Gingerbread Cupcakes with Golden Syrup Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

The lovely people at Tala sent me a selection of Xmas baking goodies to review. This included cupcake cases, Christmas silicone chocolate mould, holly leaf plunge cutters and Christmas tree cookie cutters. I decided to make gingerbread cupcakes with chocolate gingerbreadman and candy canes and some cookies.

I'm not a fan of gingerbread or ginger but I know I'm in the minority so in the spirit of Xmas and sharing I made these cupcakes to give away. Most of the recipes I saw online have similar ingredients of treacle, dark brown sugar, ginger and spices. I chose this recipe from King Arthur flour which had good reviews.

I made a golden syrup cream cheese frosting with cinnamon as I thought it would pair well with the sticky gingerbread. The frosting tasted heavenly! The feedback I received from the cupcakes were that "It's Christmas in a cupcake". The cake is moist and sticky and full of ginger and spice. The frosting complemented the cake very well and everyone was amazed by the decorations.

The chocolate moulds were really easy to use - melt chocolate, pour in the mould and leave to set. They were easy to remove with no breakages. I sprayed them gold which really brings out the detail. The cupcakes cases are sturdy and strong and does not become transparent after baking which I was really pleased about.

Check back tomorrow/weekend as I have a very exciting project to share with you using the tree cookie cutters and a giveaway from Tala.

I'm sharing this with several challenges this month :-

AlphaBakes which I am hosting this month and co host with Caroline from Caroline Makes. The letter this month is X and we are accepting any Xmas related bakes. These apparently are Xmas in cupcake form so I think it's perfect.

Tea Time Treats hosted by Kate from What Kate Baked and co-hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is Festive Food Gifts and I think these would make a great festive gift.

Calendar Cakes hosted by Rachel from Dolly Bakes and co-hosted by Laura from Laura loves Cakes. The theme this month is Jingle Bell Rock. These definitely rock! :)

 Treat Petite hosted by Stuart from Cakeyboi and co-hosted by Kat from the Baking Explorer. The theme this month is Happy Holidays.

Four Seasons Food hosted by Anneli from Delicieux and Louisa from Eat your Veg. The theme this month is Party Food and these cupcakes would be perfect for any party.

Let's Cook Christmas Party Food hosted by Nayna from Simply Food.

The Spice Trail: Cooking with Cinnamon hosted by Vanesther from Bangers & Mash.

Secret Recipe Club Holiday Treats Party

Cooking with Herbs hosted by Karen from Lavender and Lovage. The theme this month is cooking with Herbs and Christmas spices so I think my cinnamon in the frosting will qualify.

Recipe adapted slightly from King Arthur Flour
Makes 14 cupcakes

For the cupcakes

206g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
113g unsalted butter, softened
106g dark brown sugar
170g black treacle
2 medium eggs
125ml water

For the frosting 

60g butter

200g cream cheese

175g icing sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons golden syrup 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the decoration

150g plain chocolate, melted

Edible gold spray

• Preheat oven to 175C. 
• Sift the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
• Beat butter, sugar, black treacle and eggs in an electric mixer until pale and smooth.
• Add 60mls of water to the butter mixture and mix well.
• Add half the flour mixture and continue mixing.
• Add remaining water followed by flour mixture and mix well. 
• Spoon into cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool completely before decorating.
• To make the frosting, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth in an electric mixer.
• Add in the icing sugar and continue mixing.
• Add in the golden syrup (you may want to add more depending on taste) and ground cinnamon and continu mixing until smooth.
• Make the chocolate decorations by melting 150g plain chocolate and pour them into the moulds. Allow to set in the fridge or freezer until firm. Gold spray optional. 
• Use a round tip to pipe frosting on the cupcakes and decorate with a gold chocolate gingerbreadman or candy cane.

Disclaimer: I was sent the items above to review free of charge. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I paid for all the ingredients myself. 

3D Dinosaur Gingerbread Cookies

My brother got these 3D dinosaur cookie cutters for his birthday and asked me to make some gingerbread cookies. I dutifully obliged and we had fun putting them together. I've never made 3D cookies before and to be honest was a little dubious but was surprised at how well these turned out. His colleagues claim it the best gingerbread ever and they also had fun putting it together and eating it. 

I used a recipe that I'd used previously and made a few gingerbread people as well which the dinosaurs 'attacked'. There are 3 other dinosaur cutters and they also come in a safari theme - giraffe, lion, elephant and hippo which look really cute. Definitely going on my Christmas wish list unless someone wants to get me a belated birthday present....

I'm entering this to Treat Petite. It's hosted by Kat from The Baking Explorer and Stuart from Cakeyboi and the idea is to submit any sweet treat that's individually portioned and not a big cake. The theme this month is 'No Theme' so anything goes.

 simple store cupboard ingredients 

 roll out dough and cut out shapes then bake 

it's a 3D T-rex dinosaur! 

 T-rex eating a gingerbreadman

 Anxious family looking worried and deciding if they should run or not 

 There's a lot of dinosaurs here!

125g unsalted butter, softened
110g dark brown sugar
2.5 cups plain flour, sifted
1 egg yolk
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4-6 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp mixed spice
270mls golden syrup

• Preheat the oven to 160C
• Beat butter, sugar and egg yolk in a bowl until smooth
• Stir in the remaining ingredients until its mixed properly
• You may need to add a little more golden syrup if the mixture is crumbly
• Knead the dough on a floured surface and roll it out to approximately 5mm in thickness.
• Cut shapes using cookie cutters
• Place on a baking tray and bake for approximately 8-10 minutes until they are brown
• Cookies will harden once cool

Ninjabreadmen

This Christmas I present to you some 'Ginja Ninja's!' Everyone loves gingerbread (possibly with the exception of myself!) and this is a really fun twist to making gingerbread.  It's simple to bake and if you have kids, they can join in the fun too. 

I was sent these ninjabread cookie cutters by find-me-a-gift.co.uk to review. They are made of stainless steel and come in a set of three. There's a recipe for gingerbread on the back of the pack which I used to make these ninjas.  These are seriously cute cookie cutters and I'm sure I will be making lots of ninjas throughout the year.  Everyone has been impressed with the results and keep asking where they can buy these cookie cutters. Unfortunately the supplier has run out of stock currently but they should be getting more stock in so check back to find-me-a-gift.co.uk later. They would make excellent Christmas presents :)

*update: cookie cutters are now back in stock. Click here to buy some for yourself * 

The fun thing about making gingerbread ninjas (or men or women) is that you can be really creative with the decorating.  I'm afraid I'm not terribly creative and just went with the picture on the website and the pack. I might try my hand at royal icing next time.

As this is a Christmassy treat, I am entering this into the tea time treats challenge. This is a monthly event hosted on alternate months by Kate from What Kate Baked and Karen from Lavender and Lovage.  Kate, the host for this month has chosen Christmas as the theme.

I'm also entering it into Vanessa's Let's Make Christmas event. Do check out her blog if you haven't already for the ultimate guide to making your own edible Christmas gift.

And to Let's Cook for Christmas Red and Green, hosted by simply food

And to the holiday goodies link up over at Diary of a Semi-Health Nut hosted by Amanda

 the ninjas! 

 making ninja's

 ready to go in the oven 

 

 

 

 spot the odd one out :) 

Many thanks to find-me-a-gift.co.uk for providing me with the ninjabreadmen cookie cutters. 

Recipe from the back of the pack: Makes 24 ninja's and 1 gingerbreadman 

350g plain flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger (I used 3)

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

100g butter or margarine

175g soft light brown sugar

1 egg

4 tablespoons golden syrup (I used just over 5 as the dough was still crumbly)

• Preheat the oven to 190C.
• Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. 
• Sift the flour, ginger and soda into a bowl.
• Rub in the butter with your fingertips. 
• Add the sugar then stir in the syrup and egg. 
• This should make a firm dough.
• Roll out onto a floured surface about 5mm thick and cut out your ninjabreadmen. 
• Place onto baking trays, spacing them apart as they will expand.
• Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
• Once cooked, leave to firm up for about 10 minutes before placing on to a wire rack to cool completely. 
• Decorate with coloured icing. 

James Bond inspired cookies

I made these cookies for my friend's James Bond themed party alongside the chocolate mint cupcakes. Again I have to thank Caroline for lending me these fabulous cookie cutters! What's a Bond party without a martini in whatever shape or form! I don't often bake and decorate cookies although I did attend a cookie decorating course at the make lounge earlier this year which was good fun. I have to admit it took a lot longer than I thought and I even forgot to take photos towards the end! 

 cookie dough 

 pipe border with royal icing 

 thin the icing then flood the rest of the cookie 

 i ran out of royal icing and time so made a few of these with writing icing. 

Gingerbread Biscuit Recipe (from the class I attended at the Make Lounge) 

(Makes about 40 medium or 20 large cookies)

250g cold butter, diced

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

560g plain flour

Hot Mix : 

5 tablespoons water

210g brown sugar

2 tablespoon treacle

3 tablespoon golden syrup

3 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)

• Place all the ingredients for the hot mix in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring.
• Once boiled, remove the pan from the heat. Carefully add the diced butter, stirring with a wooden spoon. 
• Once well combined, add the bicarbonate of soda and briefly whisk the hot mix. 
• Pour into the bowl of the electric mixer and allow to cool slightly.  Once the mixture has cooled, sieve the flour into the mixer bowl. 
• Combine the two on low speed using the paddle attachment until dough forms. 

Note: If you do not have an electric mixer add the cooled spice mix to the sieved flour in a large bowl and mix together with your hands - the dough will be sticky and you may need to add a little more flour as you work it into a dough. Don't worry though, the dough will firm overnight. 

• Put the dough in a zip lock bag or warp in cling film and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or, ideally, overnight. 
• Place the chilled dough on a floured surface and knead briefly. If dough is difficult to knead, allow it to come to room temperature before kneading. 
• Roll the gingerbread dough to approximately 5mm thick. 
• Preheat the oven to 200C, Gas 6.
• Cut various shapes using cookie cutters. Using a palette knife, carefully place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. 
• Chill in the fridge on the tray for about 20 minutes.
• Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie, or until firm to touch.
• Lift cookies off the tray and allow to cool on a wire rack. 

Royal Icing using egg white powder

1 sachet of Dr Oetker egg white powder

60ml warm water

500g icing sugar, sifted 

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, empty sachet of egg white powder. 
• Add 3 teaspoons of the warm water and mix to a smooth paste using a metal spoon. 
• Add remaining warm water gradually and mix well.
• Add one third of the icing sugar. Beat on slow then a medium speed.
• Add another third of sugar and continue to beat for 1 minutes.
• Add remaining sugar as needed and beat until the correct consistency is reached.  Look for pulled up peaks that slightly flop over when the attachment is lifted from icing. Soft peak icing is the right consistency for piping borders on cookies
• Store at room temperature in an air tight plastic container, cover surface with cling film then place lid on.  If using immediately, cover bowl with a damp cloth. 

To Pipe and 'flood' fill your cookies using royal icing:

• Put royal icing in a bowl and colour using paste colours if desired. (When not using your mixture, keep covered with a damp J cloth or paper towel to keep it from drying out)
• Using a piping bag with a small round tip (or snip the end of the piping bag), pipe a border on your cookies in a steady smooth line. Leave to dry for at least 5 minutes.
• Once you've piped the border, thin the remainder of your royal icing with a few drops of water until a runny consistency is reached.
• Using another piping bag filled with the runny icing, fill inside the borders to fully cover the cookies with icing. Avoid over filling as this can cause over flowing.
• Use the nozzle to move the icing quickly before it begins to set; guide the icing out towards the piped border. (or use a toothpick if piping without a nozzle)
• Sprinkle with edible glitter if using.
• Once the area is filled, avoid touching the cookies for at least 20 minutes.
• The surface should be completely dry in 2-4 hours, but if possible, allow to dry overnight for best results. 

A world of Gingerbread

My first time ever making gingerbread. For my initial attempt, I was told that it needed more ginger so I modified the recipe slightly and came up with these. I made over a hundred of these to give as Christmas gifts. I had a helping hand when it came to the decorations in the form of my brother. Spot the dog. Some designs were definitely quite artistic but they all tasted great :)




We also decided to make a gingerbread house which didnt turn out too badly considering it was the first time either of us had made one. I tried to make stained glass windows but they were less successful than my stained glass cookies coming up in another post.

For the gingerbread:

125g unsalted butter, softened
110g dark brown sugar
2.5 cups plain flour, sifted
1 egg yolk
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4-6 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp mixed spice
270mls golden syrup

• Preheat the oven to 160C
• Beat butter, sugar and egg yolk in a bowl until smooth
• Stir in the remaining ingredients until its mixed properly
• You may need to add a little more golden syrup if the mixture is crumbly
• Knead the dough on a floured surface and roll it out to approximately 5mm in thickness.
• Cut shapes using cookie cutters (or templates for the gingerbread house)
• Place on a baking tray and bake for approximately 12-15 minutes until they are brown
• Cookies will harden once cool
• Let your imagination run wild- decorate and enjoy!