These adorable cupcakes are the perfect sweet treat to make for Christmas day, you can even pre-prepare some ingredients for example the cakes and biscuit dough ahead of time which makes them a convenient go to recipe.

Gingerbread cupcakes

Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year isn’t it? Just so much delicious food. There’s the ham, oh the ham and the turkey (if you can manage not to dry it out – we’ve had a successful few years), the desserts, the canapes. Well yes there are other magical aspects of Christmas like sharing it with family and friends but I do love the food.

It seems every other weekend day in December we’re invited to parties and gatherings especially now we have a little brood. Most of the time it’s a bring-a-plate affair which sends me into a spin if I’m not at least given a category. There are way too many options.

If you’re allocated a sweet treat then this is the recipe for you. They tick a lot of Christmas boxes:

• delicious
• adorable
• very Christmassy I think
• great for all ages
• the cakes and biscuits can be made in advance then assembled at the last minute
• you can even make the cakes and biscuit dough ahead of time and freeze them
• you’ll be very popular when you arrive with them and even more popular when people take a bite

If you don’t have time/don’t want to make the little gingerbread men to sit on top then you can buy them. I have seen them in little boxes at the supermarket. Just don’t put them on until the last minute or they will go a little soggy.

If you want to add and extra-special touch, see if you can find gold foil cupcake cakes and sprinkle the finished cupcake with edible gold glitter.

How’s that for fancy?

What about you? Will you be baking for Christmas? Do you have a go-to bring-a-plate recipe or do you take something different every time?

If you like this recipe you might also like to try the Wholefood gingerbread biscuits.

Gingerbread cupcakes

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

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Ingredients

• CAKE
• 125g (1/4c) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 free-range egg
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup molasses or golden syrup
• 1-1/3 cups wholemeal plain flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• ICING
• 140g (5oz) of butter, softened
• 2 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 12 mini gingerbread men

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170C(375F) fan-forced and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg, water and molasses and beat them through.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.
5. Beat the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture until just combined and then increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
6. Divide the batter between the cases and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of one of the cakes comes out clean.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
8. To make the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together with the milk and ginger until the mixture is light and fluffy.
9. Use a piping bag fitted with a star tip to pipe the icing on top of the cakes.
10. Top each cake with a mini gingerbread man and dust with icing sugar.