Oranges and cream is such a blissfully fresh and excitingly delicious flavor combination. It’s one of my favorite combinations. Let me rephrase that, basically any fresh fruit with cream is my favorite combination. Which may explain my weakness for orange creamsicle flavored anything. I saw the orange cupcakes at Martha Stewart and decided it would be perfect for these.
I made a few small changes such as removing the vanilla beans (simply because I wanted the orange flavor to shine through), then I increased the orange flavor by adding orange extract and increasing the orange zest. I also replaced the frosting with my own Vanilla Buttercream because it’s my favorite buttercream recipe, it even reminds me of ice cream so I figured it would make an excellent fit. These cupcakes are simply fantastic. I love how the cupcake recipe contains heavy cream. It’s not too often you come across a cupcake recipe that contains cream in the batter. It gives these cupcakes such a delightful texture, with a dense and perfectly moist crumb. This is a charming cupcake that may just become one of your favorites. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp finely grated orange zest (from about 1 1/2 oranges)
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (if you want a lighter texture use half and half)
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 1/2 tsp orange extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Vanilla Buttercream Frosting*
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on medium-high speed, blend together butter, granulated sugar and orange zest until pale and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes. Mix in eggs one at time, blending until combine after each addition. Measure out cream into a liquid measuring cup, stir in orange juice, orange extract and vanilla extract. With hand mixer set on low speed and working in 3 separate batches, blend in flour mixture alternating with cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing just until combine after each addition. Divide batter among 14 paper lined muffin cups, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven 23 - 25, rotating muffin tins once halfway through baking, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely then frost with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and garnish with an small orange slice if desired (just before serving). Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
- *If you want the pilled high amount of frosting then you will likely want to make about 3/4 of the Vanilla Buttercream recipe. If you don't want a ton of frosting then 1/2 of the recipe should be enough.
- Recipe source: cupcake recipe - adapted from Martha Stewart, buttercream frosting - Cooking Classy
Averie @ Averie Cooks: Your piping is perfection! I love buttercream – and orange creamsicles! A perfect marriage! December 27, 2012 at 10:00pm
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious: So gorgeous! And those orange slices are such a perfect garnish. Well done! December 27, 2012 at 11:51pm
Carla: I had orange creamsicle cupcakes at my wedding reception in 2010. They were so yummy! Can’t wait to try these. December 28, 2012 at 4:57am
Ramona: You not only take divine photos…. your styling and decorating of the cupcakes is perfectly executed as well. I love orange creamsicles and these cupcakes would put a smile on my children’s faces for sure. :) December 28, 2012 at 6:11am
Jaclyn: Thanks Ramona that is so nice of you to say! I actually hated these photos because the oranges are basically glowing. I don’t know if it’s my camera or what but there are certain oranges that just don’t turn out well in pictures for me like these and cheddar cheese. Not sure what it’s about I really wish I knew more about photography =). December 30, 2012 at 9:04pm
Alison: Your photography and styling are consistently spectacular. I am always in awe when I see your FG submissions! Beautiful, once again :) December 28, 2012 at 1:13pm
Jaclyn: Thank you so much Alison that really means a lot to me, so nice of you to say =). Thanks so much for you kind comment! December 29, 2012 at 10:55pm
Ann: Jaclyn, so gorgeous! Your buttercream looks like beautiful light ribbons of ruffled whipped cream! Yummm… Just curious, what tip # works best to achieve this look? December 28, 2012 at 2:44pm
Jaclyn: Thanks Ann, it’s the wilton 2D which is definitely one of my favorites because of the delicate ruffly look it gives. I hope you have a chance to try these! December 28, 2012 at 6:30pm
angela @ another bite please: i loved orange creamsicles as a kid…these look so pretty and perfect. December 28, 2012 at 8:18pm
Jaclyn: Thanks so much Angela! December 29, 2012 at 10:56pm
Aishah @ Almond and Honey: These look delicious and I love how you decorated them so pretty :) December 31, 2012 at 6:27am
Jaclyn: Thanks so much Aishah! January 1, 2013 at 10:30am
Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes: [...] Find the recipe at : http://www.cookingclassy.com [...] January 4, 2013 at 7:43am
Vera Zecevic-Cupcakes Garden: Amazing flavor combo, and they look so beautiful with all that cream and fresh orange slices. I’ve featured this recipe on my blog, hoping that you don’t mind, but if you do, please contact me and I’ll remove it. All the best. January 4, 2013 at 7:44am
Ashley: These are beautiful! I love orange creamsicle flavor – it reminds me of being a kid : ) January 4, 2013 at 2:54pm
Jaclyn: Thanks Ashley! It reminds me a being a kid too =). January 5, 2013 at 2:57pm
Happy Monday! | ooothatsshiny: [...] These look delicious…definitely have to make it. [...] January 7, 2013 at 4:04am
Erica: I made these cupcakes for my high school bake sale, and they were a HUGE hit! Check out how mine came out here: http://cannella-vita.blogspot.com/2013/01/creamsicle-cupcakes.html
P.S. Orange Creamsicles are my all time favorite ice cream! January 29, 2013 at 9:17am
Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes « Cute Cupcakes Blog: [...] Orange creamsicles are an ice cream classic, but thanks to this ingenious recipe, they become the thing that classic cupcakes are made of as well. The batter contains orange zest, orange juice and orange extract — plus vanilla extract, flour, butter, sugar and eggs, among other things. After baking, top each with a hefty dose of vanilla buttercream frosting and a slice of a fresh orange before serving and enjoying! Source Cooking Classy [...] February 4, 2013 at 6:01pm
Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes « On Sugar Mountain: [...] Recipe Source: Cooking Classy [...] February 22, 2013 at 7:09am
Cupcake TIme | Cats Can't Cook: [...] found the recipe for the cake here, then the recipe for the frosting was inspired by this one. They came out super delicious and [...] March 5, 2013 at 12:26pm
Mindy: I made these cupcakes yesterday to bring to my daughters preschool for her early second birthday class party. While I LOVED the flavor (as did everyone else), I was wondering if using whole milk instead of the cream would lighten up the texture a bit? I didn’t mind the dense quality myself, but I got the impression that everyone who tried them was expecting that lighter, fluffy texture you would normally associate with cupcakes…and possibly wondering if I had screwed something up. So would subbing milk help with that, or would it change the flavor or anything else I might not be thinking of? Thanks! April 25, 2013 at 10:23am
Mindy: Just to let everyone know, I did make these again and used Half & Half instead of the heavy cream and it made a big difference in the texture! They were much lighter! I may still try them with whole milk in the future, but I was hesitant to make such a big step so went for an in-between first. May 6, 2013 at 4:44pm
Jaclyn: Thanks for your comment Mindy, I’ll have to try it that way next time! May 7, 2013 at 9:09am
Mini Creamsicle Cupcakes – Build Me Up Buttercream | Build Me Up Buttercream: [...] vanilla? And my life was made even easier when I found a fabulous, zesty orange cake recipe from Cooking Classy, which I topped with my favorite vanilla buttercream to create the perfect harmony of [...] June 18, 2013 at 6:44am