These spiced gingerbread cupcakes are a delicious treat to get you into the Christmas spirit, and they look beautifully festive too!
I absolutely love gingerbread at Christmas. It's so deliciously moreish. It reminds me of being a child when we had 'snow days' and we would make gingerbread cookies to warm up after playing in the snow.
What is it about gingerbread that makes it so yummy?!
This recipe is based on my gingerbread cookie recipe, which I'll be releasing soon..!
Ground ginger, cinnamon, treacle, maple syrup, and nutmeg all go into making these completely delicious. The sponge is gloriously soft, and the spiced ginger vanilla buttercream compliments them perfectly.
This Christmas will undoubtedly be another difficult one because of the pandemic, so I'm interested to know what you do to stay sane? For me, baking is so therapeutic, and I find joy in it that takes my mind off of other stressful things.
If you're not into baking, I encourage you this Christmas to take the time to do some. It's a wonderful way to de stress and take some time for yourself.
Let's get Caking It.
Recipe
180C (170C fan)
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep: 10 mins
Bake: 18 mins
Assembly: 5 mins
Ingredients
Sponge
150g unsalted butter
150g light brown sugar
4 medium eggs
1 tbsp treacle
1 tbsp golden syrup
150g gluten free self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 gluten free baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp sour cream
Frosting
150g unsalted butter
350g icing sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp milk
Gingerbread stars to decorate
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Method: Sponge
Don't forget to wait until all the ingredients are room temperature before starting.
Preheat oven to 180C. Fill 12 muffin holes with cases.
With a fork, cream the butter until pale, then add the sugar and cream together until fully incorporated.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing with an electric whisk between each addition.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, and spices with a fork, and then add this to the mixture, mixing until fully incorporated.
Add treacle, golden syrup, and sour cream and give it a good final mix.
Spoon 2 tbsp of the mixture into each muffin case.
Let the mixture sit in the cases for 20 minutes before placing in an oven for 18 minutes. A skewer or toothpick inserted into the cupcakes should come out clean.
Method: Buttercream
This buttercream is delicately spiced and beautifully delicious.
While the sponges are cooling, move onto the buttercream.
Cream the butter until pale, and gradually add in the ginger and icing sugar until it is all incorporated. You can do this either with a standing mixer, an electric hand whisk, or a fork. At this point the mixture should be a little stiff.
Add the vanilla extract and a splash of milk and mix, and continue adding milk until a glossy, smooth and pipeable buttercream is formed.
Assembly
Making sure the sponges are completely cool, you can begin to pipe.
Pipe a glorious layer of your gingerbread buttercream on top and finish with some gingerbread stars.
Enjoy!