Gingerbread Cupcakes

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 fahrenheit (175 celcius) and add liners to 2 muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
3. In another bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 8 minutes.
4. Quickly whisk the room temperature eggs together and slowly pour into the sugar-butter while you constantly whisk.
5. Then add in vanilla extract and syrup/honey. Mix and finally slowly pour in eggnog and zest of 2 clementines/tangerines or 1 orange.
6. Now add in the dry ingredients, carefully mix together, either using the low setting on the mixer or just a spatula. Do not over-mix! Pour in lined muffin tins, about 2/3 the way up.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out relatively clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Eggnog Icing

1. In a large bowl, mix softened butter until creamy, at least a couple of minutes. Add in the cream cheese, then sift the powdered sugar and salt in. Add in the rum extract if using. Now pour in eggnog, just a tablespoon at the time, until you reach your desired consistency. This frosting is pretty firm, so it can be hard to pipe, but it tastes amazing.

To Assemble

1. Using a knife, cut a hollow in each cupcake. Make sure you don’t go all the way to the bottom, but about halfway down into the cupcake.
2. Add the cranberry sauce into the hollows, about 1-2 tsp in each. It is easier if you put the sauce in a piping bag with a large round tip. You may need to add a tablespoon or two of water to the cranberry sauce to make it a little more runny.
3. Frost the cupcakes with the eggnog cream cheese frosting and decorate with sugared cranberries and a little gold dust, if desired.