Gingerbread Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream

It's not officially the holiday season in my house until the warm spices of gingerbread fill the kitchen. These festive gingerbread cupcakes, topped with the perfect complement of salted caramel buttercream and a sparkle of candied ginger, are an annual tradition and also perfect for the endless stream of parties, potlucks, and guests.

Why I love Gingerbread.....and These Easy Gingerbread Cupcakes

I make a lot of gingerbread recipes. Like....a lot. Maybe it's my german heritage. Maybe it's a fact that I've always been--for lack of a better term--a spice girl (just call me Holiday Spice.) I love a generous amount of spice, maybe a little heat, and a serious punch of flavor in my food. Don't you?

Gingerbread spices, whether they're in holiday cupcakes, gingerbread men, creme brûlée, or biscotti, deliver that flavor I love, not just during the festive season, but any time of year.

My Top Tips for Making The Best Gingerbread Cupcakes

1. Measure carefully: As with all cupcake recipes, it's important to make your ingredient measurements accurately. Too much of this or too little of that can result in cupcakes that are dry, lacking flavor or (yikes!) deeply sunken in the middle.
2. Bake as directed: For optimal moist gingerbread cupcakes, pay attention to your baking time. You want to take the cupcakes from the oven when they have just finished baking. A toothpick inserted into the centers should emerge mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs attached, and the tops of the cupcakes should spring back when lightly pressed.
3. Don't forget the buttercream! : In my humble opinion, the salted caramel buttercream in this recipe is the perfect pairing for a classic gingerbread flavor. It's one of my favorite buttercream recipes, ever, and the kick of salt is a nice surprise for peoples' palates.

Ingredients and Special Equipment

Please check the recipe card at the bottom of this post for specific quantities!

Ingredients for Gingerbread Cupcakes

• All purpose flour: Substitute equal amounts of your favorite gluten-free flour blend for a gluten-free gingerbread Bundt.
• Baking soda
• Ground ginger / ground cinnamon / ground cloves: There is plenty of ginger in this recipe, accented with classic gingerbread complementary spices, in order to get the best flavor possible!
• Salt
• Oil: Use a neutral oil, like vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil.
• Light brown sugar: Substitute with equal amounts of dark brown sugar
• Molasses: Look for a sweeter, light molasses vs. a darker blackstrap molasses to get the classic. flavor of gingerbread
• Large eggs: Room temperature.
• Buttermilk: Substitute a equal amount of full-fat sour cream or yogurt.
• Crystallized ginger (optional): Also called candied ginger, this can now be found at most grocery stores, but in various sections.  I have found it mixed in with the dried fruit and nuts, in the produce section, or in the baking section.  The best solution is to ask!  Trader Joe's carries crystallized ginger at the lowest price that I have found so far.

Ingredients for Salted Caramel Buttercream

• Granulated sugar
• Water
• Cream of tartar (optional but helpful!): Just a small amount of cream of tartar mixed with your sugar and water will help to prevent your mixture from crystallizing before it turns the deep amber color needed for the caramel sauce.
• Heavy cream
• Large eggs
• Butter
• Salt: This recipe uses a extra to get the needed saltiness for a true "salted caramel" flavor
• Confectioners' sugar / powdered sugar

Recommended Special Equipment

• Cupcake pan / muffin pan: You can use two of these if you have them, or just bake the cupcakes in batches. Line the cupcake / muffin tins with paper liners.
• Piping bag and tips (optional): If you want to pipe decorations onto your cupcakes.

Step By Step Photos and Instructions

Bake The Gingerbread Cupcakes Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉.  Line a 12-cup cupcake tin (or two tins) with paper liners. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.  
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a handheld electric mixer, beat the oil with the brown sugar and molasses at medium speed until well combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Beat in the buttermilk.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients / flour mixture to the wet ingredients, beating until combined. 

5. Divide the batter among the prepared cupcake liners, filling each just over halfway full.  Bake until the tops of the cupcakes are puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean, 16-19 minutes.  Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare the Salted Caramel Buttercream

1. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork or a whisk. 
2. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, stir together the sugar, water, and cream of tartar (if using) until the sugar dissolves. 

Increase the heat to medium-high;  boil the mixture until the syrup turns a deep amber color, swirling the pan occasionally, 8-10 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully stir in the cream.  The mixture will bubble vigorously.  Stir the mixture over low heat until the caramel bits dissolve.

4. Very gradually, whisk the hot caramel into the beaten eggs.  Cool the mixture to room temperature.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld electric mixer and a large bowl, beat the butter and salt until light and fluffy.  Beat in the cooled caramel.  Add enough of the confectioner's sugar to achieve a smooth and spreadable consistency. Beat at medium-high speed for one minute more, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.

6. Pipe or spread the buttercream on the cupcakes.  Garnish with chopped ginger and serve.

Variations on My Homemade Gingerbread Cupcakes

• Baking container: Instead of standard size cupcakes, bake a batch of mini cupcakes. Or, if you don't want your gingerbread served in cupcake form, use the batter to make one gingerbread cake in a 9X13 baking pan. Keep in mind that baking times will vary based on the size of the baking vessel!
• Topping: I really, really, love this salted caramel buttercream, but if you'd like to change the topping flavor, be my guest. Other good pairings would be a tangy cream cheese frosting, a basic vanilla buttercream, white chocolate buttercream (white chocolate and gingerbread are great together!), or even my favorite brown butter bourbon buttercream.

Make Ahead and Storage Tips

• For best results, enjoy the frosted cupcakes the day that they are prepared. But, they will keep, tightly covered in an airtight container or with plastic wrap, at room temperature, for 2-3 days.
• If you want to bake the cupcakes in advance, they can be frozen for up to one month. Let the cupcakes cool completely before wrapping them in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Store them in an airtight container or freezer bag, layering parchment paper to prevent sticking. Thaw cupcakes overnight at room temperature before decorating.