Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
Whisk the cake flour, gingerbread spice, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown butter and brown sugar until smooth. Then whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract until fully combined.
Then mix in the molasses until fully incorporated and smooth.
Stir in the milk and then gently fold in the dry ingredients. The batter will be thick.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack.
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Make sure both your brown butter and cream cheese are fully at room temperature or else it won't combine smoothly and you'll end up with cream cheese lumps.
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
Add in the powdered sugar and cinnamon and beat on low speed until fully combined.
Slowly add in the maple syrup until fully combined. Beat the buttercream for 3-4 minutes on high speed until light and fluffy.
Frost the cooled cupcakes and then garnish mini gingerbread cookies and Christmas sprinkles!
These cupcakes will last in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, they taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving. Wait to top with the gingerbread cookies until right before serving.
Notes
How to make just enough gingerbread spice mix for this recipe: 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, 1 ½ teaspoons ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon allspice, ¼ teaspoon cloves, pinch cardamom.Brown the butter: In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, stir frequently and watch closely for the formation of brown specs on the bottom of the pan and a nutty aroma. Once you see brown specs, stir for just a few more seconds (it browns super quickly). Remove from the heat and immediately pour into a different bowl to prevent it from burning. Let cool to room temperature. I recommend making the brown butter the night before you make the cupcakes, so that it has time to fully cool to room temperature! Note: For every ½ cup (1 stick or 113g), you'll lose about 1 tablespoon (14g) to evaporation while cooking. So you can either add in an extra 1 tablespoon before browning, or if you're browning big batches, just make up the weight difference in your recipe with regular unsalted butter if needed.