Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Gingerbread Pear Cupcakes

These cupcakes are extra moist because of the fresh pear. Feel free to substitute white flour; I used a white/whole wheat mix, and my cupcakes were a little dense. The ginger flavor is fairly mild; add more ground ginger if you would like more intensity. I have not tried this recipe with fresh grated ginger, but that might be a good experiment.


You can also add a dash of ground nutmeg to the batter, and serve with ice cream instead of icing (or no topping at all).
This recipe makes 6 cupcakes.
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup light molasses
  • 3/4 cup self-rising flour
  • 3/8 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 small ripe pear, peeled, cored and chopped
  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 6-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
Over low heat, melt half of the butter with all but 1/2 teaspoon of molasses. Stir until they are combined, and then set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the two flours, 3/4 tablespoon of ginger and the baking soda. Add the brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk and cooled butter and molasses. Add the flour mixture all at once, along with the pear. Stir until the batter is moistened, and divide among the paper liners. Bake the cupcakes for about 20-25 minutes and cool before icing.

For the icing, melt the remaining butter and molasses over low heat. Add the confectioner's sugar and remaining ginger, and stir (or beat) until the mixture is smooth. I also tried a variation with the icing: mix cream cheese, butter, sugar, and a small amount of vanilla extract together.

2 comments:

Kim said...

Sounds like an autumnal delight!

speedy said...

Tried this recipe the other day. Delicious with the cream cheese icing! they are very dense and flavorful. if you love ginger you will love this recipe.