Christmas is getting closer and closer which each passing day ... and the days are getting shorter too. I'm finding it difficult to shoot nicely lit YouTube videos because natural lighting is terrible in the winter months.
This year I took part in #BEDN (which is Blog Every Day in November) however I'm a bit annoyed with myself as it gave me less time to plan and prepare my Christmas-themed posts for December. Last year I took part in #Blogtober which left most of November to plan my December posts ... but anyway ... no use crying over spilt milk.
The reason I mentioned this was - that I was trying to plan Christmas-themed posts for the next couple of weeks while keeping in mind what I did last year so I didn't repeat myself. I hadn't baked in ages so I decided to get the food mixer out and whip up a batch of cupcakes - gingerbread flavoured ones to be more specific.
Obviously I will mention that I found the recipe online - I didn't create it. If you want to find the original recipe you can click HERE. I have added my own little comments and changes here and there.
Gingerbread Cupcakes
Ingredients:
> 150g butter (has to be room temperature)
> 150g soft light brown sugar
> 3 eggs
> 150g self-raising flour
> 1 tsp ground ginger
> 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
> pinch of ground nutmeg
> 1 tbsp milk
Frosting:
> 200g butter (room temperature again)
> 50g soft light brown sugar
> 3 tbsp milk
> 200g icing sugar
> pinch of ground cinnamon
Recipe:
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C for a conventional oven or 160°C for a fan oven or gas mark 4 for a gas oven.
Step 2
Get a muffin tray (these are better than cupcake trays as they are deeper. Line them with 12 cupcake cases ... I used nice red Christmas ones with snowflakes on.
Step 3
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy - you want to do this for about 5 minutes - the butter should have changed from a yellow colour to a off-white colour.
Step 4
Sift the flour and spices together into a bowl. Also crack the eggs into a separate bowl.
Step 5
Now add some flour to the creamed butter/sugar mix and then alternative back and forth with the eggs until both flour and eggs are combined into the mixture.
Step 6
Add the tbsp of milk and stir into the mixture. Now you can spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases. I worked with a dessert spoon which was a good measure and then I just topped up each cupcake with a little bit of the mixture until the bowl was clean.
Step 7
The recipe states 15-20 minutes but my cupcakes were done at exactly 15 minutes ... I'm sure it depends on the oven though as everyone has a different one. When you think they are ready they should be springy to the touch or you can get a metal skewer or a metal thermometer and poke a cupcake in the middle and if it comes out clean then its ready. Transfer them to a wire rack so they can cool.
Frosting:
Step 8
Place the 50g of the butter and sugar in a saucepan and on a low heat cook until melted. Try not to let it boil as if it burns it tastes horrible. Take off the heat and add 2 tbsp of milk and stir until the sauce thickens and is glossy. Let it cool down.
Step 9
Add the remaining butter (150g) to a bowl and beat until creamy and fluffy (like the start of the cupcake mix) and then add sifted icing sugar at intervals until all mixed together. Then stir in the cooled toffee sauce until all incorporated. If the sauce is too thick add 1 tbsp on milk to thin. I didn't need to add this as it was a good thickness for my liking.
Step 10
Put the frosting into a piping bag and pipe onto the cupcakes (make sure they are cooled fully before doing this) and then sprinkle a tiny little bit of cinnamon onto the cupcakes. Voila! Done!
Do you ever bake anything Christmas-themed around December time? Let me know in the comments below.
