Day 5 of 12 Days of Christmas Fun: Gringerbread Cucpakes w/ Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting & a GIVEAWAY!!!

♪♫ On the 5^th day of Christmas Food, Folks, and Fun gave to me…♪♫

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting & a GIVEAWAY!

Cranberry-Pecan Chicken Salad

CHRISTmas Subway Art Printable

Thick & Chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Christmas To-Do List Printables

 

I made these again recently and changed the garnish to fondant gingerbread men, so cute!

 

This is another recipe I made for the crafting event I was a part of recently, and everyone seemed to love these cupcakes! What I like most about them is that the gingerbread is not wimpy by any sense of the word…it’s flavorful, spicy, and delicious!

I got this recipe from the cook book of the ladies who are the owners of Georgetown Cupcakes (they have a show on TLC called “DC Cupcakes”). The cookbook is called “The Cupcake Diaries”. This is the first recipe I made from their cookbook and I am thoroughly impressed! My only complaint is that the number of servings is a bit off. The recipe in the book says it makes 12 cupcakes, but I got 24 from the recipe. Also, the frosting recipe was just enough to cover 12 cupcakes with their “signature swirl”, so I had to whip up another batch of frosting half-way through icing (no worries, I adjusted the recipe below so you won’t run into this problem). Other than this oversight, I LOVE the cookbook so far…so much that I am giving a copy away to one lucky reader PLUS a Decorating Tip Set (see below)!!!

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:

2 ¾ C flour

3 T ground ginger (I told you they’re nice and spicy!)

2 t baking soda

1 ½ t ground cinnamon

½ t ground cloves

½ t ground nutmeg

¼ t salt

10 T unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 C packed dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 ¼ C molasses

1 C hot water

For the Frosting:

8 T unsalted butter, at room temperature

12 ozs cream cheese, at room temperature

8 C Confectioners’ sugar, sifted

½ t pure vanilla extract

4 t ground cinnamon

Directions:

For the Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard cupcake tins with 24 paper baking cups.

Sift together the dry ingredients, except for the brown sugar, and set aside.

Cream together butter and dark brown sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer or in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer on high speed, about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating slowly after each addition. Add the molasses, mixing until well incorporated.

Add one third of the dry ingredients and one third of the water and mix thoroughly. Repeat. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the last third of the dry ingredients and one third of the water, and mix thoroughly.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake pan using a 4 tablespoon scoop (I used my trusty scoop), or if you don’t have a scoop, fill to about 2/3-3/4 full.

Bake at 350°F for 16-18 minutes (start checking at 15 minutes) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Frosting:

Place all butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat until well combines. Add in the remaining frosting ingredients and beat until well combined.

Frost the cupcakes using a large round tip (I use Ateco’s extra wide pastry decorating tips from this kit) and a disposable piping bag. Garnish with your choice of sprinkles.

Makes 24-28 cupcakes

Source: from “The Cupcake Diaries”

***Now for the GIVEAWAY!***

One lucky winner will win a copy of “The Cupcake Diaries” and Ateco’s Extra Wide Pastry Decorating Set! Enter below via Rafflecopter’s form!

I’m linking this post up at:
Metamorphosis Monday, Menu Plan Monday , Skip to My Lou, Tip Me Tuesday, Today’s Creative Blog