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These festive Gingerbread Cupcakes are homemade and topped with a luscious Cinnamon Dulce de Leche buttercream frosting. These cupcakes have the perfect balance of cinnamon & ginger, and are perfect for Thanksgiving & Christmas!
Looking for more gingerbread recipes? Try my gingerbread cupcakes with maple frosting or this easy gingerbread cake.
Easy Gingerbread cupcakes
I’m soaking up the last few days before Christmas enjoying every minute of my Christmas lights, eggnog lattes and frosted sugar cookies (somebody stop me please!). We went to a family Christmas party over the weekend and I made my Rum Cake and sugar cookies.
These cupcakes come together in a snap. The gingerbread cupcake is super moist thanks to the combination of brown sugar, oil and sour cream. Plus that buttercream is to-die-for.
What Makes these Cupcakes So Good?
I love these because they have a wonderful light crumb texture but the flavors pack a nice punch. The cupcakes are spiced with ginger and cinnamon and a bit of sour cream to help keep them from drying out too quickly.
Most of my cupcake recipes are oil based, which makes for a nice and tender crumb. You also don’t have to be worried about properly creaming together the butter and sugar.
Dulce De Leche Buttercream Frosting
For the frosting, I’ve chosen a Cinnamon Dulce De Leche frosting. The dulce de leche frosting is not to sweet and nicely balanced with the cinnamon. It’s smooth and very silky.
For the frosting, you want to allow some time to whip the butter until it’s turns light in color. I tend to think I make some pretty amazing frosting, but I also like my frosting to be very light in texture with lots of air bubbles, and that means beating the frosting for longer periods of time. I definitely give my mixer a work out.
I know that dulce de leche can be expensive. I like to stock up at Trader Joe’s because a small jar is only three dollars. I kept mind in the refrigerator too, so it’s nice and thick. If you can’t find it, a nice thick caramel could be used as an alternative.
Before we part ways, I would love to know what your favorite holiday flavors are!
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Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Dulce de Leche Frosting
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 44 minutes
- Yield: 14 cupcakes
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Pin RecipeDescription
These festive Gingerbread Cupcakes are homemade and topped with a luscious Cinnamon Dulce de Leche buttercream frosting. These cupcakes have the perfect balance of cinnamon & ginger!
Ingredients
For the cupcake:
- ½ cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (48g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (59ml) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup (59m) molasses
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (48g) light sour cream
- 1 ½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons (5g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ½ cup (118ml) milk
For the frosting:
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
- 4 cups (520g) powdered sugar
- 2 heaping tablespoons (30ml) dulce de leche (cold)
- 1 tablespoons (15ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 heaping (2.5g) teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugars, vegetable oil, eggs, molasses and vanilla extract and sour cream. Beat on medium speed until the well combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine all remaining dry ingredients. Then, add half the dry ingredients to the batter followed half the milk and beat until it starts to combine.
- Finally add the remaining dry ingredients, mixing on low speed while pouring in the milk and beating until all of the ingredients are well combined. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed.
- Using a large cookie scoop, divide the batter evenly, filling each liner 2/3 full.
- Bake at 350°F for 14-16 minutes. Test the cupcakes for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cupcake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cupcakes are done. Cool Completely.
For the frosting:
- Cut the butter into pieces. Using the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Beat until butter looks light in color.
- Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time and mix on low speed until incorporated into butter. The frosting will start to thicken. Begin to alternate adding the liquid ingredients while adding in additional powdered sugar. Add the cinnamon and pinch of salt last.
- Continue beating until all ingredients are combined and then beat it at a high speed for 2 minute to whip some additional air into the frosting. Pipe the cupcakes with an open round tip.
Notes
- The batter will be quite thin. It’s important that you stir the batter after mixing, to ensure everything on the bottom of the bowl is well mixed.
- Sour Cream: You can substitute the light sour cream for Greek yogurt. You can also use full-fat sour cream if needed.
- To make 24 cupcakes simply double the ingredients
- Storage suggestions:If you live in a hot and humid environment then I would suggest that you refrigerate cupcakes that are frosted and allow them to come to room temperature before serving. Otherwise they can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature.
- Make-ahead:These are best served within 2 days of preparation but will proper storage they can stay fresh for several days.
- Freezing: If needed, flash-freeze the cupcakes on a baking sheet for 15 minutes than transfer them to an air-tight, freezer-safe container. Thaw in the refrigerator for several hours then bring to room temperature prior to serving. If possible, it’s best to store them unfrosted and add the frosting prior to serving.
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: gingerbread cupcakes, gingerbread dessert, thanksgiving dessert, christmas desserts
You had me at cinnamon dulce de leche frosting! Delicious!
Hello – where does the sour cream come in to the recipe?
Hi Becky, you should add this after the molasses and eggs are well mixed.
When do we add the sour cream? Can’t find it on the directions. Can’t wait to try the recipe. Thanks for sharing. ?
Hi Lawrence, you should add this after the molasses and eggs are well mixed.
Is 3 cups butter a mistake? I’ve never seen so much butter for just 20 cupcakes. Is it meant to be 3 sticks?
Carol, thanks for your note. YES!!! Oh my gosh. 1 1/2 cups of butter = 3 sticks.
THANKS! I’m making these tonight and that sounds much better than 3 cups!
These look lovely. Just like it was seeing you on Saturday.