Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Gingerbread is a classic holiday flavor. I actually had never had gingerbread until I met Hubby. I guess it just wasn’t part of my eating background growing up. A few years ago I made some gingerbread cut out cookies that had a lemon cream cheese frosting piped onto them. I was remembering those cookies when I decided to make these cupcakes. I’m entering these cupcakes into Baking Bites Holiday Cupcake Contest (and just barely in time since entries are due by midnight tonight!)
I love these cupcakes because they have very festive sprinkles, (I love sprinkles), festive colors, and festive flavors. For the frosting, I made a lemon cream cheese frosting. Lemon actually pairs really well with gingerbread even though most people gave a weird look when I told them the frosting flavor.
I mentioned the festive colors. Not only are the sprinkles red and green, but the cupcake liners are as well. I love the vibrant colors of these liners and I’m hoping Santa brought me some more, because I’m starting to run low.
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: 24
Ingredients:
For the Gingerbread Cupcakes
1 1/2 c flour
2 Tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 c (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/2 c sugar
3 Tbsp molasses
4 eggs, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 stick unsalted butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Directions:
For the Gingerbread Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
Sift flour and spices together and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low, add flour mixture until just combined.
Fill each muffin tin ~3/4 full. Bake ~25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
With an electric mixer on medium, beat the cream cheese and butter until softened. Slowly add the sugar, zest, and juice and beat until creamy, about 3 minutes.
Gingerbread Cupcakes recipe from Martha Stewart
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting recipe adapted from 52 Cupcakes
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 great flavor combination! And now I’m officially hungry.
beantownbaker — May 29th, 2013 @ 11:45 am
Ha – sorry to make you hungry! We all REALLY enjoyed these. I like snickerdoodles enough, but these were just awesome.
These are so genius! I love snickerdoodles but combined with cheesecake, its even better!
beantownbaker — May 29th, 2013 @ 11:45 am
You should definitely make these, they’re as delicious as they look!
Love the “random” dollops of cookie on top. They look like mini cookies. Snickerdoodles are the best, I love the way you’ve made them shine in this cheesecake!
beantownbaker — May 29th, 2013 @ 6:45 pm
Ha, I tried to make them random, but I pretty much failed at it 😉
I havn’t baked anything sweet for a lonnnggg time now (been living in a campervan and now I have an oven once more been on a bread baking / savoury kick) but Ive been looking for THAT recipe to get me back into sweets. I think this is it! I tried snickerdoodles once and looovvedd them, yours look so so pretty, I cant wait!
beantownbaker — May 30th, 2013 @ 9:12 am
I think this would be the perfect recipe to get you back into baking sweets!
This looks wonderful 🙂 I love snickerdoodles alone, so I imagine this cheesecake tastes heavenly!
oh boy, you may have outdone yourself with this one 🙂 sounds like it was the perfect treat for your sister and her husband!!
daughter came over last night and she lovveessss Snicker Doodle so I made this…she took the whole dish home…that is how much she enjoyed it…it tasted just like snickerdoodle ..I love your recipes…keep them coming…
beantownbaker — July 14th, 2013 @ 4:18 pm
Thanks 🙂 So glad your daughter enjoyed them. My snickerdoodle loving sister sure enjoyed them as well…