Ginger makes me think of a lot of lovely people;

1) my grandpa, who used to use it by the tonne in his vegetable soups (they were delicious but boy did they make my nose run)

2) my mum, who loves those boxes you get of dark chocolate covered crystallised gingers

3) my dad, who always has a lemon and ginger tea when he comes over and the kettle’s on; and

4) my lovely husband, who also uses it by the shedload when he makes us juices in the morning (yep, he’s a keeper)

It also makes me think of cosy times; warm toasty baking smells, hot spiced drinks, fluffy dressing gowns and a roaring fire. Bring it on. So given that myself and most of my family love the stuff it seemed only right to get my finger on the ginger and get baking.

I haven’t quite mustered up the courage to test out a recipe for gingerbread men yet (but I will, I promise) but I quite fancied trying my hand at a gingerbread cupcake because I’m currently a bit obsessed with piping (I don’t get out much) so I wanted to bake something I could cover with creamy frosting. And what better pairing than gingerbread and vanilla? It’s a match made in cupcake heaven.

These little cakes are just divine – a light, moist, perfectly spiced sponge topped with as much sweet, creamy vanilla frosting as gravity would allow me to pipe on top. What a dream. Now all I need is a cup of tea, my slippers and said roaring fire (although I might have to move house for that, so just switching on the central heating will have to do for now). I hope you love these as much as I do!

Ingredients

For the cupcakes 

• 1 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup cashew butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup medjool dates
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax seeds soaked in 6 tbsp water and left for 10 minutes to thicken)
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon

For the frosting 

• 1 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 4 hours
• 1 cup coconut cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 6 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

First preheat your oven to 180 degrees. To make the cupcakes, add all the ingredients into a food processor and blend for about five minutes, stopping every couple of minutes to give the mixture a good stir, until you have a smooth batter. Spoon this into cupcake cases and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for at least half an hour to cook while you make the frosting.

For the frosting, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend for around ten minutes, stopping every couple of minutes to scrape down any mixture that’s climbed up the sides. The result should be super smooth and creamy, not to mention delicious! Place in the fridge for 20 minutes so that it can set (otherwise it will be too liquid to pipe onto anything) then spoon into a piping bag and frost away!
Love, Mrs H xx