Gingerbread Cupcakes

With….get this….cinnamon cream cheese frosting! Oh yum! Thank you Creme de la Crumb! Wonderfully moist and spicy cupcakes topped with a delightful frosting. Not too spicy and not too sweet. Just perfect!

Ingredients:

1½ cups flour
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1½ cups butter, softened
1 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
3 tablespoons molasses
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting

4 cups powdered sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla
heavy cream

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and whisk to combine. In another, larger bowl cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and molasses and mix until smooth. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Fill each cupcake liner ¾ full. Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on wire racks.
For the frosting, cream together powdered sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Add cinnamon, vanilla and heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Spread frosting on completely cooled cupcakes and allow frosting to set up for one hour. Store in airtight container. Sprinkle with cinnamon and granulated sugar, or powdered sugar if desired.

Notes:

*This recipe calls for NO leavening agent. No baking powder or baking soda. This is CORRECT. DO NOT add a leavening agent.
**For the frosting, the above recipe is for enough frosting to spread on each of the cupcakes. If you want to pipe the frosting, double the recipe and when adding the heavy cream, add less than you would to spread the frosting. The shape holds up better when the frosting is thicker. Also, before piping the frosting, it may help to allow the frosting to set up for a few minutes and “dry out” a bit. This will help it hold it’s piped shape.