| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 25 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Inactive: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 12 cupcakes |
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup dark rum or water
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 cup unsulfured molasses
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup minced dried crystallized ginger (not in syrup)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 pound confectioners’ sugar, sieved
- 6 pieces dried crystallized ginger (not in syrup), sliced in half
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Place the rum and raisins in a small pan, cover, and heat until the rum boils. Turn off the heat and set aside. Place the butter and molasses in another small pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Pour the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cool for 5 minutes, then mix in the sour cream and orange zest.
- Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together into a small bowl. Mix with your hand until combined. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture and mix only until smooth. Drain the raisins and add them and the crystallized ginger to the mixture with a spatula.
- Divide the batter among the muffin pan (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
- For the frosting, mix the cream cheese, butter, orange zest and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until just combined. Add the sugar and mix until smooth.
- When the cupcakes are cool, frost them generously and garnish with a slice of crystallized ginger.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 540 |
| Total Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 72 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 50 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 71 mg |
| Sodium | 245 mg |
Reviews
We thought these cupcakes were delicious! As did our neighbors.
I used light molasses so not as heavy tasting. For the frosting used a sugar substitute instead of confectioners sugar. Great flavor!
I used light molasses so not as heavy tasting. For the frosting used a sugar substitute instead of confectioners sugar. Great flavor!
I love everything Ina makes and have 8 of her cookbooks, but this recipe is terrible. The cupcakes had no flavor except molasses, which was bitter. I even changed the recipe by adding 1 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup heavy cream to soften it. It did not work! I would definitely halve the molasses and maybe add something else for taste, or find another recipe for the cupcake. The texture was perfect (I made sure to undercook) and the icing was delicious. I love the crystallized ginger on top, too! My family did not like them either. They ended up in the trash!
I love gingerbread and bake all of the time. This recipe (with the exception of the frosting) was awful. Dense, too much molasses and bitter. Thankfully I had already made her turkey roulade, which was absolute perfection.
I have made these just like the recipe several times around Christmas. They are delicious. For the folks who found them dense, I wonder if they have ever had gingerbread? Either use a recipe or don’t but don’t review your own substitutions.
Why do people bother with recipes? By the time they make all their changes, it’s not the recipe anymore!
phnxrth ~~~~ if you made all those changes then there is No way the gingerbread would come out properly half the molasses? then adding corn syrup light and dark? half the ginger? adding baking powder? This recipe has good old fashioned taste and was wonderful just as it is!
Very nice. Rich, dense and festive. I took a reviewer’s advice and halved the molasses, added 1/2 c. corn syrup and 1/2 c. dark brown sugar. Also added 3/4 tsp. baking powder along with the baking soda.I omitted the orange peel since I didn’t have any. Also used about half the amount crystallized ginger, chopped very finely. I used Trader Joe’s candied ginger.
really nice indeed
I thought this recipe was wonderful! A great holiday treat.
Ina, I am a big fan of yours, but I wasn’t 100% with this recipe. I liked the taste, but found them to be too dense and they became very dry within two days. So if I could find a way to make them lighter, that would be great.