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Easy Gingerbread Cupcakes are made with cake mix and topped with fluffy, cinnamon cream cheese frosting – the perfect cupcake for Christmas!

Gingerbread Cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting are a new Christmas must-make. Our favorite Gingerbread Cookies are also a holiday hit!

A gingerbread cupcake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.


Festive Holiday Cupcakes

Easy, perfect for Christmas, and with a delicious ginger molasses flavor – these Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting are the perfect Christmas cupcake recipe!

This Gingerbread Cupcake recipe starts with a box of spice cake mix. Instead of making the cupcakes according to the box instructions, we whisk in some extra ingredients to make them fabulous!

The Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting is the icing on the cake and the perfect complement to the gingerbread flavor!

Gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 muffin pans with muffin papers.

DRY INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl, sift together the cake mix, ginger, and cinnamon.

WET INGREDIENTS. Using an electric mixer, beat in the molasses, oil, eggs, and milk until smooth.

BAKE. Spoon the batter into the 2 muffin tins (24 cupcakes total). Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING. In a large bowl, beat the butter until soft. Beat in the cream cheese. Add in the cinnamon, then beat in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until the desired sweetness is reached.

FROST. Frost the cupcakes with a knife, or transfer the frosting to a large piping bag and pipe on the frosting.

Whipping cinnamon cream cheese frosting for gingerbread cupcakes.

Recipe Tips

Rounded tops. The cupcake liners should be about ⅔ full and not more than ¾ full. Adding too much batter causes the tops to overflow creating a mushroom-shaped cupcake. Use a cookie scoop to fill the cupcake tins to evenly distribute the batter and make less of a drippy mess.

Cool cupcakes. Allow the cupcakes to cool a little in the pan before letting them cool on a wire rack. Once completely cool, either frost or store them to be frosted later.

I recommend sifting the cake mix first to get out any lumps because it will make the cupcake batter whisk together more easily.

Cake mix. If you can’t find spice cake mix use a yellow cake mix (but not vanilla or white). If using yellow cake mix, I recommend using 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon allspice for the spices.

Perfect cupcakes.

  • Over-mixing the batter can cause too many air bubbles which collapse in the oven leaving a dense cupcake.
  • Be sure that you do not over bake otherwise the cupcakes will dry out.
  • Use a stand mixer to make the cake batter, but a wire whisk works as well. 
  • The molasses and eggs contribute to making a soft and moist cupcake. 
  • If you don’t like cream cheese, add cinnamon to your favorite Buttercream Frosting.
Frosting gingerbread cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

Decorating tips

  • Use a piping bag and frosting tip to pipe beautiful frosting swirls on top of your cupcakes.
  • For only a thin layer of frosting on each cupcake, half the frosting recipe. But after trying the cinnamon cream cheese frosting, you’ll probably want a big swirl on top of each cupcake.
  • Make miniature Gingerbread Cookies to stick in the frosting as extra decoration.
  • Decorate with gingerbread man candies and holiday sprinkles.

Storing Info

STORE Gingerbread Cupcakes at room temp for a few hours, but refrigerate for up to 3-4 days to last longer. If already frosted with cream cheese frosting, keep them in the fridge so the dairy doesn’t go bad.

FREEZE. The easiest way to freeze these cupcakes is unfrosted. The cupcakes and frosting can both last in the freezer for 2-3 months. Thaw both before using.

To freeze frosted cupcakes, place the frosted cupcakes in the freezer until the frosting is solid. Wrap each cupcake with plastic wrap and store them in a freezer-safe container. To thaw, unwrap the cupcakes and let them come to room temperature.

Cinnamon cream cheese frosted gingerbread cupcakes topped with a gingerbread cookie.

for more Christmas treats:

4.75 from 16 votes

Gingerbread Cupcake Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna
Easy Gingerbread Cupcakes are made with cake mix and topped with fluffy, cinnamon cream cheese frosting – the perfect cupcake for Christmas!
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 22 minutes
Total: 42 minutes

Ingredients 

Gingerbread Cupcakes

  • 1 box spice cake mix
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 3 large eggs

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting*

  • 1 cup butter softened to room temperature
  • 6 oz cream cheese use full fat
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions 

Gingerbread Cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 muffin pans with muffin papers.
  • In a large bowl, sift together the cake mix, ginger, and cinnamon.
  • Using an electric mixer, beat in the molasses, oil, eggs, and milk until smooth.
  • Spoon the batter into the 2 muffin pans (you should have 24 cupcakes total).
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

  • In a large bowl, beat the butter until soft.
  • Beat in the cream cheese.
  • Add in the cinnamon. Then beat in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until the desired sweetness is reached.
  • Frost the cupcakes with a knife, or transfer the frosting to a large piping bag and pipe on the frosting.

Notes

Store cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 
Cupcake recipe adapted from AllRecipes

Nutrition

Calories: 305kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 247mg, Potassium: 205mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 30g, Vitamin A: 378IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 54mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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About Fiona

My name's Fiona and I love to bake and blog. I share homemade, from scratch, classic recipes for desserts & sweet treats including cakes, cupcakes, cookies and more.

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Recipe Rating




9 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    Perfect flavor! Spot on! Great texture. Mine did not rise like a regular cupcake. They spread out more like a muffin which gave a nice chewy edge, but not the shape I wanted for cupcakes. I used my own recipe for cream cheese buttercream for icing and it was perfect for the flavor. So delicious! Just wish they had risen differently…

  2. 2 stars
    I made these and I am sorry to say they were not what I expected. On raising some sunk in the middle and the taste was a little too strong for me. I make lots of cupcakes and the recipe was a little disappointing. I followed the directions to the letter I may try them again just to see if it was me or the recipe. Sorry Paulette