Gingerbread is a holiday staple around my house. Aside from gingerbread cookies, my sister and I always make these gingerbread cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting. The tartness of the lemon mixes perfectly with the sweetness of the cream cheese frosting and adds a little excitement to these gingerbread cupcakes.
I looked at the recipes we’ve posted this fall and noticed a distinct lack of pumpkin dishes. Maybe that’s because I love sweet potato everything (including a sweet potato cake coming next week), but I thought it was time to have some pumpkin in my life. People go crazy over pumpkin. I made these pumpkin cupcakes last year and they were quickly devoured by my sister, roommates, and an accidental serving to my roommate’s dog. Are dogs supposed to have pumpkin cupcakes? I guess he wasn’t about to miss out on a pumpkin cupcake, and you shouldn’t either. The cream cheese frosting tastes like a cinnamon roll and is a perfect complement to the pumpkin cupcakes.
I love chai. I don’t drink coffee, so my drink of choice is usually a hot chai. I also love chocolate. However, I had not thought about combining the two until I took a tour of the Theo Chocolate factory when I was on vacation in Seattle a few weeks ago. Yes, I got to take a tour of an actual chocolate factory! No, it was nothing like Willy Wonka, but we did get to eat A LOT of samples. Highly recommended. Did you know chocolate is made from fermented, roasted, and ground seeds of a tree called the theobroma cacao (aka the chocolate tree)? Very similar to the process of making coffee beans. So interesting. And no, Theo is not sponsoring me to write this (I wish!). I just think they’re a cool company doing good things aside from making great chocolate. Now, back to these cupcakes. After having the chocolate chai bar at Theo, I knew immediately I needed to put it on a cupcake. When I think of chocolate icing for a cupcake, I automatically think yellow cake because yellow cake plus chocolate icing is the best. Bold statement, I know. Make these cupcakes with the chocolate chai icing and you won’t be sorry. And then put the chocolate chai icing on as many desserts as possible.
What better way to wish America a Happy Birthday than with cupcakes? These boyfriend-approved strawberry cupcakes are light enough for the summer, but sweet enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. These are a great option to take to a Fourth of July barbecue, or to make when you are craving something sweet and fruity. We topped them with blueberries to make sure we had the red, white, and the blue.
Enjoy!
The Lawful Kitchen 