- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup unsulphured molasses
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and salt.
- Mix with your hands or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
- Scoop out ½ cup of the crumb mixture and set it aside for the topping.
- Stir the baking soda into the remaining crumb mixture.
- In a glass measuring cup, stir the molasses into 1 cup of boiling water until dissolved.
- Pour the molasses mixture into the crumb mixture and whisk until no dry pockets remain. Don’t overmix. (The batter will be very thin.)
- Divide the batter among the liners, filling each about ¾ full.
- Sprinkle the reserved crumb topping evenly over each cupcake.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are domed and spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling before serving.