Gingerbread Cupcakes
Festive spiced little cakes, topped with cinnamon caramel buttercream. Gingerbread Cupcakes are the perfect little Christmas treat for bake sales, secret Santas and enjoying with an eggnog or hot chocolate.
There’s something about gingerbread that screams Christmas to me. I think it’s a combination of the nostalgia around gingerbread houses and the warm, spicy scent that makes me feel all festive at the thought. And this Gingerbread cupcakes recipe is just the remedy for feeding that festive feeling!
Every year without fail I’ll make something gingerbread for Christmas, be it biscuits, men or houses! But this year I felt the need to mix it up a little. With cupcakes being an ever-favourite in our family, it seemed apt to try and incorporate my favourite festive treat into a bite-sized cake that everyone can enjoy.
These cupcakes are adorable when topped with mini gingerbread men biscuits (I used McVitie’s Mini Gingerbread Men
, but Organix Goodies Mini Gingerbread Men
are great too). Alternatively, if you fancy something a little less cutesy, then some crumbled ginger snaps are an excellent alternative topping, and they give the cupcakes a bit of crunch.
More Ginger Recipes You’ll Love:
• The Best Ever Gingerbread
• Crunchy Gingerbread Men
• Homemade Gingerbread House
• Classic Gingernut Biscuits
Gingerbread Cupcakes
PRINT RECIPEINGREDIENTS
For the Cupcakes
- 150 g Butter or Margarine (at room temperature)
- 150 g Light Soft Brown Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 150 g Self-raising Flour
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Mixed Spice
- 1 tbsp Treacle
- 1 tbsp Milk
For the Icing
- 200 g Butter (at room temperature)
- 200 g Icing Sugar
- 1 tbsp Caramel
- Pinch of Ground Cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 190°c (170°c for fan-assisted or Gas Mark 4) and line your muffin tin
with 10 cupcake cases. - In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light & fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, sift the flour and spices together.
- Add one egg to the butter & sugar mixture, ensuring it is well combined. Add a third of the flour & spices to the wet ingredients, alternating with the rest of the eggs and flour to the mixture; this will prevent the ingredients from separating.
- Finally add the treacle & milk and mix until just combined.
- Using an ice cream scoop, fill the cupcake cases until 2/3 full.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Once cool enough to touch, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
with 10 cupcake cases.
, fill the cupcake cases until 2/3 full.For the Icing
- In a large bowl, beat the icing sugar & butter until light and fluffy.
- Add the caramel & cinnamon for flavour (optional but really tasty!).
- Pipe the icing on top of the cooled cupcakes and finish with little gingerbread men or crushed ginger snap biscuits.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won’t always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
Do you make your own caramel or is like the caramel sauce for ice cream?
These cup cakes were easy to make and enjoyed by all. Very tasty and a little different from the normal cup cake mix. I made the topping in a hurry and added finely grated lemon and lemon juice to the butter and icing sugar. Also used far less than the stated amount for the icing in the recipe. Just spread it on top of the cakes and made a swirl with a fork. Compliments all round.
Any substitute for treacle?
Hi Jodie.
They’re not exactly the same but one of the closest substitutes for treacle would be molasses.
Hope that helps!
1 Tbsp caramel – what should I use here? In the instructions for the icing, it says, “Add the caramel & cinnamon for flavour (optional but really tasty!)”, Are both optional, or just the cinnamon? I plan to make these for a church lunch and have already found the wee gingerbread men in Sainsb and have put them on my next online order, but this has stumped me!