Gingerbread Cupcakes

Gingerbread Cupcakes 

with Cream Cheese Frosting

Next time your kids mention gingerbread, surprise them with these gingerbread cupcakes with a delightful  cream cheese frosting. Better yet, let them help you make them. Molasses and brown sugar form a rich flavor stage for some of our favorite spices to dance on. You’ll be tempted to eat these cupcakes right out of the oven, but take our word for it—the cream cheese frosting is worth the wait.

The frosting is simple to make and easy to love. It’s sensational on the gingerbread cupcakes, but you’ll find plenty of other ways to use this recipe. Feel free to adjust the spice to your own preference. Orange zest would be a nice substitute for the lemon.
Ingredients
For the gingerbread cupcakes
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
For the cream cheese frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
optional
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
 
Method
Make the gingerbread cupcakes
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and get a 12 standard-size muffin cups and line them with paper cups.
2. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
3. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
4. Spoon the gingerbread batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan.
5. Place the gingerbread cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes.
Make the cream cheese frosting
1. Cream together the cream cheese and sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
2. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.