Tastes Like Christmas
Isn’t it weird how some food make you think of a certain time of year. No matter what the weather is like, that taste takes you back to some other time and memory.
That is what happened with hubby and I ate these cupcakes. They taste like Christmas. We both said it after the first bite. I was somewhat surprised because the cookbook has a gingerbread cupcake recipe in it and I thought that would taste like Christmas and these wouldn’t, but they do. They are very good though!
Spice Cupcakes – 5 WW PTS with frosting (from Crazy about Cupcakes) makes 12
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour – I use King Arthurs White Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat over to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
In a small bowl combine the molasses and boiling water. Set aside.
In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add the egg to the creamed mixture. Beat well.
In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients.
Beat the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, alternating with the molasses mixture. Beat well after each addition.
Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.
Cream Cheese Frosting (cheat version)
Mix 8 oz cream cheese with a tub of store-bought vanilla frosting.
Nutritional Information (please double check with your ingredients and serving sizes – I use this recipe calculator)
Cupcake: 142.7 Calories, 4.6g Fat, 28.1 mg Cholesterol, 213 mg Sodium, 209.4 mg Potassium, 22.8 g Carbs, 1.6 g Dietary Fiber, 12.3 g Sugar, 2.4 g Protein
WW POINTS = 3
Frosting: 67.2 Calories, 3.1g Fat, 3.3 mg Cholesterol, 56.9 mg Sodium, 4.4 mg Potassium, 9.1 g Carbs, 0 g Dietary Fiber, 8.5 g Sugar, 0.7 g Protein
WW POINTS = 2
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’m like you and totally try out recipes based on photos! I think goat cheese and fruit are always a perfect combo. The goat cheesecake sounds intriguing!
Looks and sounds amazing! I’m totally with you about photos of food – they are typically what tempt me to make a recipe.
This cake looks DELICIOUS!
I’d never heard of using goat cheese in a cheesecake, but I’m intrigued.
I, too, much prefer pictures. Sometimes you just don’t put the ingredients together in your head the right way and it comes out looking totally different than you expected. I also flip through the book faster and I tend to not find recipes unless there are pics!
i think trying something new without any idea what it should look like it rough. i love pictures but most cookbooks dont seem to have enough. i think thats why i love this blog so much, you take TONS! 🙂
i am very intrigued by this recipe. but i dont eat blueberries or peaches. is it good by itself? or is the fruit greatly needed??
Beeb – It’s similar to any other cheesecake. It was good on it’s own, but the fruit really enhanced the flavor. Are there other fruits you like that you could top it with? Strawberries and blueberries would be great!
Oh yum! I totally want to try this. I love goat cheese (and fruit) and bet this would make an amazing cake!
I like photos too, but sometimes I get a little too into them. Like the other night when I forgot to add raisins to my cinnamon raisin bread because they weren’t in the photo 🙂
Sues
I definitely prefer recipes with pictures but if a description is really good (or intriguing) or if an author points it out as a favorite… or lastly if it’s a source I trust, I go for it. With that said, I’m glad you made it and posted pictures. This cake looks (and sounds) absolutely fantastic!!!
This looks really good. I agree that sometimes I eat with my eyes. I love photos, but not the ones that look almost fake since they are so perfect. That’s why I love food blogs – usually it is just the food as it will be served.
I cook from a lot of different sources, and will try recipes that are appealing without any pics either. Sometimes it is more difficult when I am completely unfamiliar with the dish, though.
Photos! I love yours…the “cake” looks so pretty with it’s white lip and fruit piled high.
~ingrid
Sounds wonderful. I can see how it would be more of a “cheesecake” than a “cheese cake” because there’s such a small amount of flour. As we move into fall, I bet it would be delicious with a topping of figs sauteed with honey… mmm… honey figs and goat cheese!
LOVE goat cheese cheesecake 🙂 peaches and blueberries seem like another good topper (i recently made one with figs and raspberries!)
i really have to bake that cake for my boyfriend who has a milk intolerance. thank you for posting this many recipes with goat cheese 🙂
best wishes, jay, my blog: artandloveandme.blogspot.com