Reprinted with permission from The Spice Kitchen: Everyday Cooking with Organic Spices by Katie Luber and Sara Engram (McMeel 2009).
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon dried lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- * * * * Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting * * * *
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dried lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Preparation:
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, lemon zest, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until the batter is combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of one or two of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. Cream together the cream cheese and the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and cardamom and beat until fluffy and smooth. Chill the frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool for 30 minutes. Spread the cream cheese frosting generously over the cooled cupcakes.
Makes 12 cupcakes
