Gingerbread Cupcakes topped with creamy, dreamy eggnog frosting bring together the best flavors of the holidays in every bite. They’re super easy to make and will fill your house with the heavenly aroma of cinnamon and ginger as they bake.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two standard cupcake tins with liners and spray with baking spray. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk cake mix, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Add molasses, eggnog, oil, and eggs and beat with an electric mixer until fully combined and smooth.
Using a medium cookie scoop, fill each cupcake tin well, about ½ full, about ¼ cup per cupcake.
Bake cupcakes for 16-18 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean or the top of the cupcake springs back when lightly pressed.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and cool them in the pan for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before frosting.
While the cupcakes are cooling, beat the cream cheese and softened butter in a large bowl until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and eggnog, a little at a time, until the frosting is desired consistency. Frost or pipe onto cooled cupcakes, dust with nutmeg, or decorate with sprinkles.
Notes
Store cupcakes in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days.
Freeze unfrosted cupcakes for up to 2 months. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature and then frost for best results.
Only frost fully-cooled cupcakes. Wait to frost the cupcakes until they’re completely cool. This prevents the icing from melting off the sides.
Use cupcake liners. Because of the molasses, the cake batter will be sticky. To ensure the finished cupcakes are easy to remove from the paper liners, spray the inside of them with nonstick cooking spray before filling them with batter.
Don’t skip the extra spices. The spices added to this recipe give this cupcake that unmistakable “gingerbread spice.” If you prefer a less “spicy” cake, use half as much of each spice or omit them for a milder spice cake flavor.
Pipe the icing for picture-perfect cupcakes. If you want to pipe the icing onto your cupcakes, I recommend using your favorite star tip.
Measure molasses the easy way. Spray the inside of your measuring cup with nonstick cooking spray to prevent molasses from sticking to it.