Gingerbread Cupcakes & Reindeer

Since I moved to Geneva, reindeer are all over in “my Christmas”. They are everywhere! And I love it!! Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I never heard about reindeer until I moved to Switzerland! I knew about Rudolph when I went to school to USA. I even learnt the carol “ Rudolph the red-nose reindeer”.

And this is what I do not understand: In Spain, in addition to the “Three Wise Men”, we also have Santa Claus (Papa Noel for us). But somebody forgot about Rudolph, the reindeer, the elves and the magic sleigh!!

How can they forget about them!! How can nobody pay attention to cute Rudy?!

Coming back to reindeer. As I was saying I have them now everywhere. I have them in my tree, in my Xmas cookie boxes, cookie cutters, in my Xmas cards, in tablecloths, in napkins. …And I have little figures that I placed in my Nativity!! So having them in cupcakes felt the logic thing to do.

The recipe and inspiration is from Martha Stewart. I have modified the recipe reducing the amount of molasses in the cupcakes and sugar in the glaze. The result is just perfect!

I hope you like it!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Ingredients

Makes 20 cupcakes

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup (125 gr) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses ( Miel de caña en Mercadona)

2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 10 jumbo muffin tins with paper baking cups, and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. In a bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, ground spices, salt, and baking powder; set aside.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light. Beat in the brown sugar until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, baking-soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in the eggs.

Fill the cupcake papers three-quarters full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cupcakes cool a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Butter Glaze

Ingredients

Makes 1 1/2 cups

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons milk

Directions

Place 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Remove the pan from heat; immediately pour the melted butter into the bowl with the sugar. Add 4 teaspoons milk; whisk until mixture is smooth. Working quickly, dip the top of each cupcake into the glaze, and place cupcake right-side up on a wire rack.