Maple Gingerbread is a lighter gingerbread cake, paler in colour and more mildly spiced than traditional gingerbread. Perfect for snacks or as part of afternoon tea, it is also lovely garnished with raspberries and served with whipped cream or ice cream for dessert.
There are so many ways to enjoy gingerbread, from cakes to cookies, biscuits and puddings. Traditional gingerbread cookies are always fun to make and decorate but there’s nothing like a delicious Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookie or Ginger Snap (or two!). Ginger makes a wonderful addition to many recipes, especially as part of the delicious autumnal spice triumvirate of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. It also has lots of health benefits, so while it’s hard to qualify this recipe as healthy, it’s certainly wholesome.
I love this Maple Gingerbread because it’s a gentler take on traditional gingerbread, mild, sweet and hard to resist. Prefer a darker, more intense gingerbread? You are sure to love my Banana Gingerbread Loaf or my Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins.
The Story Behind The Recipe
I discovered this Maple Gingerbread recipe, hand-written on a small piece of note paper, in my late mom’s recipe box a few years ago. The recipe box is a real treasure. It contains recipes that were hand-written not only by mom, but also by my grandmother, great auntie, and many other relatives and family friends.
My mom graduated from the MacDonald Institute of the University of Guelph’s Food Sciences programme in the 1940’s. She worked as a nutritionist and home economist for many years and even had a weekly radio programme at one point. She was an amazing cook. Baking with her when I was a little girl was such fun and I have such lovely memories of the time we spent together in the kitchen. I do not remember making her maple gingerbread, but we certainly made and baked plenty of cakes and cookies from the recipes in her recipe box.
Mom’s recipe collection is a real treasure, particularly the recipes that are hand-written by her and many of my other relatives. Some of them are well over 100 years old. I’m using this collection as part of the research for my first cookbook. It is so much fun travelling back in time through these recipes.
For more recipes like this, be sure to subscribe to my bonus content and receive a copy of my 5 Vintage Recipes E-Book.
The Perfect Treat for Busy Days
Mom’s Maple Gingerbread recipe is less intense in flavour than traditional gingerbread and more delicately spiced, so it’s perfect for the whole family. There is no need for an electric mixer; the recipe comes together beautifully using bowls, a whisk and a wooden spoon. Taking only about 10 minutes to mix together and less than half an hour to bake, Maple Gingerbread is the perfect treat for busy days.
Maple Gingerbread – Printable Recipe
Maple Gingerbread
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon butter you may need more or less
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda also known as bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoons dried ginger You can add more or less to taste
- 1 egg
- 1 cup sour cream or crème fraîche
- 1 cup maple syrup use real maple syrup, not pancake syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F or 175°C.
- Grease the baking pan well with butter.
- Sift the flour, salt and baking soda together into a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl, beat the egg until light and fluffy using a whisk.
- Whisk the sour cream and maple syrup into the egg.
- Pour the syrup mixture into the flour mixture.
- Using a wooden spoon, stir together until well blended.
- Pour into the greased baking pan.
- Put the pan in the oven and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the maple gingerbread is beginning to turn a golden colour and a skewer inserted in the middle of the maple gingerbread comes out clean.
- Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before attempting to remove the maple gingerbread from the pan. You can also allow it to cool completely in the pan and simply cut and serve it from there if you prefer.
- Keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Equipment
- 1 set of measuring cups or use the metric measurements and a scale if you prefer
- 1 whisk
did you make this recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
This looks delicious!
Thank you so much, Elizabeth!
Oh my! This looks so yummy!
Thank you, Donna!
Hi, April! This looks amazing. I love all of your recipes! I was super inspired by your creation. I just started co-hosting at the Senior Salon Pit Stop and I would love to invite you to link up your recipe to inspire others and have a chance to be featured! https://www.kraftyplanner.com/blog/category/Senior+Salon+Pit+Stop
xx,
Maria
Thank you so much, Maria! And how exciting, I will pop over and visit 🙂
This sounds absolutely delightful! Thanks for linking up on SSPS #255, hope to see you again next week.
Thank you, Estelle!
Maple – and you have all my attention. Thank you for visiting us and sharing your links at Senior Salon Pit Stop. I trust that we will see you now on a regular basis. Thanks again and welcome.
Thank you so much, Esmé!