Chocolate Gingerbread Man Cupcakes
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If you’ve ever wondered how to incorporate Peeps into Christmas this recipe is it! These Gingerbread Man Cupcakes made with chocolate gingerbread, cinnamon frosting, and marshmallow gingerbread Peeps are a cute take on traditional holiday cupcakes.
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Gingerbread Man Cupcakes
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions, to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required and understand the steps and timings involved.
How cute are these gingerbread man cupcakes? A box of chocolate cake mix gets the gingerbread treatment with the addition of ground spices, and the cupcakes are then topped with cinnamon frosting and lots of sprinkles!
What really sets the cupcakes apart are the gingerbread man Peeps marshmallow that sits in the frosting!
Make these cupcakes for the holidays – to take to a party, gathering (or to make for your own soiree!) or pot luck. Or you could make these as an edible gift for family, friends, teachers, or other people that deserve a sweet treat this season.
You could package them in any amount you like – from a single cupcake box, to four, to a dozen or more! Check out Amazon for lots of cupcake box sizes and shapes!
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
You may have some baking ingredients in your kitchen already – the full list with measurements is found in the recipe card.
For your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed to make these cupcakes have been listed below and linked to Amazon if available online.
This recipe uses American cups. They’re a handy piece of kitchen equipment to have along with a kitchen food scale. Having both in your kitchen means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog as I use both cups and weighted measures.
- Box of Chocolate Cake Mix – plus the ingredients to make the cake mix, usually eggs, oil, and water. We are also turning the mix into chocolate gingerbread so will also need to add:
- Molasses – in the UK you can use Black Treacle
- Ground Ginger
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Cloves
- Powdered Sugar – known as Icing Sugar in the UK
- Pure Vanilla Extract – always buy the best you can afford, it really does make a difference!
- Gold Sprinkles – any shape(s) you like
- Gingerbread Man Sprinkles
- Sprinkle Pop Pumpkin Carriage Sprinkle Mix – if you can’t source this particular mix of sprinkles, you can make up your own blend using the sprinkles available to you.
- Gingerbread Marshmallow Peeps – these may be tricky to find outside of the USA. You could use store-bought gingerbread man cookies instead!
- Large Piping Bag
- Large Star Tip – for example, Wilton 1M
More Gingerbread Recipes
One of the hero ingredients in this recipe is the gingerbread flavor in the cupcakes! So here are some more gingerbread recipes to try next:
- Snowman Mickey Mouse Gingerbread Cookies
- Gingerbread Cupcakes
- Gingerbread Mickey Mouse Cookies – coming soon
- Give the gift of baking with this Gingerbread Making Kit
Gingerbread Man Cupcakes Recipe Tips
Cupcake Making Tips
- Use festive Christmas or Gingerbread-themed cupcake liners to bake your cakes in.
- You can use an electric handheld or stand mixer to beat the cupcake batter together. Or even go old fashioned with a wooden spoon if you prefer.
- Use an ice cream scoop to equally divide the cupcake mixture between the cupcake liners.
- The cupcakes should be ready in about 20 minutes – test their doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cakes. It should come out clean when the cupcakes are cooked through. Bake for an extra 2 minutes and check again.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Cupcake Frosting Tips
- Use an electric mixer when making frost – your arms will thank you!
- When making the frosting you want the end result to be creamy, smooth, and for it to hold a stiff peak. You may have to adjust the amount of powdered sugar and cream slightly to achieve the consistency you need.
- These cupcakes are double-frosted. Pipe a thick ring around the edge of the cupcake and dip into sprinkles, then pipe a swirl of frosting on top.
- You will need a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
- If you feel like you are going to be making a lot of cakes and cupcakes in your future, I think it is worth investing in a set of piping tips so that you know you always have the right ones on hand for a recipe.
- Do not overfill the piping bag with frosting, and make sure you squeeze the frosting down the bag to expel any air bubbles.
- If you are not confident with your piping skills you can practice on some parchment paper first and scoop the frosting back into the bag to use on the cupcakes.
Sprinkles!
The sprinkles in these cupcakes is a blend of a few different types – the suggested ones used are listed in the recipe card and you’ll need about 2 cups of sprinkles total. If you can’t find the exact ones used in this recipe, then make your own blend – there are so many types of festive cupcake sprinkles to use!
More Christmas Cupcake Recipes
Looking for more Christmas cupcakes to make? Check these recipes out next:
I’ve got lots of fun and easy Cupcake Recipes for Parties for you to try out – right-click and open these other recipes in a new tab so that you can read them after this one!
How Do I Make Gingerbread Man Cupcakes?
Just check out the recipe card below with full ingredients, and instructions. You can print the card out too (don’t worry, the pics don’t print to save your ink!).
Gingerbread Man Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes
- 1 box of chocolate cake mix
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1¼ cup water
- ¼ cup molasses black treacle
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
For the Cinnamon Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar icing sugar
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 3-5 Tbsp heavy whipping cream double cream
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the Sprinkles Mix*
- Wilton gold sprinkles
- Gingerbread man sprinkles
- 3 4 oz packages Sprinkle Pop Pumpkin Carriage Sprinkle Mix
To Decorate
- 18 Gingerbread Marshmallow Peeps
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line cupcake pans with 18 cupcake liners.
- Using an electric handheld or stand mixer, combine all of the chocolate gingerbread cupcake ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat until combined.
- Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the cupcake batter between the liners – about ¾ full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Leave the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, use an electric handheld or stand mixer and add the butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon, cream, and vanilla to the bowl.
- Beat on medium speed until creamy and smooth and stiff peaks form.
- Transfer the frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
- To make the sprinkles mix place the different sprinkles in a bowl and stir to combine.
- Pipe a thick ring of frosting around the edge of the cupcake and dip into the bowl of sprinkles to cover well.
- Pipe a swirl of frosting on top of the sprinkles layer.
- Insert a gingerbread man Peep into the frosting. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!
Notes
SUGGESTED PRODUCTS
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Meal!
You’ve made the dessert, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal!
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- Appetizer: Savory Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
- Soup: 30 Minute Ground Turkey Mushroom Soup Recipe
- Main Dish: Stuffed Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables
- Side Dish: Apple Butternut Squash Casserole
- Beverage: Reindeer Cocktail – Vodka Cranberry Spritzer
- Another Dessert: Holiday Spice Cookies Covered with Powdered Sugar
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too!