Gingerbread Cocoa Cupcakes with Gingerbread Frosting

Gingerbread Cocoa Cupcakes with Gingerbread Frosting

These cupcakes are SO GOOD. MAKE THEM. Oh my goodness. One of the most delicious things I have ever tasted.

Cupcakes:

1 cup strong brewed hot coffee

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tbsp molasses

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Stir the cocoa powder into the coffee until it dissolves. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, spices, baking soda, and baking powder.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in the molasses, then add the eggs, one at a time. My eggs were too cold, so the mixture didn't really combine properly until I added the flour mixture to thicken it; if this happens to you, don't worry. Add the flour and coffee mixtures and stir until all the ingredients are just incorporated. It will be a very liquid batter.

Fill cupcake tins with 1/4 cup batter each.

Bake 9 minutes, turn, bake 9 minutes. Let cool.

Makes 18.

Frosting:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter

3 cups xxx sugar

6 tbsp heavy cream (you may need a little more, give or take)

1 tbsp vanilla paste

1 cup crushed gingerbread cookies

Whip the butter in a standing mixture for about 6 minutes on medium speed. It will get very light-colored and creamy-looking.

Add sugar and cream and mix until combined. Add vanilla. Whip again on medium for about 8 minutes. The frosting will get body as the cream starts to whip, so you will know when it's ready; it will be very light and creamy.

Add the crushed cookies (a food processor is your friend: I did the crushing by hand and it takes FOREVER) and mix in well.

Use a piping bag with a wide tip to make spirals of frosting on top of each cupcake.

Garnish with stick cinnamon.

I had several beheaded gingerbread men left over afterwards, so I garnished a few of my cupcakes with them. I just really enjoyed the way they looked sneakily peeking over the top of the frosting. I just couldn't resist.

Recipe adapted from Bakingdom.com

Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes

Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes

My mom makes these amazing pumpkin cookies, and this was my attempt to replicate them as cupcakes. I decided to do mini cupcakes on the grounds that that would get the cupcake/icing ratio closer to the ratio of the cookies. I also used a few more spices in the cupcakes themselves, but I don't think that hurt anything. The soft crumbly texture of the cupcakes goes great with the crunch of pecans, and the brown sugar icing provides moisture and some extra sweetness.

Cupcakes:

2 cups cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/2 cup buttermilk

vanilla

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/3 cup pumpkin

1 bag (12 oz) pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, one a time. Stir in half the flour mixture, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the rest of the flour. Fold in the pumpkin, then the pecans, stirring by hand.

Spoon the batter into mini cupcake tin. Fill cups most of the way full. Bake for 10 minutes, turn, bake for 10 minutes.

Let cool.

Makes 48.

Brown Sugar Icing:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

6 tbsp butter

8 tbsp milk

1 1/2 cups xxx sugar

vanilla

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar, butter, and milk to a boil, stirring frequently to avoid burning. After 2 minutes of boiling, remove from heat and whisk in the xxx sugar and the vanilla.

Use immediately, spooning generously over each cupcake.

Decorate as desired.

Cupcake recipe adapted from The Baking Robot

Icing recipe by my mother