Updated

These cupcakes have zing! There’s a serious amount of ginger in these gingerbread cupcakes, enough to get your motor running. At first we thought, we’ve gone too far this time. There’s way too much in there. But everyone who tried them didn’t think so at all. As a matter of fact, they loved them! We’ve added some beer to smooth them out just a little, but not too much. And then, topping them with ginger buttercream seemed to be the best way to complete the picture. We’re sure you’ll agree.

Cook Time:

Prep Time:

Total Time:

Servings: 12

Ingredients:

2 cup cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoon ground ginger

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup mild vegetable oil

1/2 cup unsulphured molasses

2 Large eggs, broken into a small bowl

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup stout beer, such as Guinness, poured and settled before you measure

8 ounce (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted through a strainer

1 1/2 tablespoon heavy cream

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Preparation:

Place a baking rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two 6-cup jumbo-size muffin pans with liners and set aside.

Place a strainer over a medium-size mixing bowl and sift together the cake flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

In another medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, oil, molasses, eggs, and vanilla until creamy. Whisk in the flour mixture, combining well. In a small saucepan, heat the beer almost to boiling, and slowly add to the batter, stirring well to incorporate. The batter will be thin.

Fill each prepared muffin cup with 1/3 cup batter, about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the tops are just firm to the touch and a tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Leave the cupcakes in the pan on a rack to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack to cool completely before frosting, about 1 hour.

In a large-size mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, reduce the speed to medium, and add half of the confectioners’ sugar, the heavy cream, ginger, vanilla, and salt, beating to incorporate.

Add the rest of the confectioners’ sugar, beating on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes until very smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Get out that ice cream scoop (2 to 21/4 inches in diameter) and top each cupcake with frosting. Sprinkle the tops with 1 teaspoon chopped crystallized ginger, if desired. Cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in an airtight container, or frozen for 1 month.