Gingerbread Cupcakes with Molasses Ganache Filling and Vanilla Buttercream

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Molasses Ganache Filling and Vanilla Buttercream. Christmas in a deliciously sweet cupcake! Not only are these cupcakes extra festive, they are SO easy to make and taste just like your favorite gingerbread cookie. Sweet and heavily spiced gingerbread cupcakes made with the classic spices (ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves), plus lots of molasses! Then, after baking, each cupcake is filled with a luscious and decadent whipped molasses ganache. Light, chocolate-y, and so good! But, the goodness doesn’t stop there. Each cupcake is then generously frosted with the creamiest vanilla buttercream frosting EVER. SO DELICIOUS! Then, just for fun, finish these cute cupcakes some small Gingerbread Cookies to complete the look. There’s so just much to love here! Truly perfect for weekend winter baking or even large Christmas parties.

→ This post is also available as a Web Story: Gingerbread Cupcakes

About The Recipe

The Christmas season is very much upon us and we decided to join in on the holiday craze and start a little early this year! I mean, stores are playing Christmas carols, the overall vibe is changing to something much more festive…people are even starting to put our Christmas lights.

And, I would be lying if I said we weren’t already decorating. So, it seemed only fitting to share these delicious Gingerbread Cupcakes so you all can join in on the festive fun!

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Just LOOK at these cupcakes! They’re SO cute. I can’t wait for someone to invent smell-o-vision or something because, if you could just smell these cupcakes, you would know how good they really are.

The cupcake itself is literally a gingerbread cookie but in cake form. I swear! It’s spicy, sweet, soft, fluffy, and just SO. GOOD. The ganache was something my mom and I discussed quite a bit.

Originally, we were going to fill it the cupcakes and top them with the molasses ganache…but right before we started gathering ingredients for a test bake, we started thinking. It seemed like quite a bit of chocolate, especially since this recipe is meant to really showcase the gingerbread, NOT chocolate.

So, back to the drawing board for a few minutes. What is generally with gingerbread cookies? That’s the question we asked ourselves when it dawned on us.

A decorators frosting! Because, what fun is a plain gingerbread?

We got to work shortly thereafter and everything was going great. The cupcakes came out perfect on the first test bake, the frosting was stunning, but suddenly the ganache was giving us trouble. It wouldn’t set no matter what we did! It also became grainy and just wasn’t good. So, we had to start over with the ganache. We went a simpler route on test #2 and, actually, it worked beautifully! The only thing? It still didn’t set up in the fridge.

Thankfully, we did use heavy whipping cream in the recipe. All we had to do was whip it until it was stiff enough to fill a cupcake!

Which actually worked to our advantage! It doubled the amount of filling we had, which means we were able to give each cupcake LOTS of ganache.

Once everything was (finally) put together, these cupcakes tasted like a dream! Every bite was soft, spicy, creamy, chocolate-y, and perfectly sweet. It literally tasted like biting into a cookie! SO. GOOD.

The best part is, though? These cupcakes are perfect for getting you into the Christmas spirit! There’s no way to have a bad day when you have something THIS delicious to eat.

Equipment Needed

• Glass Mixing Bowls
• Small Pot
• Rubber Spatula
• Plastic Wrap
• Muffin Pan
• Cupcake Papers
• Stand Mixer
• Large Cookie Scoop
• Cake Tester
• Piping Bags
• Piping Tips

Ingredients

For The Ganache:

• Semisweet Chocolate
• Heavy Cream
• Molasses

For The Cupcakes:

• All-Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Ginger
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Allspice
• Cloves
• Salted Butter
• Granulated Sugar
• Eggs
• Molasses
• Buttermilk

For The Frosting:

• Salted Butter
• Powdered Sugar
• Heavy Cream
• Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Heat the heavy cream over medium low heat until it just starts to boil.

Pour the heated cream over chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Gently stir chocolate and cream together.

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Stir in the molasses.

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Cover with plastic wrap making sure it is touching the surface of the ganache. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

For the cupcakes, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.

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Beat the butter and sugar until creamy, about 2-3 minutes.

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Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

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Stir in the molasses.

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Add the flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

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Use a cookie scoop to portion batter in prepared muffin pans. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes, or until they test done. Let cool.

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Beat butter until smooth.

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Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Be sure to scrape down the sides!

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Mix in the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator.

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In a clean bowl with the whisk attachment, whip cold ganache until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

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Assembling The Cupcakes

Using a fork or a cupcake corer, core the cupcakes.

Fill the cupcakes with the molasses ganache. The best way to do this is to put it in a piping bag and pipe it in. No tip needed! From there, pipe (or spread!) frosting onto the cupcakes. Decorate as you wish!

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What Type of Chocolate To Use

The most important thing about this recipe is using a chocolate you love the flavor. It has to be something good because it highlights all the delicious flavors in this cupcake, while also complimenting the molasses. We used (and highly recommend) a 63% couverture, which is a dark chocolate. For us, it’s sweet enough without being too over powering.

4 Tips To Make The Best Buttercream Frosting

If you are like me, you may struggle with making buttercream. If you follow all of these tips, you should have the silkiest and most delicious buttercream frosting!

1. Start off with room temperature butter. Starting with chilled butter will only cause you problems.
2. Be careful not to over beat! It may seem tempting to just leave it whipping while you fill cupcakes, but this is actually one of the worst things you can do.
3. Be sure to sift the powdered sugar! This is so you don’t have a lumpy buttercream.
4. Don’t add more sugar than stated in the recipe. Whatever happens, more sugar will probably not help!

How To Store

There are a couple of ways you can store these cupcakes! First of all, if you don’t need these cupcakes asap, make the cupcakes and ganache ahead of time. Store the ganache in the fridge, as well as the cupcakes in a zip top bag in either the fridge or freezer. The ganache should last about 3-5 days, same with the cupcakes. If you freeze the cupcakes, they will store for 2-3 months! Also, It’s always better to make the frosting fresh, as it’ll be lighter and fluffier!

If the cupcakes are already assembled, place the cupcakes in a lidded container and store in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can also freeze them for about a month.

Substitutions

• You can use a pre-made Gingerbread Spice for this recipe. You’ll need about 2 teaspoons, but feel free to adjust as you see fit!
• Milk chocolate can be used instead of dark chocolate.

Expert Tips

• The butter and eggs need to be room temperature for this recipe.
• Let the chocolate and heated milk stand for a full 5 minutes. This allows the chocolate to completely melt before you stir it together.
• Don’t skip refrigerating the ganache! It needs to be cold so it will whip.
• Don’t over-mix the cupcake batter!
• If you don’t having piping bags, you can actually use a zip top bag to pipe the ganache or the frosting!
• Make sure you store these cupcakes in the refrigerator!
• Baking may vary based on your oven! Use a cake tester/tooth pick to check if your cupcakes are done.

When you make these Gingerbread Cupcakes with Molasses Ganache Filling and Vanilla Buttercream, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

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