Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes

I've never used molasses before, I've never made gingerbread before. To be honest, I don't know if I've ever had more than maybe a couple gingerbread anythings in my life. So why am I making gingerbread cupcakes and cookies? Because it's Christmas!!

These gingerbread cupcakes were inspired by the Gingerbread Latte I had the other day at Starbucks.  Coffee, espresso and a hint of chocolate make this Cupcake so YUMMY!  At first, I wanted to top it with a true whipped cream frosting, but I decided against that because I knew I needed these cupcakes for tomorrow and well... whipped cream won't last that long.  So I made a cinnamon buttercream but used whipping cream as the thinning agent.

The gingerbread men are also homemade, but I'll be featuring them in another post coming soon!  Enjoy these little beauties!

Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes
½ cup and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup unsulfured molasses
2 eggs
2 egg yolks

2-½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
2-½ teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup hot milk

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line cupcake tins with your favorite liners.
2. Cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).
3. One at a time, add the eggs making sure to completely incorporate after each addition. Beat on high for 2 minutes after last egg.
4. Add the molasses and mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Make sure you scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the molasses is really mixed in well.
5. In a large bowl, whisk or sift together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda and salt).
6. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until just combined.
7. By hand, stir in the hot milk mixture.
8. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the liners no more than ¾ full.
9. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Rotate the pan 180 degrees, reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and cook an additional 7-9 minutes or until a toothpic comes out clean.
10. Allow to cool a few minutes in the pan and remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
5-6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ heavy whipping cream

1. Cream the butter until smooth.
2. In thirds, add the sifted powdered sugar.  Add the whipping cream after each addition.  Mix on high for 30 seconds after each addition.
3. Add the vanilla and cinnamon.
4. Add any extra whipping cream or powdered sugar to get the desired consistency you want for your frosting.
5. Beat on high for 4 minutes.