeteners, and avoids dairy for any of my dairy-reactive friends out there.
So whip up a batch, pop it in the oven, and let the festive aromas fill your home with feel-good fuzzies, and then fill your belly with some feel-good yummies.
PS. It goes particularly well with a generous dollop of whipped coconut or classic cream.
Grain-Free Gingerbread
Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 30-40 minutes
Makes about 9 slices
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup organic molasses
- 1/4 cup raw honey or pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (plus extra for greasing)
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar *optional
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground clove
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup melted chocolate (75% or darker)
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350F, and grease a loaf pan with coconut oil and line it with a thick strip of parchment paper so that the edges are hanging out for easy removal.
- In a mixer, food processor, or by hand, combine the eggs, molasses, honey, vanilla, and melted coconut oil until thoroughly mixed together.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the flours, coconut sugar, spices and salt, and slowly add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients until they’re well integrated.
- Add in the melted chocolate and mix everything together until smooth and velvety.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes until the centre is cooked through (you can check with a skewer or thin knife by poking it into the centre and seeing if it comes out clean).
- Remove from the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes before removing the loaf from the pan and transferring it to a wired cooling rack.
- Serve slightly warm, or let it cool completely before slicing it and placing the pieces in ziplock bags for storage in the fridge or freezer. *Note that the unsliced loaf also keeps well in its whole form either in the fridge or on the counter for a couple days