Want the taste of gingerbread without the fuss of cookies? Make these Gingerbread Cupcakes! They’re topped with layer of tangy lemon icing for the ideal (and EASY) holiday treat.
As much as I love gingerbread cookies, they can be a pain to make. The last time I made them I was attempting to put together a gingerbread cookie Christmas manger scene.
My mom’s old Kitchen-Aid from 1970 (bought second-hand, and still works!) was having a heck of a time turning the dough and I swear I could smell it overheating.
After making who knows how many shapes and 2 hours struggling to put it together I lost patience. My decorating job was jaw-dropping in its sheer ugliness as I was never any good at arts and crafts. By the end, I was pretty well ready to bite the head off of little gingerbread baby Jesus out of frustration and call it a day.
The whole experience pretty much put me off making gingerbread, which is a shame since I love the taste of it so much.
Thankfully, there is an alternative to the pains and rigors of gingerbread making (house or otherwise). Gingerbread cake.
Say Hello to Gingerbread Cupcakes
Or in this case, gingerbread cupcakes. Lighter and easier than either gingerbread cookies or gingerbread cake, these cupcakes still possess the sweet flavors of brown sugar and molasses, fragrant winter spices, and the snappy bite that comes from plenty of ginger.
How to Top Your Cupcakes
Drizzled with a bit of lemon icing, the citrus aggressively compliments the rich ginger-n-spice flavors of the dark gingerbread.
Feel free to add some dried cranberries or orange zest to the cupcake batter if you want to add a few other layers of flavor but personally I like mine simple with little to distract me from the gingerbread.
CAN’T GET ENOUGH GINGERBREAD?
Gingerbread Cupcakes Recipe
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick of unsalted butter)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap)
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup grated ginger (on the small holes of a box grater or using a microplane)
For the Lemon Icing:
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2 Make the cupcake batter: In a small bowl, melt the butter and water together in the microwave, covering the top with plastic wrap (in case it splatters). In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and dry spices in a bowl.
In a third, large bowl, beat together the molasses and brown sugar until smooth by hand, using a hand mixer, or using a stand mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each.
Beat in the flour mixture slowly until just incorporated. Add the butter mixture and the grated ginger and beat until smooth. Batter will be runny.
3 Fill the cupcake liners: Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full.
4 Bake: Bake the cupcakes for 12 to 14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
5 Cool completely: Allow to cool for a minute in the muffin tin to set before transferring to a wire rack to fully cool.
6 Top with icing: Combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice together in a bowl and stir until smooth. Allow to stiffen up a bit for 4 minutes. Once the cupcakes are cool, spoon the icing over the cupcakes and allow to harden.
