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Inspired by the popular holiday coffee flavor at Starbucks, this cupcake is full of spice and topped with a creamy buttercream frosting made with eggnog. A great addition to your holiday dessert table or just to have as an extra special treat during the holiday season.
Many years ago, like two….I wasn’t a coffee drinker. I didn’t start my day thinking about coffee and I didn’t need to hook up to an IV filled with coffee like I do now. (Note to self, must quit coffee immediately.) The only time I “indulged” in a cup of my new drug was on a trip to Starbucks and only during the holiday season. As soon as they had started making the Gingerbread Latte I was there. Like everyday. Like Santa Claus at the mall….I was addicted. Now they have a ton more flavors to choose from and that’s cool. Really cool…but I still always order the Gingerbread Latte like 85% of the time. It’s Christmas in a cup. Seriously. Have you tried it?
So, I decided to make a cupcake in honor of my obsession and it turned out wonderfully….on my first try. This is rare in the recipe testing world. I usually go through a few rounds before a recipe actually turns out the way that I think it will blow your socks off. These Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream were just meant to be. It will blow your socks off. Just trust me here.
If you don’t like eggnog….don’t fear. It’s not all boozy and eye watering like some eggnogs I’ve had that turned me off to the stuff years ago. This is the store-bought, uber-thick, almost like heavy cream eggnog that we’re using here. You can add a splash of bourbon if you want but I just wanted that nutmeggy, thick, christmassy flavor that you can’t get from just heavy cream….AND I wanted it to be easy for all of you to throw together. Buttercream can be finicky. It can get all separated and weird looking if you don’t add enough sugar. Don’t be afraid of the sugar….it’s Christmas people. Just do it. And let your frosting sit overnight….it needs to rest a bit so it can set up. If you find it separated the next day…add more sugar. It’s cool.
Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup brewed coffee
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- For the frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup eggnog
- 4-6 cups confectioners sugar
- Freshly grated nutmeg for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the coffee, vanilla and molasses stirring to combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and continue beating on low until completely incorporated. Divide the batter among 24 cupcake wrappers filling about 2/3 of the way full.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Slowly add the eggnog and combine. Add the sugar to the butter mixture one cup at a time until the frosting begins to thicken and stabilized. Transfer to an airtight container and allow to rest for 4 hours or overnight.
- Top the cupcakes with the frosting and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 48 hours.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So pretty and that eggnog frosting puts this over the top!!
Now that’s all the flavors of Christmas in one gorgeous little cupcake!
Gingerbread and Eggnog – two of my holiday favorites in one delicious cupcake!
Yep, I need to make these over the holidays. They look absolutely addictive.
Holy moly! I love these!
This is the holidays all wrapped up in a cupcake!
These cupcakes are definitely going on my holiday baking list. They look incredibly delicious.. especially with all that eggnog frosting!
Ya know, I’ve never ordered one of the Gingerbread lattes. But now you’ve got me wanting to order one to drink while devouring one of these cupcakes!
Gingerbread lattes are my favorite holiday drink at Starbucks too! These cupcakes look so good! Your frosting and photos are just perfect!
These cupcakes look so adorable and so yummy!