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Enjoy the festive season with the best Gingerbread Cupcakes! These gingerbread cupcakes are so soft and fluffy and full of warm Christmas spices. Plus they are topped with most delicious tangy cream cheese frosting. Perfect to enjoy during this Holiday season!
These Gingerbread Cupcakes are perfectly light and airy. This gingerbread cupcake recipe is seasoned with lots of Christmas spices to give that classic flavor of gingerbread. It has ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, plus of course molasses to give that perfect gingerbread flavor. They are topped with a delicious tangy cream cheese frosting that perfectly balances the gingerbread spices, making them taste like a dream.
For more cupcake recipes, try Red Velvet Cupcakes, Hot Chocolate Cupcakes and Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes.
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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
- Gingerbread Cupcakes: These gingerbread cupcakes are incredibly soft and so quick and easy to make
- Cream cheese frosting: This cream frosting is so delicious, easy to pipe with and brings a perfect tangy flavor.
- Easy and quick recipe: It's an incredibly easy and delicious recipe to make
INGREDIENT NOTES
These are some of the key ingredients for this recipe. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.
- Eggs: Take the eggs out of the fridge 30 minutes to 1 hours before baking (depending how warm your kitchen is).
- Sour Cream: Sour cream makes for a softer and more tender cupcakes. Measure out the sour cream and let it come to room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hours before baking (depending how warm your kitchen is).
- Spices: To give that classic flavor of gingerbread, it has ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
- Molasses: I recommend using unsulphured molasses or dark glucose syrup.
- Vegetable oil: Use a flavor neutral oil, such as canola.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
Here is how to make and bake these Gingerbread Cupcakes. These cupcakes needs two bowl, a hand whisk and a electric mixer. You will also need a 12-cup cupcake pan and cupcake liners.
The full recipe is down below in the recipe card.
Before starting preheat the oven to 160ºC/ 320ºF conventional oven. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan lined with cupcake paper liners.
STEP 1: For the cupcakes, in a bowl, sift all of the dry ingredients together. Give it a stir to make sure everything has been combined. In another medium sized mixing bowl add all of the wet ingredients, and with a hand whisk, whisk them together until combined.
STEP 2: Slowly pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture while gently stirring it all together. Make sure there are no lumps left in the batter. Divide the cake batter into the 12 cupcake liners and bake them for 20-23 minutes. Once baked let them cool down on a wire rack.
STEP 3: For the buttercream, in a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, creaming the butter on medium speed for 7.
STEP 4: Add the vanilla bean paste and cream cheese and cream it together with the butter. On low speed, mix sifted powdered sugar in 2 parts. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it a final mix.
STEP 5: Add the buttercream to a piping bag with a round piping tip e.g. a Wilton 1A and pipe the buttercream of the cupcakes and garnish with mini gingerbread men.
EXPERT BAKING TIPS
- Use a kitchen scale: My default setting for my recipes is grams. It is the most precise way of measuring out your ingredients, I therefore highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
- Don't over mix your batter: I always use a spatula after everything has mixed together, to give it one final gentle fold together. This makes sure everything in the bottom of the mixing bowl has been mixed into the batter.
- Light vs. dark baking pans: For the best result, use an aluminum baking pan, greased with butter and lined with baking paper in the bottom. Aluminum pans are light in color and therefore attract less heat. That means it bakes more gently which results in a softer cake. If you use a black baking pan it'll attract a lot more heat. That will then give a darker crust, which can result in a dryer cake.
FAQ
Yes, follow the recipe and bake them for 8-10 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
Store the unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, and unused frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. When ready to pip the buttercream on the cupcakes, let the frosting come to room temperature before giving is stir to remove the air bubbles. Then pip the frosting on the cupcakes and they are ready to be enjoyed.
I recommend using a cake tester or toothpick. Once the time has passed, per the recipe, insert the cake tester in the middle of the cupcake and once it comes out clean, with no cake batter on it, then it's done.
HOW TO STORE
Store the frosted gingerbread cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge. Let them come to room temperature before enjoying them. They are best enjoyed within 1-2 days.
Other Christmas Recipes To Try
Make sure leave a STAR REVIEW if you loved this recipe! Make sure to tag me on Instagram @juliemarieeats. To get more ideas by following me on Pinterest.
Gingerbread Cupcakes
Ingredients
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES
- 210 g all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 100 g dark brown sugar
- 110 g unsulphured molasses or dark glucose syrup
- 240 g sour cream room temperature
- 75 g vegetable oil e.g. canola oil or avocado oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 200 g butter
- 100 g full-fat cream cheese
- 345 g powdered sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
DECORATION
Instructions
GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES
- Preheat the oven at 160ºC/320ºF conventional oven and line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, dark brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spice and salt.210 g all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, 100 g dark brown sugar
- In another mixing bowl add all of the wet ingredients, and with a hand whisk, whisk them together until combined.110 g unsulphured molasses or dark glucose syrup, 240 g sour cream, 75 g vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir it all together with a hand whisk. Make sure there is no dry flour left in the batter.
- Divide the cupcake batter into the 12 cupcake liners and bake them for 20-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool on a cooling rack. After 5 minutes, gently remove the cupcakes from the cupcake tray and let them cool down completely.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- Take the butter and cream cheese out of the fridge 10 minutes before starting. Cut the butter into cubes. Sift the powdered sugar.200 g butter, 100 g full-fat cream cheese, 345 g powdered sugar
- In your stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, start by creaming the butter for 5 minutes on high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it another mix for 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla bean paste and cream cheese and cream it together with the butter for 1 minute.½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and on low speed, mix the sifted powdered sugar in 2 parts, letting the powdered sugar mix in with butter and cream cheese before adding the next part. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it a final mix for 2 minutes.
- Add the buttercream to a piping bag with a round piping tip e.g. a Wilton 1A and pipe the buttercream of the cupcakes. Optional decorate with a little gingerbread cookie.
Natalie Gill
Does the butter and cream cheese need room temp before you make the frosting?