Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 12 standard-size muffin cups or line them with paper cups. Cream the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, egg, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together the boiling water and baking soda until dissolved. Stir the baking soda water into the molasses mixture.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
Makes 12 cupcakes
Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting
This frosting is simple to make and easy to love. It’s sensational on the gingerbread cupcakes, but you’ll find plenty of other ways to use this recipe. Feel free to adjust the spice to your own preference. Orange zest would be a nice substitute for the lemon. We’re always partial to cardamom, the Queen of Spices, but allspice or cinnamon would work well, too.
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Cream together the cream cheese and sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Makes 1 1/3 cups
—From The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Sara Engram and Katie Luber with Kimberly Toqe/Andrews McMeel Publishing
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