Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cranberry Filling and Maple Frosting

'Tis the season!  The holiday season has just been rushing past and as I scour over the internet and am delighted by all the seasonal recipes that are springing up it occurred to me: I haven't posted anything for the holiday season thus far! True, I am a new food blogger, but still that is no excuse for not partaking and sharing in every foodie's delight; a yearly given theme for food creations.

Today I bring you guys one of my first real dessert posts and a holiday inspired treat as well. Gingerbread cupcakes with a tart cranberry filling and a creamy maple butter-cream frosting.

Ingredients:

Gingerbread Cupcakes
1 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour (you can use white as well but I love the texture of whole wheat)
3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
2 tablespoons of corn starch
1  teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger
1/3 cup of apple sauce
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/3 cup of sugar (you can add more if you like, but since the frosting is so sweet I like my cupcake to be less sweet)
1/2 cup of natural gingerale
1/2 cup of soymilk
1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

Cranberry Filling
1 cup of frozen cranberries
1/4 cup of sugar
A few tablespoons of water (and more as needed)
1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Maple Butter Cream Frosting
1/2 cup of earth balance/vegan butter (I use the soy-free kind but any will do)
1 teaspoon of maple extract
A splash or two of soymilk
2 cups of powdered sugar

Begin by preheating your oven to 350.  Mix together the apple cider vinegar with the 1/2 cup of milk and set aside.

Now let's work on our cranberry jam filling.  In a sauce pan add a few tablespoons of waternand frozen cranberries and cook down for a few minutes using a potato masher to crush cranberries as they cook.  Add sugar and lemon juice and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes until the sauce has thickened.  Add more water as needed to aquire the desired jam-like consistency.  Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Whisk together all dry ingredients for cupcakes and then add the wet ingredients including the soymilk which should have curdled a bit and be creamy. Pour the batter into a cupcake tin until halfway full and then add a heaping teaspoon of the cranberry jam in the middle.  Cover with batter but do not fill all the way. You want there to be room for the cupcakes will rise in the oven.  There may be left over filling so feel free to enjoy some pieces of toast and jam while the cupcakes bake Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

While cupcakes are baking it is time to make the frosting.  Whip earth balance in a mixing bowl until it starts to soften up a bit and become nice and fluffy.  Add in extract and mix again.  Then add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and combine until fluffy once again.  If you'd like a bit sweeter feel free to add more sugar.   You can then add a few splashes of soymilk if you would like but I like to keep the frosting as thick as possible for this recipe.  Place frosting in fridge until cupcakes have cooled entirely and you are ready to frost.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!