More Travels in Snow

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If you are still with me after the last two posts, you know all about my snowflake obsession. Various vendors contributed to the madness this year with new snowflake pan offerings including this “cakelet” pan from Le Creuset – https://www.lecreuset.com/snowflake-cakelet-pan/MB301S.html.

I’m just going to call them cupcakes from this point.

Admittedly, I can be tempted by pretty much anything that results in a snowflake patterned baked good, but the snowflake theme is also an excuse to write about fun winter travel. I lucked out with snow over the last week. Even though I did not travel far, we had fresh snow when I visited family for Christmas weekend and fresh snow again where I visited with friends during the middle of the week.

A few years ago, I was out in Montana to ski at Big Sky. We took a day away from the slopes to go to Yellowstone, and I cannot recommend a winter trip to Yellowstone enough. It seems that the herds come to lower elevation during the winter, including into the surrounding towns, so the wildlife viewing is beyond incredible. The few photos included here barely scratch the surface.

Getting back to the cupcakes, I started with the Three Gingerbread cupcakes recipe from Gail Wagman’s Cupcakes Galore with just a few minor variations, such as the addition of the lemon glaze. The patterns in the snowflake pans were not particularly visible without the glaze, so you are definitely going to want to glaze these if you are using a patterned pan.

Three Ginger Snowflake Cupcakes
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Three Ginger Snowflake Cupcakes

Course: Desserts

Ingredients

  • Cupcakes

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

  • 2 tsps baking powder

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp ground ginger

  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp allspice

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

  • 1 TBSP grated fresh ginger

  • 1/2 cup whole milk

  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup very finely chopped crystallized ginger – depending on how gingery you want these

  • Glaze

  • 1 cup confectioners sugar

  • 1 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

  • Juice of one lemon

Directions

  • Prepare pan with baking spray.
  • Preheat oven to 350° F.
  • Mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices and set aside.
  • Cream butter and sugar with paddle attachment of electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, and mix thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla and grated fresh ginger. Add dry ingredients, then milk, and mix until batter is smooth. Fold in the chopped crystallized ginger.
  • Spoon or scoop (I find a medium ice cream scoop works well for even sizing and neatly filling the pan) batter into prepared pan, filling each about 2/3 full.
  • Bake about 20 minutes, until a tester inserted in center comes out clean.
  • Cool cupcakes in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack.
  • While cupcakes are cooling in the pan, mix the melted butter with the confectioner’s sugar, then add enough lemon juice until a consistency that can be spread with a pastry brush. You want the glaze ready when you turn the cupcakes out.
  • Brush the glaze onto the warm cupcakes. It’s important that you glaze while they are warm to bring out the pattern on the top. I recommend a piece of waxed paper under the rack while glazing to catch any drips.