Ease of preparation: Easy
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
Cupcakes
2 cups (480 ml) flour
3 teaspoons (15 ml) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 ml) nutmeg
1 teaspoon (5 ml) cinnamon
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground cloves
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger
2 eggs
1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
½ cup (120 ml) sunflower oil
1 cup (240 ml) light brown sugar
1 10-ounce (285 ml) can of condensed tomato soup
1/3 cup (80 ml) roughly chopped crystallized ginger
Buttermilk icing
1 cup (240 ml) butter, room temperature
1 cup (240 ml) cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons (30 ml) buttermilk
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
6 cups (1.4 l) icing sugar
8-10 crunchy gingersnap cookies, crumbled, to decorate
¼ cup (60 ml) finely chopped crystallized ginger, to decorate
Special Equipment
Piping bag fitted with medium star tip
Method:
Let’s get baking!
For the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin papers.
Sift flour into a large bowl and add baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground ginger. Whisk together to combine.
In a separate bowl, add eggs and whisk. Add milk, sunflower oil, brown sugar, condensed tomato soup, and chopped crystallized ginger. Whisk to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet and fold just until just combined.
Divide batter between 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Let cupcakes cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
For the buttermilk icing, add butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Whip on medium until thoroughly combined and creamy. Turn speed down to low and add the buttermilk, vanilla, and salt. Whip until incorporated. Gradually add icing sugar with mixer running. Turn speed to medium and whip until creamy. (Adjust consistency with more buttermilk or icing sugar if needed.) Put the icing in a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip.
To finish, toss the crumbled gingersnap cookies with the chopped crystallized ginger. Use the piping bag to frost icing onto the fully-cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle the top of each frosted cupcake with the gingersnap and ginger mixture.