Prep Time:
Yield:Ingredients
Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
- 1/2 cup dark molasses
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup whole milk or cream
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Mascarpone Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- ½ cup mascarpone cheese, softened
- 1/6 cup cream cheese, softened
- Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- 1/3 teaspoon lemon or orange zest, finely grated, optional
Instructions
Make the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 325F. Spray a 9-inch bundt pan with nonstick spray. Dust with cocoa powder and tap out excess. Set aside.
- Over medium-low heat, melt together the oil, molasses, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan until all of the brown sugar has dissolved. Transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Whisk the eggs and milk into the molasses mixture after it has cooled (to avoid heating and scrambling the eggs). Set aside.
- Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg into a medium bowl. Gently fold the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until just combined. There will be lumps remaining. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes until cake is pulling away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Make the frosting:
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and confectioners’ sugar at medium speed until smooth.
- Add the mascarpone and cream cheese and beat until combined well, about 3 minutes.
- Add the vanilla seeds and if using, citrus zest, and beat until seeds are evenly distributed.