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Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

A gingerbread cupcake topped with lemon cream cheese frosting and crystallized ginger.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 17 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

makes 12 cupcakes
Oven350°F
Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Into a bowl sift together the flour, the ground ginger, the cinnamon, the cloves, the allspice, and the salt.

  2. In another bowl cream ½ stick of the butter, add the granulated sugar, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy.

  3. Beat in the molasses and the egg, beating until the mixture is smooth.

  4. In a measuring cup combine the baking soda with ½ cup boiling water and stir the mixture to dissolve the baking soda.

  5. Stir the mixture into the molasses mixture (the mixture will appear curdled) and stir the molasses mixture into the flour mixture, stirring to combine the ingredients well.

Bake and cool

  1. Line twelve ½‑cup muffin tins with paper liners and spoon the batter into the liners, filling them halfway.

  2. Bake the cupcakes in the middle of a preheated 350°F oven for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean (the cupcakes will be flat or slightly indented on top).

  3. Transfer the cupcakes to a rack and let them cool.

Frost and serve

  1. In a bowl cream together the cream cheese and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, add the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy and smooth.

  2. Beat in the zest and the lemon juice and chill the frosting for 30 minutes.

  3. Frost the cupcakes and top each with some ginger.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

885Calories
22 gProtein
28 gFat
134 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 13 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Cloves1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Allspice1 tsp ground (1.9g)5
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,380 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour
Provides the structure that holds the cupcake crumb together as it bakes.
Egg
Binds the batter and adds structure and richness to the crumb.
Baking soda
Reacts with the molasses acidity to lift and lighten the cupcakes as they bake.
Molasses
Adds moisture, dark color, and deep sweetness with a slight acidity.
Unsalted butter
Adds fat for tenderness and flavor in both the cake and the frosting.
Cream cheese
Gives the frosting a tangy flavor and a smooth, thick body.

The step that matters

Combining the baking soda mixture with the molasses mixture. Baking soda must be fully dissolved and stirred in promptly so it reacts with the molasses acid and lifts the batter. Stirring too long after the flour is added can develop gluten and make the cupcakes dense.

Swap the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, cinnamon, clove, allspice, butter, sugar, molasses):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cardamomfits about as well
  3. Gingerthe original
  4. Turmericfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, cinnamon, clove, allspice, butter, sugar, molasses. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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