12.18.2012

Gingerbread Cupcakes


I thought I'd end my holiday posts with these little beauties. Last Christmas I took them to our Garden Club's annual holiday pot luck dinner. This year, because our club had money in the bank, (Shock!) we chose to cater our annual "do"; such a pleasure to get dressed up and not have to drag a dish and serving utensils along, which invariably everyone forgets to take home. 

These cupcakes were delicious. (Did you notice the rum? Mmmmm.) I seem to be on an Ina Garten kick right now, but I'm not going to apologize as I love her recipes. Anyway, these are easy to eat...you don't need a plate and what fun to serve them mini-style in these adorable little cupcake liners. 

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Orange Icing
2009, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved




Ingredients:
1/4 cup dark rum or water 
1/2 cup golden raisins 
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter 
1 cup unsulfured molasses 
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream 
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest 
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 
3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/3 cup minced dried crystallized ginger (not in syrup)

For the frosting 
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
1/2 teaspoon orange zest 
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
1/2 pound confectioners' sugar, sieved
For the decoration: 

6 pieces dried crystallized ginger (not in syrup), sliced in half

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. 
Place the rum and raisins in a small pan, cover, and heat until the rum boils. Turn off the heat and set aside. Place the butter and molasses in another small pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Pour the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cool for 5 minutes, then mix in the sour cream and orange zest. 

Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together into a small bowl. Mix with your hand until combined. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture and mix only until smooth. Drain the raisins and add them and the crystallized ginger to the mixture with a spatula. 

Divide the batter among the muffin pan (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. 

For the frosting, mix the cream cheese, butter, orange zest and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until just combined. Add the sugar and mix until smooth. 

When the cupcakes are cool, frost them generously and garnish with a slice of crystallized ginger. 

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19 comments:

  1. Oh my. I have to make these. If I'd found them an hour earlier, I would have rushed to the kitchen!

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  2. I love gingerbread and no one else here does!

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  3. what lovely cupcakes! I love gingerbread!!

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  4. Wonderful cupcakes! I bet they taste heavenly.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  5. Good Morning Barbara, Oooh, these sound delicious and with the added ingredient of rum....a definite hit. I also like Ina Garten, I first saw her television programme when I visited my daughter in Atlanta. I loved her relaxed, effortless style of cooking, plus I thought her kitchen was fabulous. I enjoyed her programme so much that I bought one of her cookery books.
    I'm now going to try these gorgeous cakes.
    Have a lovely day, Best Wishes Daphne

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  6. You are right Barbara, you con't go wrong with Ina. But you made them look so lovely.

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  7. I love gingerbread! These soundsso delicious, Barbara, and that cream cheese frosting - oh my.

    Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

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  8. the little plop of crystallized ginger on top is a great touch! happy holidays to you and yours, barbara. :)

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  9. I've made quite a few of her recipes but have never had one of her cookbooks. Nice to see your blog again... another great recipe... you have a very lucky garden club when you bring things like this to the party!

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  10. Those cupcakes are just lovely. I really love gingerbread, and I think it's a perfect flavor for Christmas. You can't feature Ina's recipes too often!

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  11. these look great merry christmas

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  12. Oh I love Ina's recipes too, she does everything so simply but elegantly.

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  13. These are so perfect to celebrate the season - yum!

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  14. Hmmm! Gingerbread and Orange! The house must have smelled fantastic!

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  15. What a great idea. Everyone loves gingerbread.

    Wishing you and your family happy holidays and the happiest of new years Barbara.
    Sam

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  16. Barbara, these are fragrant and lovely. They are the type of treat that disappears quickly. I hope you have a wonderful holiday. Hugs and Christmas blessings...Mary

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  17. Hi Barbara, your gingerbread cupcake look delicious. Love the frosting.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you. Happy holiday.

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  18. I can never see too many Ina recipes. I always love them. These cupcakes look perfect for the season! Hope you're having a fantastic holiday week, and Happy early New Year!

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  19. Hello!

    I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.

    Man and Van Woking

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