First of all, thank you to the lovely Caleigh (a.k.a. GlutenFree[k]) for inviting me to take part in her Free From and Festive blogging event. I’m still fairly new to this, and I’m so excited to be posting alongside some of my favourite free from food bloggers!
I love using Christmas spices at this time of year. The taste and smell of ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon makes me feel really festive, and I’ve been adding them to everything recently! I leapt at the chance to make something for the gingerbread category, and here’s my gingerbread cupcakes topped with caramel icing and cute mini gingerbread men. These spicy little cakes are perfect for getting you in the Christmas spirit, and would make great foodie gifts.
The cupcakes are an adaption of my usual vanilla cupcake recipe from Doves Farm (see it here), and the caramel icing is an adaption of this recipe. This icing is one of my favourite cupcake toppings, and it compliments these cakes perfectly. If you want mini gingerbread men for the top of your cakes, check out my gingerbread post here.
Gingerbread Cupcakes
Makes 12 (large)
For the cupcakes
150g butter, room temperature
150g soft light brown sugar
3 eggs
150g self raising flour (I used Doves Farm)
1tsp ground ginger
½tsp ground nutmeg
½tsp ground cinnamon
1tbsp milk
For the caramel icing
200g butter
50g light soft brown sugar
3tbsp milk
200g icing sugar
To make the cupcakes, first beat together the butter and sugar with an electric hand whisk until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the flour and spices. Lastly, beat in the milk. Line a cupcake tray with paper cases and spoon cake batter into each one, filling them about halfway.
Tip
I always use muffin cases to make cupcakes, as I like mine on the bigger side! I feel like the proportion of icing to cake is better this way.
Bake at Gas Mark 4/180°C for 15 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when touched. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool while you make the icing.
To make the icing, melt 50g of the butter and the sugar together in a pan over a low heat. Stir in the milk to form a glossy caramel. Remove from the heat and leave to cool in the fridge. Using an electric hand whisk beat the remaining butter until soft. Beat in half the icing sugar, a little at a time. Beat in the caramel sauce followed by the remaining icing sugar. Either spoon the icing into a piping bag and top your cakes with swirls, or spread the icing thickly on top of the cakes with a knife. Top each cake with a mini gingerbread man, made following this recipe.
Fran x
These look so tasty I have to give them a go. :-) More ingredients to add to my shopping list. :-)
Thank you! I hope you enjoy them : )