Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

By
Brett Moore
Brett Moore
Brett Moore
Before becoming a food writer, Brett Moore earned a culinary degree and worked as a professional chef.
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Updated on 08/7/20
Andrews McMeel
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 35 mins
Servings: 12 servings

I love the taste of warm gingerbread, especially appropriate during the winter. Cardamom is a wonderfully fragrant spice that goes well with gingerbread. If you don't care for cardamom, you can substitute allspice or cinnamon—not quite the same flavor but still amazingly delicious!

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Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick unsalted, at room temperature)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup water (boiling)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon (ground)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger (ground)
  • 1 teaspoon cloves (ground)
  • 1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • For the Frosting:
  • 8 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh)
  • 2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon green cardamom (ground)

Steps to Make It

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups.

  2. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla.

  3. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and the baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.

  4. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.

  5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

  6. While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

  7. Beat in the vanilla.

  8. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.

  9. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes.

  10. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
331 Calories
17g Fat
42g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 331
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 17g 21%
Saturated Fat 9g 47%
Cholesterol 64mg 21%
Sodium 304mg 13%
Total Carbohydrate 42g 15%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Protein 5g
Calcium 84mg 6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)