Ginger Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream and Candied Ginger

Ginger is one of those intoxicatingly ancient spices (even mentioned in sanskrit!). When I cook with ginger, I feel like I’m accessing a little part of my human ancestry.  But let’s not get too romantic about it.  I’m taking this spice and adding an amount of sugar befitting only to a new world palate.

I’ve been starting to get a little ginger crazy, and so when I finally decided to go for broke with ginger cupcakes (cake in any form is certainly not my speciality), the only recipes I could find were for gingerbread cupcakes, which, it seemed to me, are only eponymously ginger cakes. Gingerbread, usually flavored warmly with molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and (okay) ginger, are certainly tasty, but not what I had in mind.

These ginger cupcakes are made with fresh ginger and ground, and just a little nutmeg and vanilla to enhance (rather than crowd out) the ginger-ness of these little cakes. I topped them off with chocolate icing, but in hindsight, what might have been better is a lightly ginger-spiced icing.  If you try this, let me know how it was!

Ginger Cupcakes

Ginger Cake

Adapted from alpineberry

• 1 cup flour, sifted
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg (or 1 1/2 small farm eggs)
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt

Chocolate Buttercream

• 2 sticks butter, room temp
• 1 ½- 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• ½-1 cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp ground ginger

Candied Ginger

• 1/3 cup ginger
• 1/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup sugar
• granulated sugar for dusting

1. Prepare cupcakes. Begin by preparing cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.  Next, combine dry ingredients (flour, ginger, nutmeg, salt, baking power, baking soda).
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add ginger, vanilla extract, and zest.  When combined, add egg and beat until completely combined.
3. Fold in dry ingredients in 3 additions. Bake at 350 until just golden. Cool on a wire rack.
4. Prepare candied ginger.  Slice ginger into desired shape (I used little ginger sticks.) Combine ginger, sugar, and water in a saucepan. Cook on medium-high heat for about 30 minutes (until ginger is tender).  Remove ginger from water and roll in granulated sugar.  Let cool.
5. Prepare frosting. Beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add sugar, cocoa powder, ginger, and vanilla extract.  Beat until thoroughly combined.
6. Assemble.  Frost ginger cupcakes with buttercream and garnish with ginger.  Enjoy!