
Guinness Gingerbread Loaf is dense, dark, rich and satisfying with autumn flavors. When you bake this loaf, light a crackling fire and snuggle up with some loved ones – furry, children or adults. The house will smell so inviting that you just may have to turn your neighbors away.
I’m looking out on a dreary, rainy, chilly fall day. But inside, my husband and I (with our cat, Zoya) are snug and happy to be at home, waiting for this delicious Guinness Gingerbread Loaf to come out of the oven. I’ve recently started watching Laura in the Kitchen and when I saw this, I knew that I had to make it. It isn’t fancy and that is perfect. While I may enjoy the artistry of a beautifully sculpted and plated confection, generally I want something that is delicious without being precious or too fussy. And please, NO SPRINKLES!
This Guinness Gingerbread Loaf comes together fairly quickly and with easy- to-find ingredients. And even though the recipe uses Stout, the alcohol cooks away in the baking process leaving only that delicious molassesy, caramelly taste. The spicing is just right. My husband and I ate this still warm from the oven and after one bite we just looked at each other with these slightly silly grins. So, so good. There is just a bit of crust and then you sink into this dense, moist cake. Did I say that this was delicious?

I wouldn’t hesitate to give this to kids – as is or with a shmear of cream cheese or good butter. When my son was little, I would whip up gingerbread for him to eat when he got home from school. So even though many kids are schooling remotely from home, that doesn’t mean that wonderful treats shouldn’t await them when the school day ends.
There truly isn’t enough comfort in the world that we couldn’t use a bit more. Mix up this wonderfully comforting Gingerbread Loaf and take a breath. Let the autumn leaves fall and bring on the chill!
For other delicious gingerbread recipes try these:
Chocolate Stout Gingerbread Cake
Recipe
Yield: 8 to 12 slices

Ingredients
- 2-1/3 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 2 tsp of ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp of ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp of kosher salt
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 1 cup of full flavor (robust) molasses or treacle (I actually used a combination of molasses and treacle since I didn’t have quite enough molasses on hand.)
- 1 cup of Guinness Stout (or other Stout)
- 2/3 cup of dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Leave a 2-inch overhang with the parchment. It isn’t essential to do this step but makes getting the loaf out of the pan a little easier, especially if you aren’t using a non-stick pan. Spray the parchment.
Combine the butter, Guinness Stout and molasses in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring once or twice to make sure that the butter melts. As soon as it comes to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for about 15 minutes.
Mix the flour baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices together in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla nd brown sugar, breaking up any lumps. Add the dry ingredients along with the Guinness mixture and stir until combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean. I thought that my loaf was still a bit moist after one hour but didn’t want to overbake it. So I turned off the oven, cracked open the door and left it in for another 10 minutes. I allowed it to cool on a wire rack for about an additional 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
The bread can be cut while it is still slightly warm, but allow it to cool for about an hour first. You can sprinkle with powdered or icing sugar for presentation, if you like.