Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream Frosting
Moist homemade spiced gingerbread cupcakes with sweet and silky eggnog buttercream frosting! A must make holiday treat!
We’re starting off December with a bang here in New England. Snow, snow and more snow! Normally we don’t get big storms until much later in the season. We kicked off the snowy season with around a foot of snow for the first part of the storm and waiting on what our total will be for the next round. Thankfully this snow means no school…I love that we find out early a lot of the time. Growing up, we had to wait it out until the morning and check the tv while it slowly scrolled through the alphabet. Kids these days… they have it so easy! Lucky ducks get to sleep in on snow days.
A big bonus to this storm… our snow day happens to coincide with discount movie ticket day at our local theater. The kids are super excited to be seeing Frozen 2! I have to admit… I am too. But probably not nearly as excited as they are. Hopefully it’s just as good as everyone has been saying it is. Have you seen it yet?
I surprised myself this year and didn’t buy a single thing from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. Normally there is some amazing deal that I can’t pass up. The deals seemed better pre-black Friday this year than the big sale weekend. Did anyone else find that to be the case too? I did manage to grab a bunch of things on my list during the pre-sales much earlier in the week. Weird how that worked out.
One of my absolute favorite holiday flavors is gingerbread. I could enjoy gingerbread cookies and treats all season long and be totally content. I’d happily pass over shortbreads and sugar cookies to enjoy a perfectly spiced gingerbread cookie, loaf, cake, treat… whatever!
Pair gingerbread with another classic holiday flavor and you have an absolute winner!
These homemade gingerbread cupcakes are moist and perfectly spiced, topped off with sweet and silky eggnog buttercream frosting! You read that right. Gingerbread and eggnog. These are a guaranteed crowd pleasing dessert! Two classic flavors. A total match made in dessert heaven.
These are a must make for any gingerbread and eggnog fan. Perfect for a party or just because! Just be sure to add them to your holiday baking plans asap!
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Tips tricks and questions answered…
Can I make this into a cake instead?
This should work well as an 8 or 9-inch cake. You’ll want to check your bake time, as it may vary from the cupcake bake time listed below.
What if I don’t like eggnog?
Easy! Substitute milk for the eggnog and eliminate the optional rum extract. Add in vanilla and you’ll have a silky vanilla buttercream frosting.
Can I use dark brown sugar instead of light brown?
Yes! It will give a bolder flavor, but should work just fine as a 1:1 swap.
Can I make substitutions to the ingredients?
Yes and no. Baking is a science. This recipe works with the exact measurements listed. Altering one or several of those can cause the recipe to fail. If you’re familiar with baking substitutions, go for it! Outside of any alterations I’ve already mentioned, for specific substitution questions, ask in the comments below.
How many will this serve?
This recipe will serve 9, as it makes 9 standard sized cupcakes.
How should this be stored?
Store at room temperature for up to several days in an airtight container. It may also be stored in the refrigerator and eaten chilled or brought to room temperature prior to serving.
What piping tip did you use?
A jumbo closed star piping tip was used for this recipe.
Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1/4 C unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 C light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp all spice
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 C molasses
- 1 1/4 C all purpose flour
- 1/3 C milk
Frosting
- 1 C unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 tsp rum extract, optional
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 4 C powdered sugar
- 1/4 C eggnog
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a standard cupcake pan with 9 paper liners.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar. Mix in egg and vanilla. Scrape bowl as needed. Add spices, salt and baking soda, mixing until just dispersed. Add molasses, mixing until just combined. Lastly, with mixer on low, alternate additions of flour and milk. Continue mixing until no streaks remain.
- Divide batter equally between prepared liners, using a large cookie scoop. Liners should be roughly 2/3 full.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs. Do not over bake. Cool in pan until easy to handle. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add in optional rum extract and nutmeg. Add powdered sugar in small batches, mixing well between additions. With mixer on low, slowly drizzle in eggnog. Mix until fully combined. Transfer frosting to a large piping bag fit with a piping tip. Pipe as desired.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container for up to several days or refrigerated and brought to room temperature prior to eating.
Notes
More winter dessert recipes to try:
- Snickerdoodle blondie bars
- Snickerdoodle kiss cookies
- Slice and bake cranberry pistachio cookies
- Glazed gingerbread muffins
- Christmas pinwheel sugar cookies
- Chewy ginger molasses cookies
- Cinnamon sugar slice and bake cookies
- Chocolate kiss cookies
- White chocolate peppermint bark cheesecake
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