Guinness Gingerbread Cupcakes

Note: This will actually make between 12 and 15 cupcakes, depending on size of cupcake tin!

Make the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. Spray cupcake liners with non-stick spray.

In a large saucepan, bring the stout, molasses, and oil to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the baking soda until dissolved. (The mixture will foam up, then settle down.) Stir in the brown sugar, then let cool until tepid.

Into a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger *, white sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.

Whisk the eggs into the cooled stout mixture, then whisk in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Don’t overmix. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners and bake until the cupcakes feel just set in the center, 20-23 minutes. Let cool completely.

* For a different ginger flavor, take out the ground ginger and the 1 Tablespoon of white sugar and at the very end, before putting the batter in the cups, fold in 1/2 cup finely minced candied ginger.

Make the frosting:

Mix together cream cheese and butter with a mixer until creamy. Add vanilla or orange juice and mix well. Add powdered sugar (up to 2 cups) until desired sweetness and consistency is achieved. Frost cupcakes and then top with orange zest.