Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream

A recipe for Gingerbread Cupcakes with an Eggnog Buttercream frosting in celebration of #ChristmasSweetsWeek! These wonderfully scented and spiced gingerbread cupcakes are topped with a light and fluffy eggnog buttercream for quite the festive holiday treat.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored in conjunction with ChristmasSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the ChristmasSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

Christmas Sweets Week

Welcome to #ChristmasSweetsWeek 2018 hosted by Terri from Love and Confections and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures! What better way to celebrate the holidays than with food?

44 bloggers from around the country have come together to share over 180 sweet Christmas recipes!! Deck the halls and get ready for very merry sweet treats, like fudge, cookies, Christmas morning breakfasts, layer cakes, martinis, cocoa, and more! 

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream

After participating in Brunch Week last April/May, I am so excited to celebrate #ChristmasSweetsWeek with a group of wonderful bloggers and sponsors! I am starting the week with these festive Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream.

The gingerbread cupcake base features Dixie Crystals light brown sugar and Cabot butter. 

I added LorAnn super-strength eggnog flavor to the buttercream and topped the cupcakes with this fun Reindeer Food Sprinkles Mix from Sweets & Treats.

This Gingerbread Cupcake recipe makes around 10-12 cupcakes. It can easily be doubled to serve closer to 24 if desired.

A Few Gingerbread Cupcake Tips

Fill each prepared muffin tin about 2/3rds full (do not overfill). I like to use a standard ice cream scoop for a consistent size in each cupcake.

Bake the cupcakes just until cooked through. If needed, use a toothpick and stick through the center. If the toothpick comes out dry or with a couple of crumbs, the Gingerbread Cupcakes are done. They will continue to set a little further as they cool.

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely to room temperature before topping with the eggnog buttercream frosting. Otherwise, it will melt and soak into the cake.

Add just enough eggnog as needed to the eggnog buttercream to create a light and fluffy texture. If it is too wet, add a little more powdered sugar. If too thick, add a splash more eggnog at a time.

Once topped with the frosting, the cupcakes are best served within a couple of hours or refrigerated in an airtight container. The unfrosted cupcakes can be made a day or two in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Have a mini muffin tin? You can use this recipe to make about 36 miniature cupcakes. Keep an eye on the cooking time, but it should be decreased to around 10-12 minutes.

Looking for more cupcake recipes?

Try my:

• Maple Cinnamon Cupcakes
• Blood Orange Chardonnay Cupcakes
• Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Christmas Sweets Week recipes:

Beverages:

• Brownie Batter Hot Chocolate Mix from The Spiffy Cookie
• Christmas Flip from Our Good Life
• Easy Cranberry Orange Madras from Love and Confections
• Glogg from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Grinch Cocoa with Peppermint Marshmallows from Kate’s Recipe Box
• Salted Caramel Toffee Martini from Family Around the Table
• Sugar Cookie Martini from The Redhead Baker

Breakfast:

• Christmas Cranberry Bread from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Overnight Caramel French Toast from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen

Candies:

• Cherry Mash Truffles from Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
• Dark Chocolate Cherry & Peppermint Snowflake Bark from Sweet Beginnings
• Grinch Fudge Topped Brownies from Big Bear’s Wife
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake Fudge from Lady Behind the Curtain
• Red Velvet Fudge from Live Love Texas

Desserts:

• Black Forest Tiramisu Parfait from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Chocolate Eggnog Cupcakes from The Crumby Kitchen
• Christmas Chocolate Chip Sprinkles Butter Cookies from Moore or Less Cooking
• Cookie Butter Pudding Cups from The Beard and The Baker
• Date Filled Cookies from Platter Talk
• Easy Snickerdoodle Cake from Daily Dish Recipes
• Eggnog Blossom Cookies from Blogghetti
• Eggnog cookies from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Gingerbread Cheesecake Trifle from My Suburban Kitchen
• Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream from Tara’s Multicultural Table
• Glazed Gingerbread Loaf from 4 Sons ‘R’ Us
• No Bake Peppermint Eggnog Pie from Who Needs A Cape?
• Peppermint Shortbread from Cheese Curd in Paradise
• Pepper Jelly Rugelach from Take Two Tapas
• Red Velvet Whoopie Pies from April Golightly
• Sugar Cookie Cheesecake from Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt
• Toffee Thumbprint Cookies from The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Vanilla Yogurt Mousse with Cinnamon Apples from With Two Spoons
• Vegan Hot Chocolate Layer Cake from The Baking Fairy
• Winter Wonderland Snack Mix from An Affair from the Heart

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream Recipe

Adapted from Baking-Ginger, Buttercream from Completely Delicious

Print Pin

4.8 from 5 votes

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream

Recipe for Gingerbread Cupcakes with an Eggnog Buttercream frosting! These wonderfully scented and spiced gingerbread cupcakes are topped with a light and fluffy eggnog buttercream for quite the festive holiday treat.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cupcake, dessert, eggnog, frosting, gingerbread, winter

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Resting Time: 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients

Gingerbread Cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter softened at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) molasses
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (120 milliliters) milk

Eggnog Buttercream:

• 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter softened at room temperature
• 4 cups (500 grams) powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon eggnog extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch salt
• 2-4 tablespoons (30-60 milliliters) eggnog

Instructions

To make the Gingerbread Cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line 12 muffin tins with liners or grease.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the molasses, then the eggs one at a time, and the vanilla extract.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, allspice, cloves, and salt.
• Mix 1/3rd of the flour mixture into the butter until just incorporated, followed by half of the milk, 1/3rd of the flour, the remaining milk, and the remaining flour. 
• Transfer the mixture to the prepared muffin tins, filling the 2/3 full (I used an ice cream scoop). Bake in preheated oven just until cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool on wire racks.

To make the Eggnog Buttercream:

• In a large bowl, beat together the butter, powdered sugar, eggnog extract, vanilla extract, and salt until well combined. Slowly beat in the eggnog until the buttercream is smooth and has reached the desired consistency for piping.
• Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with desired tip and pipe onto the cooled, room temperature cupcakes. Top the cupcakes with desired sprinkles or even small gingerbread cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.