Gingerbread Cupcakes with Eggnog Icing

The Art.
    My youngest sister was born a couple days before Christmas, and has endured many hardships, what with Baby Jesus stealing her birthday thunder and all.  One year I was particularly insensitive and made her a giant gingerbread man birthday cake, because I wanted to try out my new novelty cake pan. Fortunately, my sister loved the idea and it became a tradition for her to have a gingerbread man every year--until the John the Baptist Incident.
    That particular year, my sisters and I were cleaning up after dessert and discovered that all that was left of the poor gingerbread man was his head. In a moment of comedic genius, we slathered his severed neck in red food coloring and mounted his head on my mother's sterling silver platter. My mother, drawn to the kitchen by our hysterical laughter, was horrified to find what her heathen children had done. She forbade us to ever make a gingerbread man again, and as penance we had to read a chapter from our Illustrated Children's Bible every morning for the next few weeks. Despite her valiant effort to recondition us, I still think Gingerbread John the Baptist was hilarious. Even today, I couldn't help giggling a little as I made these gingerbread cupcakes.

The Science.
    If we had really been true to form when making our gingerbread man blood, we would have used molasses, not food color. This syrup is what gives gingerbread its robust and distinctive flavor, and differentiates it from spice cake. Molasses is a byproduct of sugar production, made from the liquid produced when sugar cane juices are boiled to crystallize the sugar. In addition to some unrefined sugars, molasses contains many vitamins and minerals. It has particularly high levels of phenolic compounds, which have been reported to be strong antioxidants [1]. A group in Italy recently published a study investigating the antioxidant benefits of molasses, and they found that treating cells with molasses increased cell viability under oxidative stress, as well as decreased cellular reactive oxygen species [2]. While this is wonderful evidence that people should substitute molasses for other sweeteners, I'm doubtful this will happen since molasses has a very strong flavor that has gone out of style in the last century.

The Recipe.
 
Gingerbread Cupcakes: (Makes 30)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 teaspoons grated ginger root
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup buttermilk

    Preheat oven to 350^oF and adjust racks to lower and middle position. Line cupcake tins with liners. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in medium bowl. In large bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Add dry ingredients, and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into tins with 1/4 cup measure and bake for 20 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

Eggnog Icing:
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup eggnog

     In a large bowl, beat together butter and shortening. Gradually beat in 4 cups sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat in remaining ingredients. If icing is too soft to pipe, add more sugar.

 
Decorating:
    Fill a piping bag with icing and add a 199 star tip. Pipe a dab of icing in the center of the cupcake. Add a ring of stars around the periphery. Continue to pipe stars from the outside to the center. Add a cinnamon stick for garnish.

1. Payet, B. et al. "Comparison of the concentrations of phenolic constituents in cane sugar manufacturing products with their antioxidant activities." J. Agric. Food Chem, 2006, 54:19 (September 20).
2. Valli, V. et al. "Sugar cane and sugar beet molasses, antioxidant-rich alternatives to refined sugar." J Agric Food Chem, 2012, Nov 28. [Epub ahead of print]