Gingerbread Cupcakes Recipe by Siúcra & Catherine Fulvio

When it comes to Christmas baking, it doesn’t get more festive than gingerbread so why not whip up a batch of these seasonal Gingerbread Cupcakes Recipe by Siúcra & Catherine Fulvio.

Get the kids involved in the kitchen as well and let them frost the warmly spiced cupcakes and decorative gingerbread men. Allow the comforting scent of Gingerbread ooze through the house this Christmas and greet guests on arrival to your festive soiree.

Makes 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Gingerbread cookies
– 250g plain flour
– 1 tsp bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)
– ½ tsp ground cinnamon
– ½ tsp ground ginger
– 120g butter
– 160g Siúcra Rich Dark Brown Sugar
– 2 tbsp golden syrup
– 2 eggs

Cupcakes
– 120g softened butter
– 160g Siúcra Light Golden Sugar
– 3 eggs
– 300g plain flour
– ½ tsp ground ginger
– ¼ tsp nutmeg
– 1½ tsp baking powder
– ½ lemon, zest only
– 50ml water
– 100ml milk

Buttercream
– 100g softened butter
– 220g Siúcra Icing Sugar
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 4 tbsp milk

Topping
– Siúcra Royal Icing
– Siúcra Caster Sugar

Method:

Gingerbread cookies
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Line a baking tray with parchment.
2. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5.
3. Line a baking tray with parchment.
4. Place the flour, bread soda, cinnamon and ginger into a food processor.
5. Add the butter and blend until it resembles breadcrumbs.
6. Mix the eggs and syrup together and add just enough to form a stiff dough.
7. Wrap the dough in plastic and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Cookies
1. Roll out on a clean surface lightly dusted with flour to about 0.5mm.
2. Using a gingerbread house cookie cutter or a sharp knife, shape the cookies, transfer onto the prepared baking tray.
3. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes and then leave for 10 minutes on the tray before transferring to a cooling rack and set aside to decorate.

Cupcakes
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4.
2. Place the cupcake cases into a muffin tray.
3. Cream the butter and Siúcra sugar together until pale.
4. Whisk in the eggs, one by one.
5. Fold in the flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg and lemon zest.
6. Pour in the water and enough milk to form a cake batter.
7. Spoon the mix into the cupcake cases.
8. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes depending on the size.
9. Leave to cool completely before decorating.

Butter cream & to decorate
1. Whisk the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and milk for at least 5 minutes together until pale and fluffy.

To decorate
1. Make a small amount of icing using Siúcra’s Royal Icing Sugar, following the on-pack method. Use a piping bag to decorate each cookie with the royal icing.
2. Spread some butter cream onto the centre of each cupcake and place a gingerbread house cookie again each on. You can use the royal icing to glue the snowballs on top.

RECIPE FROM SIÚCRA AND CATHERINE FULVIO

Catherine Fulvio the award-winning cookbook author has developed a series of sweet and savoury mini recipes exclusively for Siúcra, to showcase the functionality and breadth of the product range as well as demonstrating how fun, quick and easy it is to make delicious dishes from scratch, regardless of ability.