The Absolutely Best Ever Paleo Gingerbread Loaf

I know that blog title builds up your expectations quite a bit. It should. Because this really is the most amazing Paleo gingerbread ever. I developed this recipe myself because I love gingerbread so much. And I love it even more in the form of a loaf when I can slice it and smother it in cranberry sauce (oh, mercy!).

It’s easy to find recipes for Paleo muffins and even Paleo mini-loaves. But full-size grain-free loaves are hard to come by because it’s difficult to get a good rise and a thorough bake on something that dense. I don’t know why this loaf recipe works while others don’t, I just know it works. I make it regularly and it works every time. Well, except for that time that I was baking too late at night and only set the timer for 30 minutes and then couldn’t figure out why the middle was still all gooey (but delicious nonetheless!)

My pantry always contains Honeyville blanched almond flour. I buy it 25 pounds at a time and I never use anything else. For the sake of recipe testing though, I made a loaf with coarser, store-bought almond flour. It worked fine, but as you can tell from the photographs, the texture is somewhat more rustic and it cooks a little quicker (it started burning after about 45 minutes). If you’re in a bind, you can use any old almond flour, but if you want the best crumb possible be sure to use very finely ground almond flour.

So here is my top-secret recipe. It’s taken me two years to get around to sharing it with you. Because it really is so good that I worry about some fly-by-night cookbook publisher stealing it for their next Paleo book. Probably, someone will (fly-by-night cookbook publishers take note: I see you!) But ’tis the season for sharing, right? And I know someone is going to have a merrier Christmas because I did.

So here it is.