Gingerbread Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

Tender gingerbread-style muffins are baked in a standard muffin tin, then finished with a smooth cream cheese frosting. The muffins are warmly spiced and lightly sweet, with a moist crumb and a clean tang from the frosting.

By Julienne

Cook time: 18 minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 250 g all-purpose flour sifted
• 5 g baking soda
• 4 g baking powder
• 8 g ground ginger
• 3 g ground cinnamon
• 1 g ground cloves
• 3 g fine salt
• 113 g unsalted butter melted
• 150 g light brown sugar packed
• 170 g unsulphured molasses
• 1 count large egg
• 120 ml whole milk
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 113 g cream cheese softened
• 120 g powdered sugar sifted
• 15 ml whole milk
• 2 ml vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 175°C. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. The oven is fully preheated and the muffin tin is lined.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt until evenly combined. The dry mixture looks uniform with no visible streaks of spice.
3. In a second bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, molasses, egg, 120 ml of the milk, and 5 ml of the vanilla until smooth. The butter should be warm, not hot, so it does not scramble the egg. The mixture is glossy and fully emulsified.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula just until no dry flour remains. Do not overmix; a few small lumps are fine. The batter is thick and evenly mixed without streaks of flour.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 liners, filling each about three-quarters full. All cups are filled at similar levels.
6. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. The muffins are domed, set, and a toothpick shows moist crumbs rather than wet batter.
7. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting. The muffins are fully cool to the touch.
8. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, the remaining 15 ml milk, and the remaining 2 ml vanilla, then beat until creamy and spreadable. The frosting is smooth, thick, and easily spreadable.
9. Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cooled muffins. Serve once the frosting is set but still soft. Each muffin is topped with a visible layer of frosting.