Cupcakes!

Glory of glorious weekends! There was good music, dancing, friends, cute boys, brunch (SO much brunch), holiday shopping, good yoga, relaxing, and...cupcakes! Needless to say, I am so thankful for the gift of this past weekend - it's energy and adventures rejuvenated parts of me that had become dormant as of late. One of the highlights was finally using the cupcake kit that my mom gave me for my birthday (a cupcake baking pan, cupcake cookbook, pretty cupcake papers, and a pastry decorating kit)! In honor of the holiday season, I settled upon making the delicious Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting from Epicurious.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 large egg, beaten lightly
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced crystallized ginger

Into a bowl sift together the flour, the ground ginger, the cinnamon, the cloves, the allspice, and the salt. In another bowl cream 1/2 stick of the butter, add the granulated sugar, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy. Beat in the molasses and the egg, beating until the mixture is smooth. In a measuring cup combine the baking soda with 1/2 cup boiling water and stir the mixture to dissolve the baking soda. Stir the mixture into the molasses mixture (the mixture will appear curdled) and stir the molasses mixture into the flour mixture, stirring to combine the ingredients well. Line twelve 1/2-cup muffin tins with paper liners and spoon the batter into the liners, filling them halfway. Bake the cupcakes in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. (The cupcakes will be flat or slightly indented on top.) Transfer the cupcakes to a rack and let them cool.

In a bowl cream together the cream cheese, and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, add the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy and smooth. Beat in the zest and the lemon juice and chill the frosting for 30 minutes. Spread the frosting on the cupcakes and top each cupcake with some of the crystallized ginger.

{Mixing the wet ingredients with the dry}

{Pouring the batter into the pretty cupcake papers}

{Almost ready to pop in the oven!}

{Voila! Perfection!}

{Mixing the cream cheese frosting}

{Le Fin!}