A long time ago, in a craft room far far away, I saved a link on a new social media service called “Pinterest” where a baker magically embedded a pumpkin shape in a bread loaf. Once she shared the secret to how she achieved this look, I knew that I wanted to make a gingerbread man version for the holidays. Jump forward 5 years and I still hadn’t attempted my Surprise Gingerbread Vanilla Loaf…until today. Yay for being able to cross off a pin on my to-do list!
Tis the Season
The secret to adding any shape to the inside of a bread loaf is to first bake a sheet of one color bread and use a cookie cutter to remove shapes. For my Surprise Gingerbread Vanilla Loaf, I used a store bought box of gingerbread mix, baked in a 9″ x 12″ cake pan. While the gingerbread baked, I mixed together all the ingredients for the Vanilla Loaf and added a bit to the bottom of a greased/floured loaf pan (this will help the men stay in place and will fill the hole between their legs.) Once the cake had baked and cooled completely, I cut out the gingerbread man shape with a small cookie cutter and placed them side by side in the loaf pan.
Side By Side
Supplies:
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick softened butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- ¾ cup milk I used Silk Soymilk
- Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/baking-guide/quick-breads-muffins-and-more/50-quick-breads.page-3.html?oc=linkback
Instructions
- Whisk 1 3/4 cups flour, 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Beat 1 stick softened butter and 3/4 cup sugar with a mixer until fluffy; beat in 2 eggs and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, then 3/4 cup milk.
- Add in the dry ingredients.
- Bake 55 to 65 minutes at 350 degrees F.
After the entire row of gingerbread men was placed, all that was left to do was gently spoon the vanilla mixture over them. I wish I had either a smaller cookie cutter or a larger loaf pan because the mixture didn’t cover the gingerbread completely and created a bit of a divot when it baked. Not such a big deal, just had to add a little more glaze to camouflage it!
Tons of Glaze
Once the bread baked and cooled, I whipped up a super easy glaze with 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar and 3 tbsp Vanillla Silk Almond Creamer and poured generously over the top. I love that it comes together in just seconds and has the perfect hint of vanilla! Plus if you use the Cartwheel app at Target you’ll get a 5% off coupon on Silk Coffee Creamer, International Delight Coffee Creamer, and Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee Creamer!
Season for Giving
With just the perfect balance of gingerbread and vanilla, this bread turned out so good. Plus it’s super fun to cut into the loaf and see a little gingerbread man staring back at you! I’ll be honest, some sections it’s hard to tell exactly what the shape is but it shouldn’t make much of a difference once it’s in your mouth. Don’t you think it would make a great gift? Or to make and keep on hand when holiday visitors stop by? Paired with a cup of coffee and some Almond Silk Creamer, this Surprise Gingerbread Vanilla Loaf is the perfect way to celebrate the warmth and love of the season!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of WhiteWave Foods. The opinions and text are all mine.
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