Light and Fluffy Gingerbread Cupcakes

These gingerbread cupcakes pack in all the flavor from loads of fresh ginger, molasses, and cinnamon. Sometimes gingerbread can be a little dense and stogy, but these cupcakes are surprisingly light and fluffy with the silkiest whipped white chocolate ganache. There are the perfect treat for the holidays or anytime you are craving something cozy with warming spices.

How to Make Gingerbread Cupcakes

1. Cream together the butter and sugar. When the sugar granules are mixed with softened butter, they cut into the butter and create little air pockets. This aerates the batter and turns it into light and fluffy cupcakes.
2. Blend in the eggs. Add the eggs, one at a time, allowing each to be absorbed into the batter before adding the next. This will help make a smoother batter without over-mixing.
3. Add the molasses. Molasses will give these cupcakes that distinct gingerbread taste.
4. Alternate the dry ingredients with the sour cream. Instead of adding all of the flour at once, alternating it with the wet ingredients helps the batter come together more easily. Sour cream makes the cupcakes extra moist and tender.
5. Bake!

NOTE: The Whipped White Chocolate Ganache frosting (pictured) needs at least 2 hours to chill before whipping.

These incredibly moist yet light and easy gingerbread cupcakes are made with sour cream, butter, and oil. The trio keeps them moist and tender. For the flavor, molasses, fresh ginger, and cinnamon give us that classic gingerbread taste. Overall it tastes of dark brown sugar with wam spices and peppery ginger.

Because we are already using molasses, the recipe only calls for granulated white sugar - not brown sugar. This helps tenderize the cupcakes even more since white sugar is better at aerating the batter during the creaming method.

Switch it up! These gingerbread cupcakes would also go really great with Cinnamon Buttercream, White Chocolate Frosting, or a classic cream cheese frosting.

HOW TO USE FRESH GINGER

Fresh ginger adds big flavor in this gingerbread cupcake recipe. It adds a slightly peppery, punchy taste. Ground ginger is easy to find (and use), but you should try the fresh ginger if you have it!

Substitutions

Sour Cream - In this recipe, sour cream is thinned with a bit of water. If you don't have any, you can substitute the sour cream and water both for ½ cup buttermilk. Another alternatively is to use ⅓ cup Greek yogurt plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream.

Fresh Ginger - if you must, sub the freshly grated ginger for 2 teaspoons ground ginger.

Molasses - Dark corn syrup, honey, golden syrup and maple syrup are the best liquid sugar substitutes for molasses. Another option is to use date molasses or 3 tablespoon brown sugar.

Tips for Fluffy Whipped White Chocolate Ganache

• Use good quality white chocolate. This is pretty important in making ganache. I recommend Lindt white chocolate bars.
• Use cream with high milk fat. Look for a percentage of 32 to 36% MF on the carton to make sure it whips up.
• Make sure the ganache is thoroughly chilled. Add a large portion of the cream while it is still cold will help cool down the ganache. Chill the ganache in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Whip until thickened. Using an electric mixer is great and efficient, but can lead to over-mixing. Whip for about 1 minute only, or until the ganache begins to thicken and you can see traces left behind from the the whisk
• Whisk by hand. After the ganache is already starting to thicken up, then whisk it by hand. It won't take long until the ganache is fluffy and spreadable. Finishing by hand gives you a lot more control, so you can stop once it's finished and not over mix.
• Do not over mix. If you whisk too much, the ganache will turn grainy. If this happens, you can try whisking in a little more warmed cream.
• If the chocolate doesn't completely melt in the first step, gently warm the ganache over a double-boiler until melted and smooth.

How to Pipe Frosting on a Cupcake

I used a medium start tip 1B for the swirly frosting. To pipe, you want to partially fill a piping bag with the frosting and the tip already inserted in the bottom. Hold the piping bag straight down, hovering the piping tip about ½ inch above the top of the cupcake. If the tip is touching, then there is nowhere for the frosting to go.

Starting near the edge of the cupcake, apply gently pressure by squeezing the piping bag until the frosting starts to come out.

Move the piping bag in a circular motion around the cupcake. Continue with a second ring of frosting that spirals into the center. Stop squeezing the piping bag before pulling it away from the cupcake.

Serving and Storage

The cupcakes are best served at room temperature. They can sit out for a few hours after assembling. If it is really warm, then consider putting them in the refrigerator.

Beyond a few hours, refrigerate the cupcakes in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.

Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Wrap groups of 4 or 6 cupcakes in two layers of plastic wrap then freeze. Thaw cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator.

Recipe