To get my gingerbread fix for the year I decided on making these gingerbread cupcakes for a dinner party last week.  Gingerbread is one of those desserts that tastes best the day after it has been baked, and all the bold flavors have had the time to strengthen and meld.  It is also a cake that is fairly dense, and can dry out quickly if you are not careful, especially, if you are planing to let it rest for a day before eating it.  As a solution to this I decided to pipe lemon curd into the middle of my cupcakes.  I have found, in the past, that using citrus is a good way to lighten the heavier flavors of the gingerbread.  Likewise, I settled on a lemon curd infused whipped cream for my cupcake topping.  I finished off my mini  masterpieces with a piece of anise brittle and yellow sugar sprinkles.

This recipe makes 16 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

Cupcake:

• 2 1/2 cups Flour
• 2-3 tbsp ground Ginger (depending on how spicy you want them)
• 1 tsp ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground Cloves
• zest form 1 lemon
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted Butter
• 2 oz unsweetened baking Chocolate
• 1/2 cup Molasses (unsulphured)
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 tbsp Ginger Paste
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup boiling Water
• 2 tsp Baking Soda

Piping:

• 1 cup Lemon Curd

Icing:

• 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 cup Lemon Curd
• 1 cup Whipping Cream
• Sprinkles
• Anise Brittle (optional)

Directions:

Day 1:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (~177 C).
2. Line two muffin tin with 8 cupcake papers in each tin, leaving 4 spaces in each tin empty. (just a quirk of the recipe that it makes about 16 cupcakes)
3. In a large mixing bowl sift in the flour and dried spices including the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.  Do NOT add the baking soda or ginger paste at this time.
4. In a large sauce pan combine the butter, brown sugar, molasses, chocolate, and ginger paste.  Gently heat this mixture until all of the butter and chocolate has fully melted.
5. Put some water on to boil.
6. Pour the hot sugar, butter mixture into the dry ingredients, and beat them together with an electric mixer.
7. Add in the eggs while continuing to beat the mixture.  Make sure the eggs are fully incorporated before you stop beating.
8. Stir the baking soda into the cup of boiling water, and pour it over the cake batter.
9. Stir the water into the cake batter by hand until fully combined.
10. Spoon the batter evenly into the cupcake papers.
11. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the toothpick test comes up clean.
12. Once the cupcakes have cooled sufficiently, use a piping bag fixed with an elongated tip to pipe the lemon curd into the middle of each cupcake.  This can get a little messy, but do not worry, you will eventually be covering the cupcake tops with a mountain of whipped cream. You might have to go back and refill some of the holes as the lemon curd gets absorbed into the cake.
13. Allow the cupcakes to sit overnight in a cool, draft free spot.

Day 2:

1. Beat your whipped cream until fairly stiff, and then gradually add in the powdered sugar and lemon curd.
2. Continue to beat until the whipped cream is stiff enough to hold its form when piped.
3. Fill a piping bag with the whipped cream, and pipe a mountain of whipped cream onto the center of each cupcake refilling the pipping bag as you go.
4. Sprinkle your cupcakes with your decorative sprinkles, and top with a piece of brittle (optional).