High Altitude Brown Sugar Spice Cupcakes
An easy, high altitude recipe for fluffy brown sugar spice cupcakes, flavored with cozy fall spices and a hint of molasses. Spicy crystallized ginger is the perfect touch sprinkled on top of the buttercream.
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
- Standard-Sized Muffin Pan
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 tsp old fashioned molasses
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tbsp all purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
Buttercream
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tsp old fashioned molasses
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ tbsp meringue powder (optional)
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 tbsp chopped crystallized ginger
- 1 tbsp cinnamon sugar
- star anise, for decorating
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line your muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter until nutty, golden brown solids form at the bottom of the pan, which should take about 5 minutes. You'll know the butter is just about ready when a layer of foam forms on top of the butter and it stops hissing and splattering.Remove the pan from the heat, use a spatula to scrape the butter and all the browned bits into a bowl, and let cool for 10 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk together the brown butter, eggs, milk, brown sugar, molasses and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking powder, and spices, then whisk until everything is well distributed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and whisk just until smooth and combined.
- Divide the batter between the paper liners, filling them no more than 2/3 - 3/4 full.
- Bake the cupcakes on the center oven rack for about 18-20 minutes, until the centers of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched, or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pans for several minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, molasses and vanilla extract for 1 minute until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder, salt and ground ginger. With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar mixture by spoonfuls to the butter, mixing just until combined. Increase the speed to medium, and whip for 4-5 minutes, until very light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for 1 more minute.
- Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, fill with the buttercream, and pipe the buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle the cupcakes with crystallized ginger and cinnamon sugar. If you like, decorate the cupcakes with star anise.
Notes
These can be baked and frosted one day in advance, stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Bring to room temperature before serving.
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