This award-winning Blueberry Gingerbread Loaf (with Fresh Lime Glaze) won the California Berries Winter Baking contest. Made with a blueberry muffin mix, no molasses and a fresh lime glaze, this blueberry loaf celebrates the flavors of the season and is like a warm gingerbread hug on a chilly winter day!
This Blueberry Gingerbread recipe is very popular during the holiday season and makes a great holiday treat, although it's great any time of year. A slice of this blueberry gingerbread loaf, with a steaming mug of tea or coffee, makes a delicious breakfast, dessert or snack. It was inspired by my other quick bread recipes, specifically my Carrot Bread....
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I believe molasses is the entire reason I never liked the flavor of gingerbread as a kid. Growing up, I had only ever had gingerbread with molasses, but I didn't even realize this until I finally tried a gingerbread without molasses. Gingerbread was actually good when you took molasses out of the equation! And now that I've discovered great gingerbread flavor, I've kind of fallen for it.
🥘 Ingredients
And this homemade gingerbread loaf with a blueberry twist, and without molasses, is GOOD! In fact, it's so good that it won a Winter Baking contest. And for good reason! It's easy to whip up because it uses blueberry muffin mix and holiday spices, then the oven pretty much does the rest of the work.
For this blueberry bread with muffin mix recipe you'll need:
- blueberries
- blueberry muffin mix * I use Concord but you could use any kind
- ground ginger
- cinnamon
- limes *you'll need about 3-4 limes in total
- Greek yogurt (I use non-fat)
- vegetable oil
- large eggs
- coconut milk (I use light)
- unsweetened shredded coconut
- pecans (chopped)
- cream cheese (I use light)
- powdered sugar/icing sugar (aka confectioners' sugar)
*see recipe card for quantities
📖 Variations
- Muffins: Make these into blueberry gingerbread muffins. Just pour batter into lined muffin tins and bake for half the time (or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean). Spread the glaze evenly by the number of muffins.
- Blueberries: You can substitute frozen blueberries or wild blueberries for fresh blueberries
- Nuts: You can substitute almonds for pecans
🍽 Equipment
For this gingerbread loaf recipe, you'll need a 9x5 inch loaf pan (affiliate link). I like the ones that come with lids because you can simply put the lid on and pop them right into the fridge or freezer, once they are completely cooled! You'll also need a mixing bowl, an electric mixer or large mixing spoon and a spatula.
🌡️Storage
- Fridge: The loaf can be stored in an airtight container or freezer Ziplock bag for up to 3 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: This recipe freezes well for up to 3 months. You can leave it in the loaf pan to freeze, if you prefer (I do this sometimes). Simply cover the loaf with Glad Press n' Seal (affiliate link) and slide the entire loaf into an extra large Ziplock freezer bag. Or you can use a loaf pan that comes with a lid (see equipment above). I would still put that into a Ziplock bag, just to ensure it stays as fresh as possible.
💭Top Tip
Don't slice the loaf until you are ready the eat the pieces. Cut the gingerbread loaf as you need it, as slicing it dries it out more quickly. If you do slice it before storing it, make sure to cover the exposed pieces with plastic wrap.
👪 Servings Size
This Blueberry Loaf cake recipe serves 10. However, you can double or triple this recipe by adjusting the serving size on the recipe card. Just click on the serving size (it's highlighted in blue) and select the number of servings you’d like. You'll need extra loaf pans. *You can freeze the extra loaves (see storage, above).
These days I have mellowed a little when it comes to my loathing for molasses. In fact, I even use a little molasses in some of my baking. But I use it sparingly. I think the issue is that there is some serious abuse of molasses going on out there, especially when it comes to gingerbread! But rest assured, this gingerbread loaf recipe is molasses free! And if you have a lot of limes on hand and are looking for recipes for fresh limes (you will need 3-4 fresh limes), this recipe is for you!
If you're a gingerbread fan or looking for recipes for gingerbread loaf, you'll love this easy Blueberry Gingerbread Cake Loaf! It's a great way to use a box of blueberry muffin mix and with just a few minutes of prep time, you'll have a delicious sweet treat!
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📋Blueberry Gingerbread Loaf Recipe
Ingredients
Loaf:
- 1 -15 oz box Concord Foods Blueberry Muffin Mix *or use another brand
- 1 ½ cups Giant California Blueberries you can substitute frozen blueberries if fresh not available
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 3 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¾ teaspoon lime zest
- ½ cup non fat greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- ½ cup light coconut milk
- ⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ⅔ cup pecans chopped
Glaze:
- 1 ½ tablespoon light cream cheese softened
- ½ cup icing sugar/powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoon lime juice
Garnish:
- icing sugar/powdered sugar to sprinkle
- additional lime zest
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F/176 degrees C. Spray loaf tin (9X5) with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine blueberry mix, cinnamon, ginger, lime zest and coconut in a large bowl and mix until combined.
- Mix in greek yogurt, egg, lime juice, oil, coconut milk into a separate bowl, then add these wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir in fresh blueberries.
- Stir in chopped pecans.
- Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for approximately 1 hour (60 - 70 minutes) or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove from pan and let loaf cool completely on a cooling rack.
Fresh Lime Glaze:
- Mix softened cream cheese, 3 tblsp lime juice and icing sugar together with a whisk, ensuring to get out all of the cream cheese lumps.
- Drizzle glaze over top and refrigerate 5 minutes until glaze firms up.
Garnish:
- Sprinkle additional icing sugar and lime zest
Notes
- Muffins: Make these into blueberry gingerbread muffins. Just pour batter into lined muffin tins and bake for half the time (or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean)! Spread the glaze evenly by the number of muffins.
- Blueberries: You can substitute frozen blueberries for fresh
- Nuts: You can substitute almonds for pecans
- Fridge: The loaf can be stored in a sealed container or freezer Ziplock bag for up to 3 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: This recipe freezes well for up to 3 months. You can leave it in the loaf pan to freeze, if you prefer (I do this sometimes). Simply cover the loaf with Glad Press n' Seal (affiliate link) and slide the entire loaf into an extra large Ziplock freezer bag. Or you can use a loaf pan that comes with a lid (see equipment above)
Terri Gilson
I still can't believe my Blueberry Gingerbread Loaf won that baking contest! It's such a fun twist on traditional gingerbread, and the fresh lime glaze really makes it pop. Using blueberry muffin mix instead of molasses was a game-changer for me - it's so much easier and tastier!
Justine | JustineCelina.com
What a beautiful story! I love reading about personal anecdotes behind recipes. And this loaf looks like the perfect mixture of comforting and zingy thanks to the lime. Great post!
Terri Gilson
Thanks, Justine!