Spicy gingerbread meets breakfast fare; a moist, flavorful muffin that warms the cockles of your tummy.

Gingerbread muffins
A moist and spicy muffin to warm your tummy on cold mornings.
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 280 g or 2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp freshly ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 66 g or 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 66 g or 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 51 g or 1/2 c canola or vegetable oil
- 115 g or 1/3 c molasses
- 125 g or 1/2 c applesauce
- 80 g or 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 15 ml or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° Convection Bake or 400°F.
- Lightly butter and flour a 12-cup muffin pan, or line with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the sugars, vegetable oil, molasses, apple sauce, buttermilk, egg and vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients until just mixed. Do not overbeat.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups, about 3/4 full. A 3 tbsp ice-cream really helps with this!
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350° F Convection Bake or 375° F for an additional 7-9 minutes, or until the muffin tops are set and a cake tester inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
- Let cool in the muffin tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room-temperature.
If you’ve got the room in your gadget drawer or utensil holder, a set of ice cream scoops such as these is an excellent addition to your kitchenware. The sizes are 3 tbsp, 1 1/2 tbsp and 2 tsps. The 3 tbsp size is perfect for large muffins or cupcake tins.
I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.
Helen, Thank you for posting weights…I find it annoying that most American baking recipes rely on a cup of flour, the weight of which may vary wildly, depending on whether it was sifted, spooned, or dredged into the cup. A cup of superfine sugar packs more of a punch than a cup of Turbinado (which I love in recipes like this one). Nigella Lawson has a useful section in the front pages of How to Eat with average weights for a number of common ingredients. Careful bakers know that one large egg weighs 60g, 40 of which is albumin. That lets you cut in half a recipe that calls for, e.g., 5 eggs by beating 3 eggs and then weighing out 150g. Now, to muffins I would just add some chopped stem ginger, using the syrup in place of the molasses…makes fabulous ice cream, too–I order from England for best quality. Perfect spice for golden crisp fall days, with the first dusting of snow on the mountains!
You are most welcome, Beatrice. I try to translate weights for any recipe I modify and post as I find it far more convenient to weigh things out. Once you get used to going that route the measuring cup method seems wildly inacurate. I keep a bunch of glass prep bowls at the ready and can knock off all the weighing at the outset.
I do love stem ginger! Great suggestion for the muffins. My husband uses a ginger liqueur in a few drinks, but I’ve not seen ginger syrup. Will keep my eye out! I ordered some Apple Cider Syrup the other day which I think might work well in Apple Muffins or as a drizzle on pancakes, ice cream, etc. Isn’t food fun?
Have a marvellous day.
Opies makes a very good product that ships from the UK…the ginger is packed in glass with ginger syrup, so you’d get a 2-fer! Or if you feel like pioneering it, you could look for Hawaiian baby pink ginger when it comes into the market in spring. Here’s a kiwi chef’s super-easy instruction on how to put up your own stem and crystallized ginger. I may try this in January if I can get a shipment of Hawaiian.
http://www.bite.co.nz/kitchen-tips/ask-peter-gordon/1340/Ask-Peter-How-to-make-stem-and-crystallised-ginger/
Yes, there is some satisfaction in seeing each carefully measured item disappear into a creation and the mise-en-place bowls mount up. Do try stem ginger ice cream this holiday season!
Beatrice, I would like the measurements for your butterscotch topping mentioned in the comments for the pumpkin tart recipe, please.
Kay, Sure…it’s one I learned as a young girl, and much richer than any I’ve found using Google. It can be made in any amount, as it is a proportional recipe. I use 2 cups sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/4 cup Lyle’s or Karo… a descending proportion that’s easy to remember, once you establish how much sugar you want to use. Bring it to a slow boil with minimal stirring, cook until just before soft ball stage, about 230F, or when the cold water test makes it a very soft lump. You don’t want it to harden into a shell on your ice cream! Cool it a little, then add a teaspoon or so of vanilla extract. Easy peasy. You can make a stronger taste by substituting brown sugar or, better, Turbinado. Lyle’s adds a nicer note than Karo, too. Some people seem to like a bit of salt in it–I really dislike salty sweets, but follow your own taste buds. If you continue to form ball stage, you can make butterscotch caramels of it. Just fool around with it, and happy cooking!.
Thanks so much, Beatrice! I’ll include “Beatrice’s Caramel” in the Pumpkin Tarts recipe.
Thank you, Beatrice, for the recipe! Will try it!
These look great! And so cutely displayed. Love the stacked cake plates and that cute truck.
Thanks, Lorri!