Fill your home with a spicy, delicious scent while baking these gingerbread cupcakes. What’s best is that prep time is only about 10 minutes… AND it uses a cake mix to make it even easier to whip-up!

Hi, everyone! It’s Lisa from Fabulous Habits and I’m thrilled to share yet another super duper easy recipe. Of course, it’s a dessert (can you tell that I have a MAJOR sweet tooth?) and while these Gingerbread Cupcakes are a hit on my usual Christmas sweet table, you can also enjoy them year-round.

There are so many ways to elevate a cake mix. Sure, those boxed mixes are always convenient to have in the pantry – especially when you’re in need of a last-minute dessert. But, these delightful mixes go beyond their destiny of becoming a vanilla cake. With the right ingredients and a burst of imagination, you can turn them into something totally different!

Cake mix Cupcakes

For my Gingerbread Cupcakes, I decided to add some flavors to give a boxed cake mix a more festive taste.

Gingerbread is the epitome of the holiday season so these cupcakes are very nostalgic for me. But, don’t get me wrong: these sweets are delicious throughout the entire year! With each bite, you’ll get a blast of flavor all thanks to its mix of spices and generous amount of delicious molasses.

Gathering a small batch of Gingerbread Cupcakes - perfect for the holidays but still delish throughout the entire year.

How to Make Gingerbread Cupcakes with Vanilla Cake Mix

Check out my surefire recipe at the bottom of this post for these flavorful gingerbread cupcakes! It’s pure aroma and deliciousness in every single bite, but first let me go over what you need and a few important tips.

A closeup of my delicious Gingerbread Cupcakes - made with a vanilla cake mix and a blend of delicious spices.

What you need:

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Kitchen Tools Needed:

Ingredients Needed:

Here’s what you’ll need from the store. The exact amounts are in the printable card at the bottom of this post.

Photo of six Gingerbread Cupcakes, 5 of them with frosting and one, without.

aroma, galore!

You know when you’re trying to sell your home and real estate experts always say to bake-up some vanilla to give your house that “welcoming scent?” Well, I feel like these Gingerbread Cupcakes could do the same thing!

When these sweet treats are baking in the oven, they give off the spiciest yet, sweetest aroma. It’s so comforting and really fills up a room!

A delicious serving of Gingerbread Cupcakes - straight from the oven and made with a vanilla cake mix.

Makes A Small Batch of gingerbread cupcakes

We are a smaller family, and I’ve got quite a sweet tooth. You’ll find that this recipe for Gingerbread Cupcakes yields about 9 cupcakes. It’s so hard to find a recipe that’ll focus on a smaller amount – sometimes, I want something delicious to munch on without having to make an entire batch!

Six delicious Gingerbread Cupcakes, ready to be consumed! Enjoy them with or without frosting!

WHAT can i DO WITH HALF A CAKE MIX?

This recipe only uses a cup and a half of cake mix, so it’s perfect for those who want to whip-up something delicious, but without all the waste. But you may be wondering what to do with the rest of the leftover cake mix?

Most cake mixes yield 3 cups of cake mix. And normally, those 3 cups can make 24 cupcakes. So with the leftover cupcake mix, you could make 2 dozen cupcakes – just follow the mix’s instructions (and divide the other ingredients in half!)

You could also definitely double this recipe and use the entire cake mix, if desired.

Overhead shot of some Gingerbread Cupcakes - some frosted, some not.

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Gingerbread Cupcakes

These Gingerbread Cupcakes are filled with a delicious flavor, all thanks to its delicious blend of spices. Plus, it uses a simple vanilla cake mix – so it's really easy to put together!

Servings: cupcakes

Calories: 249kcal

Author: Lisa Favre

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 ½ cups vanilla cake mix
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ cup milk
3 tbsp molasses
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large egg

For the icing:

¼ cup butter softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp milk
Ground cinnamon for garnishing

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients: cake mix, ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Once the dry ingredients are well-combined, add the remaining ingredients: milk, molasses, oil and eggs.
Mix all ingredients until a batter forms.
Scoop batter into lined muffin tin, filling each section about 2/3 of the way.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Prepare the icing in a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat together butter, sugar and milk.
Once the icing forms (it will be smooth and form semi-stiff peaks), use an offset spatula to frost each cooled-down cupcake. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon, if desired.