A high altitude recipe for soft, fluffy, spiced gingerbread cupcakes, filled with sweet and tart lemon curd, frosted with cinnamon ginger buttercream, and topped with the cutest little gingerbread cookies.
You might also love these gingerbread shortbread cookie sticks, gingerbread whoopie pies, and gingerbread cake with mascarpone buttercream.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Cozy Fall Spices. Warm fall spices, dark brown sugar and molasses give these gingerbread cupcakes a classic gingerbread flavor, complemented by the brightness of the lemon curd filling.
Perfect for the Holidays. These cute gingerbread cupcakes are the perfect thing for a Christmas party or holiday celebration.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- Flour. All purpose flour adds structure and strength.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent, so the cupcakes rise as they bake.
- Salt. Adds flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Spices. A blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice adds warmth and flavor.
- Sour Cream. Moisture and richness.
- Dark Brown Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
- Molasses. You can use light (“original”) or dark (“blackstrap”) molasses, depending on how intense you like the flavor of the molasses to be in gingerbread.
- Eggs. Moisture and strength.
- Melted Butter + Vegetable Oil. Flavor and moisture.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
Filling
- Lemon Curd. Ginger and lemon are simply wonderful together, so I’d encourage you to not leave out the filling!
Buttercream
- Butter. I use unsalted butter, but you could also use salted and omit the extra salt in the buttercream.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
- Cinnamon + Ginger. Adds warmth and flavor.
- Meringue Powder. Optional, but adds stability and improves the texture of the frosting.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line one or two standard muffin pans with 14 paper liners.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Separately, whisk together the sour cream, brown sugar, molasses, eggs, melted butter, oil and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk together just until moistened.
- Divide the batter between the paper liners, filling them no more than 2/3 – 3/4 full.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 17-18 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pan for several minutes, then gently remove and cool completely on a cooling rack before filling and frosting.
Filling
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the centers of the cooled cupcakes.
- Stir the lemon curd to smooth it out, then use a spoon or a piping bag to fill the centers of the cupcakes with the lemon curd.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for one minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the cinnamon, ginger, meringue powder and salt, mixing until combined. Add the vanilla.
- Increase the speed to medium, and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until very light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for 1 more minute.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, and pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes.
- Decorate with sprinkles, cinnamon-sugar and a mini gingerbread cookie.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have a recipe for gingerbread cookies?
Yes, you can get my gingerbread cookie recipe here.
Where did you get the mini gingerbread people sprinkles?
The sprinkles are from various Christmas sprinkle mixes I’ve collected, some from my grocery store and some from World Market. You can find similar sprinkles on Amazon.
How should I store leftover gingerbread cupcakes?
Store the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
You Might Also Love
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
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High Altitude Gingerbread Cupcakes
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ¾ cup full fat sour cream
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ cup light or dark molasses
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Filling
- 1 jar lemon curd
Buttercream
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp meringue powder, optional
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- mini gingerbread cookies, for decorating
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line one or two standard muffin pans with 14 paper liners.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
- Separately, whisk together the sour cream, brown sugar, molasses, eggs, melted butter, oil and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk together just until moistened.
- Divide the batter between the paper liners, filling them no more than 2/3 – 3/4 full.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 17-18 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pan for several minutes, then gently remove and cool completely on a cooling rack before filling and frosting.
Filling
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the centers of the cooled cupcakes.
- Stir the lemon curd to smooth it out, then use a spoon or a piping bag to fill the centers of the cupcakes with the lemon curd.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for one minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the cinnamon, ginger, meringue powder and salt, mixing until combined. Add the vanilla.
- Increase the speed to medium, and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until very light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for 1 more minute.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, and pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes.
- Decorate with sprinkles, cinnamon-sugar and a mini gingerbread cookie.
So cute! I’m wondering if you made the mini gingerbread man or bought it? If you purchased them, could you share where? Or a link to the cookie cutter if you made them?
I made the cookies. See this post: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/soft-chewy-gingerbread-cookies/
The cookie cutters probably came in a set of various Christmas cutters that I’ve had for many years.
I’d like to make these as mini cupcakes. Would that work? And would I need to change the cook time?
It should work. Yes, they’ll take less time to bake.
I’m going to make this tomorrow. Would you double the batch for a 13 x 9 cake pan ? Thanks for your help
Yes, that should work fine.
Just made these! I made minis, baked for 8 minutes. They turned out perfect! I am at 7,000 feet and your recipes have all worked fine here! Thank you!