Peel the ginger using a knife; carefully scrape off the outer layer and trim off rough edges. Using a food processor, dice the ginger finely. You should get about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of finely diced ginger.
In a small sauce pan, heat the ginger and 1/2 cup of brown sugar until sugar is melted (about 2 minutes). Then set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 375F.
In a medium sized bowl, stir your flour, salt, and baking soda.
In an electric mixing bowl, beat the butter and remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar until smooth.
Add the eggs.
Add the flour mixture.
Add the ginger mixture.
Butter your muffin tins. (I made 12 large cupcakes, but you can make 18 smaller sized cupcakes by using less batter for each muffin.)
Spoon the batter into muffin tins.
In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, vanilla and sugar.
Scoop a heaping teaspoon onto each muffin.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until muffin bounces back when pressed. Let cool a few minutes then remove from tins.
