Perhaps no food better embodies the holidays than gingerbread. The combination of the warm spices and just the right amount of sweetness make this distinct flavor a must-have this time of year. Combine that with a classic dessert like cupcakes, and you've got yourself an immediate crowd pleaser.
These gingerbread cupcakes serve as the perfect vehicle to highlight the signature spices of the season. They are frosted with a heaping helping of Cheryl's delicious vanilla buttercream, which is flavored with cinnamon. To up the ginger quotient, add a mini gingerbread cookie on top. They're the perfect treats to enjoy this holiday season!
SERVINGS
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 12 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus 1 teaspoon to add to the frosting (½ teaspoon per container of frosting)
- 12 teaspoon nutmeg
- 14 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
- 12 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
- 14 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 cup ginger ale
- 14 cup (½ stick) room temperature butter
- 2 Cheryl's Buttercream Frosting Tubs
- 24 mini gingerbread man cookies (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Prepare a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake liners, spray with baking spray, and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour.
- Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and whisk together.
- Make a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the remaining ingredients — eggs, buttermilk, molasses, vanilla extract, butter, brown sugar —and mix with a hand mixer until none of the dry ingredients are visible. (You may see clumps of butter, but that’s OK!)
- Take the batter and fill each cupcake liner half way.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (For my oven, my cupcakes came out perfectly at 16 minutes.)
- Allow cupcakes to cool completely (at least 30 minutes).
- While cupcakes are cooling, mix a half teaspoon of cinnamon into one tub of vanilla buttercream frosting.
- Fill a piping bag with frosting and pipe it onto the cupcakes. Top each one with a mini gingerbread man (optional). Enjoy!
AUTHOR
Kaili Reveles is a food blogger and photographer, and recipe developer who runs the website KabesBakes.com. She also is a personal trainer and powerlifter. She lives in Amarillo, Texas, with her husband, three kids, three cats, and a dog.
