Tender, sweet cupcakes filled with spicy molasses flavor and topped with creamy, melt in your mouth eggnog frosting - these gingerbread cupcakes with eggnog buttercream are my new go-to holiday season dessert!
Listen, I have a confession to make, out of ALL the gingerbread recipes living on the site after 5 years of gingerbread week….these gingerbread cupcakes might just be my favorite of all. ::GASP::
The gingerbread and eggnog flavors are outstanding, this is definitely a show-stopping dessert!
The cupcake has the texture of a perfectly moist cupcake and all the flavor of a traditional gingerbread cookie…but it's a cupcake.
Friends, the eggnog buttercream - SO good. It has more eggnog flavor than any eggnog frosting I've ever made or tried. If you love eggnog, this is going to rock your world, my dear.
Ingredients You'll Need
To make both the cupcakes and the frosting you'll need the ingredients below!
- all purpose flour
- baking soda
- spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves
- salt
- unsalted butter
- molasses
- sugar: granulated and light brown
- applesauce
- egg
- vanilla extract
- milk
- eggnog
- confectioners sugar
How to make Gingerbread Cupcakes
If you've made cupcakes before, this will be a walk in the park. If this is your first time, it will still be a walk in the park! Hooray!
The method for making easy gingerbread cupcakes is a standard cake/cupcake method. Mix the dry ingredients, build the wet, and then combine.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line your cupcake tins with liners. Mix the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt together and set aside.
- In a standing mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until it's pale and yellow. Repeat with the granulated and brown sugar.
- Mix in the molasses. At this point the butter may appear curdled but it will come together once the dry ingredients are added. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl if needed.
- Continute to add the remaining ingredients of apple sauce, egg, and vanilla - mixing after each addition.
- On low speed, add in the dry ingredients. With the mixer running on low, pour the milk in as the dry ingredients start to incorporate. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl if needed and mix until the batter is combined, about 1 minute.
- Fill the cupcake liners ¾ of the way - I like to use a large cookie scoop for this - and bake in a 350°F oven for 18 to 22 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out (mostly) clean.
Be sure to let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting!
How to make the BEST eggnog buttercream frosting
What is it about gingerbread and eggnog that is so dang tasty?! Like the holiday version of peanut butter and jelly, I suppose.
This eggnog buttercream recipe is based on a recipe from Betty Crocker - that woman is a smart cookie.
The original recipe didn't make enough frosting for the cupcakes, but doubling or 1.5x the recipe wouldn't work. It also was missing a little sweet so I added confectioners sugar to marry the old school buttercream method (melted sugar + butter) with the more common buttercream method (confectioners sugar + butter).
The base for this recipe involves eggnog with sugar, flour, and nutmeg on the stovetop over low heat until it coats the back of a spoon.
TIP: the best way I can describe the consistency of the eggnog mixture to know that it's 'done' is that it's almost pudding-like. A spoon wouldn't stick up in it, but it doesn't drip off the back of a spoon right away.
It uses plenty of eggnog and produces the strongest eggnog flavor and is 100% worth the effort.
However, if that seems like too much work, use this eggnog buttercream recipe instead.
Troubleshooting and Tips:
- Have patience with this eggnog buttercream recipe!
- Heat the eggnog mixture over medium heat with a whisk until it comes to just a boil. Continue to cook until you get the right consistency or you'll end up with a thin buttercream.
- The buttercream will look curdled at first, just keep beating! It will come together.
- Cool the eggnog mixture COMPLETELY, throughout.
- Use butter that is room temperature but not soft.
- Troubleshooting tip: If your frosting just won't come together, try adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. This will help thicken the frosting without affecting the flavor.
To frost the cupcakes, I like to transfer the buttercream to a piping bag and use a large tip. In my opinion, it's faster to pipe the buttercream than using a spatula and it looks so nice!
Ideas for garnishing your Gingerbread Cupcakes:
Not a necessary step - the flavors will speak for themselves! But if you want a visual pop, try these ideas:
- white nonpariels for a monochromatic texture pop
- gold sparkling sugar or sprinkles
- gingerbread cookies
- dust them with gingerbread spice
- drizzle of caramel mixed with ground ginger and cinnamon
- fresh grated nutmeg
Gingerbread cupcakes with eggnog buttercream make a great dessert for holiday bake sales, to bring to a get together, or to give away a couple at a time in cute treat boxes!
Other gingerbread pastry ideas:
If you love the idea of cupcakes, these gingerbread bakes will be right up your alley!
- easy gingerbread house
- gingerbread sweet rolls
- baked gingerbread doughnuts
- gingerbread monkey bread
And if you made these cupcakes and frosting I'd love for you to leave a star rating below in the recipe card! Let me know how you served them and if you chose a fun garnish!
Thank you, always, for your support, and Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cupcakes
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup molasses
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup applesauce
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk whole or 2%
Eggnog Buttercream
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cup eggnog
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg preferrably fresh grated
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup confectioners sugar
Instructions
Gingerbread Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line cupcake tins with liners.
- In a medium bowl, mix the 2 ½ cups all purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon all spice, ¼ teaspoons ground cloves, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- Using the bowl of a standing mixer or a medium mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat 1 cup butter on medium high speed until pale and fluffy. Add ⅓ cup granulated sugar and ⅓ cup brown sugar and beat until incorporated. Repeat with the molasses. The mixture may appear curdled but everything will come together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you mix to incorporate all the ingredients evenly.
- Over medium speed, add ½ cup applesauce, 1 large egg, and 2 teaspoons vanilla, mixing after each addition.
- Reduce the speed to low and add the bowl of dry ingredients. Slowly add the remaining ½ cup milk, increasing the speed to medium as the dry ingredients incorporate. Beat until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl when needed.
- Fill the cupcake holders ¾ of the way and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Eggnog Buttercream
- In a medium sauce pan, combine the 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup all purpose flour, 1 ¼ cup eggnog, and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. Heat over medium heat, whisking frequently until the mixture thickens and begins to boil. The eggnog mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, almost as thick as gravy or a thin pudding.
- Transfer the eggnog mixture to a heatproof bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until chilled throughout.
- Once the eggnog mixture is completely chilled, make the frosting. In a medium mixing bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a standing mixer, beat 1 cup butter on medium high until pale and fluffy.
- With the mixer running, slowly pour in the chilled eggnog mixture. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes before adding the confectioners sugar. The butter and eggnog mixture should be almost completely combined.
- Continue mixing until the frosting is thickand fluffy. It may look curdled in the beginning, but this frosting just takes a little longer to come together than a typical American buttercream frosting.
- Pipe the buttercream onto the gingerbread cupcakes and garnish with sprinkles, gingerbread spice, gingerbread cookies, or serve as is!
Notes
- Have patience with this eggnog buttercream recipe! If you want a recipe that doesn't involve cooking the eggnog, try this one.
- Heat the eggnog mixture over medium heat with a whisk until it comes to just a boil. Continue to cook until you get the right consistency or you'll end up with a thin buttercream.
- Use butter that is room temperature but not soft.
- Troubleshooting tip: If your frosting just won't come together, try adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. This will help thicken the frosting without affecting the flavor.
- See the post above for cute holiday garnish ideas!
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