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. 
What a beautiful bundt cake!
beantownbaker — April 24th, 2013 @ 1:47 pm
Thanks 🙂
I definitely don’t make bundt cakes enough given those attributes 🙂 this looks absolutely wonderful and I can imagine so many ways to change it up!
beantownbaker — April 24th, 2013 @ 1:49 pm
Oh yea, you could definitely add some spices (i’m thinking cardamom or cinnamon), some extracts or oils, citrus zest, fresh fruit… You could really adapt this recipe however you want.
So I was just thinking I needed an easy bundt cake dessert to take along with a freezer meal I’m making for a new mom friend, and lo and behold, you post this. You just saved me an hour of searching through recipes (though now what will I do at work). I’m also excited to use the vanilla beans I bought and then never put in the vodka to make extract (hopefully they’re still usable).
I do have a question in all my rambling. You said to grease the bundt cake pan with butter, and I usually have the Pam for Baking on-hand. Do you think that butter works better in a bundt pan than the spray? Occasionally I have a heavier cake like this stick to the pan, and I’m wondering if it’s because I didn’t grease with butter.
beantownbaker — April 24th, 2013 @ 1:52 pm
I’m sure your vanilla beans would still be usable, although I do recommend making that vanilla extract some time. It’s definitely worth the (minimal) effort.
I have made bundts using both butter or Pam for Baking. Using Pam is definitely easier, especially with all the curves in the bundt pan. Although 9 times out of 10, I use butter and spread it with my hands. It’s kind of fun. For this bundt, I used butter and it popped right out. Let me know how it goes if you use Pam.
The the look of the frosting on the cake – bundt cakes are my go to when I need to make a cake for the exact reasons you say, nice and easy.
beantownbaker — April 24th, 2013 @ 1:53 pm
The frosting tastes even better than it looks. Man I wish I had a piece of this guy today…
Your cake looks stunning, I love the look of the texture and the vanilla bean glaze. You’re making me sad I don’t have bundt pan!
beantownbaker — April 24th, 2013 @ 1:54 pm
You should definitely get one! A friend of mine gave me my pan almost two years ago for my birthday and I had to make room for it in our tiny Boston kitchen. It was worth the effort. Now that I have a bigger kitchen, space isn’t an issue, but I’m still so glad I have that pan.
I’ve been looking for a bundt cake recipe recently and my husband has been asking for (another) pound cake. THANK YOU!
beantownbaker — April 24th, 2013 @ 1:54 pm
Glad I could help 🙂
Yesterday I found vanilla beans for CHEAP at the grocery store–but they refused to let me buy them because they were expired!! It was the saddest day. This bundt looks amazing. My only tangle with a bundt cake was when I tried to do the Pinterest thing where you put two together to make a pumpkin… frosting disaster. Oh well.
beantownbaker — April 24th, 2013 @ 1:55 pm
WHAT?!? I’ve never heard of that. Oh I’ve seen that where you put two together to make a pumpkin. Never tried it myself though…
I understand your love for bundt cakes! i don’t own one and I’m so envious of all the wonderful looking bundt cakes out there. I pin all the recipes, yet I still haven’t bought myself a pan. That clearly needs to change soon!
beantownbaker — April 25th, 2013 @ 7:48 am
You should definitely get one! I got mine from a friend for my bday almost two years ago and I’m so happy she got it for me 🙂 A lot of people have commented that they don’t have a bundt pan. Maybe I should do a giveaway on here for one…
I love Bundt Cakes too. They are so easy and they end up looking fancy! With cream cheese it I bet it’s perfect!
beantownbaker — April 25th, 2013 @ 7:50 am
Aren’t bundts the best 🙂
Your bundt looks wonderful! I’m so glad you loved this recipe as much as I did! 🙂
beantownbaker — April 25th, 2013 @ 7:50 am
Me too! Thanks for posting it or I might not have found it!
I love bundt cakes 🙂 yours looks beautiful! I’ve got to try this recipe.
I have never made a bundt cake but this post makes me want to go out and by a bundt tin! A lovely and delicious looking cake 🙂
Update: I made this for my new mom friend and it turned out great. I used Pam on the bundt pan and the cake slid right out and was beautifully golden. Granted I sprayed GENEROUSLY, so that may have helped. The vanilla beans were also amazing in the glaze and I can’t wait to use them in more recipes!
beantownbaker — May 2nd, 2013 @ 9:03 am
Glad to hear it worked out for you!
I LOVE bundt cakes! This looks great!