Ingredients

For the sponge mix:

• 120ml buttermilk
• 190g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 150g light muscovado or soft brown sugar
• 120g soft unsalted butter, diced
• 2 medium free-range eggs
• 20g black treacle
• 1 jar of stem ginger in syrup, blitzed. We’ll use 90g of this in the sponge

• Approx 20g good-quality instant espresso powder (to taste)
• 70g caster sugar
• 70 ml boiled water
• Shot of brandy or coffee liqueur (optional)

For the icing:

• Approx 20g good-quality instant espresso powder (to taste)
• 70g caster sugar
• 70 ml boiled water
• Shot of brandy or coffee liqueur (optional)

• 75-100g marzipan, modelling chocolate or sugar paste. They're only small, if you don't have gingerbread people cutters, you’ll be able to make basic stars with a small sharp knife.
• 2 tbsp. soft peak white royal icing in a plastic piping bag with a tiny hole snipped or a small round nozzle for the white details.
• Icing sugar for dusting

Tools

• Titanium Chef Baker
• Bowls
• Scales (if you don't have a Titanium Chef Baker
• Stand mixer with a paddle attachment (ideally but if you don't have this you can use an electric hand whisk, or of course a bowl and wooden spoon will work, but it might take you a bit longer)
• Cupcake tin and cupcake liners
• Miniature cookie cutters (mixed sizes look nice, I’ve used gingerbread men, candy canes, trees and stars)
• Marzipan spacers/guide sticks (optional)
• Rolling pin or mini sugar craft rolling pin
• Large piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle (I’ve used a 1m)

Method

For gingerbread-style decorations:

1. Make your decorations in advance if you like – to make these simply roll out the marzipan using guide sticks if you have them, to the thickness of about 4/5mm and cut out your shapes.
2. Add little outlines, details or faces by piping this with white royal icing and leave these to dry out on a board dusted with icing sugar. You can do these while the cakes are baking if you like but they're a little soft or wet when handling them and putting them onto the cakes.

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4.
2. Line your cupcake tin with baking cases
3. Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder and spices to combine
4. Cream the butter, sugar, treacle and ginger on medium speed for a few minutes until pale and fluffy
5. Add the eggs one at a time combined
6. Add the flour and buttermilk in increments of 3, flour then buttermilk until all mixed in.
7. Divide between the cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 mins or until risen, springy and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the sponges. Leave to cool in the tins, pierce all over the sponges with the skewer to aid soaking with the syrup which we'll make once the cakes go in the oven.

For the coffee syrup:

1. Make the coffee syrup by combining the coffee and sugar in a bowl and stirring in the boiling water until everything has dissolved.
2. Drizzle or brush the coffee syrup evenly over all the cakes. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack if you have one.

For the icing:

1. Cream the butter until it's really soft and creamy. Add the icing sugar, a quarter at a time, with the mixture on slow. Once the powdered sugar has blended up, whip up the speed to high for a minute to make it very light.
2. Stir in the cream cheese on slow until all amalgamated, then place into your piping bag, I’m using a large 1cm round nozzle but you can use a star nozzle if you prefer or just snip the bag, or if you don’t wish to pipe them you can spread buttercream with a small crank handled palette knife. Top with the little marzipan shapes.