Gingerbread Cupcakes

These gingerbread cupcakes are the perfect sweet treat for this holiday season! Soft, moist, packed with warm gingerbread spices, frosted with the best buttercream frosting and topped with the cutest homemade gingerbread cookies! What’s not to love?

Prep:
30 minutes
rest:
CHILL:
RISE:
Cook:
20 minutes
TOtal:
50 minutes

Ingredients

GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES
  • 195 g (1 1/2 cup) Plain flour/all-purpose flour 
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 g (1 tsp) Baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
  • 25 g (2 tbsp) Vegetable oil
  • 2 Eggs (UK medium-sized) weight without shell = 109 g
  • 85 g (1/3 cup) Unsalted butter, softened 
  • 100 g (1/2 cup) packed Soft Light brown sugar
  • 30 g (2 tbsp) Honey
  • 75 g (about 1/4 cup) Treacle or Molasses
  • 120 g (1/2 cup) Buttermilk at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground clove
  • Gingerbread cookies for decoration (optional)
BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
  • 230 g (1 cup) Unsalted butter softened to room temperature 
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract 
  • A pinch of salt
  • 260 g (2 cups) Icing sugar/powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2-3 tbsp Double cream/heavy cream, room temperature

Instructions

GINGERBREAD CUPCAKES
  1. Preheat the fan oven to 155C/311F (for a conventional oven, 175C/347F). 
  2. Sift plain flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and all spices into a large bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
  3. In a cup, mix together treacle and buttermilk and set aside.
  4. With an electric mixer, cream together softened butter and light brown sugar for about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Make sure to scrape the bowl so the butter gets well mixed in.
  5. Add in the eggs (one at a time) and vanilla extract, and beat after each addition. Mix in vegetable oil and honey.
  6. Alternatively, add in half of the dry ingredients, then the buttermilk and treacle mixture, then the rest of the dry ingredients. Beat on low after each addition until it’s combined (avoid over-mixing).
  7. Take a 12-cupcake tin and line it with cupcake liners. Each liner should be 2/3 full with the filling. Distribute your batter among the 12 cups. Tap the tin on the counter to remove any large air bubbles. Bake in the preheated fan oven at 155C/311F (For a conventional oven, 175C/347F) for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
  1. With an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy (about 3-4 minutes), scraping down the sides as needed.
  2. Add in a cup of icing sugar (sifted), vanilla extract and salt, beat on low speed until fully combined. Now add in the rest of the icing sugar + 2 tbsp of double cream, and beat again until fully combined. 
  3. Mix in the remaining 1 tbsp of double cream and beat on medium or high for 2-3 minutes or until it becomes nice and fluffy.
  4. Using a spatula, mix in by hand to remove any air bubbles.
  5. Fill your piping bag fitted with an open star tip (Wilton 8B) and make swirls on your cupcakes. Decorate it with cooled gingerbread cookies. Enjoy!