Orange Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Orange Frosting are an amazing take on white cupcakes. The orange flavor is subtle in the cupcake and a bit bolder in the frosting.
You may remember, I mentioned in an earlier post that I am in the middle of a major kitchen remodel. Because I can’t cook, over the next few weeks, I will be showcasing a few of my favorite bloggers and their recipes. Today, I would like to introduce Pam and Sara Brand guest bloggers from Biscuits and Burlap. Pam and Sara are sharing one of their most popular recipes, Orange Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting with us today and I hope you will check out some of their other delicious recipes too!
PS: This post from Biscuits and Burlap does contain affiliate links. Click here to read their full disclosure policy
A big hello to all of you Grits and Pinecones fans! Sharon has graciously invited us to share one of our favorite recipes with you and we’d like to briefly introduce ourselves.
We’re Pam and Sara of Biscuits and Burlap and our blog is all about southern food, just like Grits and Pinecones. As a mother-daughter team based out of two small towns just outside of Atlanta, we love keeping alive the old classics. Many of those dishes are in danger of being forgotten and we don’t want that to happen. Just as often, though, you can find us adding a kick of cayenne or jalapeno and sometimes a splash of bourbon to update the old favorites.
We hope you’ll love these cupcakes as much as we do. Please pop over to Biscuits and Burlap for a visit. If you’d like to sign up for our weekly updates, you can do that right here.
I love white cake. There is something pure, delicate and simple about it. Yet somehow, white cake means special occasions – birthdays, weddings, baby showers. These orange cupcakes are really just white cupcakes with a delicate orange twist. The big orange flavor comes from the cream cheese orange frosting. They are perfect any time of year, but especially appropriate in the winter when citrus is at its best, or in the spring when the fruity flavor just shouts that warmer weather is here to stay a while.
White cake is a little tricky to get moist and delicate and still keep it that glorious, pure white color. I experimented with a lot of combinations and recipes and the one I finally settled on is adapted from The First Year Blog. The only change I made was to add orange extract to give my cupcakes a hint of subtle orange flavor. I then adjusted the other liquid (milk) to keep the total amount of liquids the same.
Her recipe says it will make 12 cupcakes. I actually got 14 from mine. When piping a good bit of frosting on top you don’t want a tall, domed cupcake so I only filled my cupcake liners ⅔ full. If you don’t plan to pipe your frosting on fairly high you can fill the liners ¾ full and make only 12.
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
What a fun and mouthwatering frosting! Around here we love, love, love anything with cream cheese in it. You can easily tell by the dishes we create using it. Our Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes are a fine example as is our Smoked Fish Dip (Beach Bar Style). But, frosting with cream cheese is really the crowning glory of cream cheese recipes – the icing on the cake!
I made this frosting the night before I put it on the cupcakes. It refrigerated overnight and then I had to let it come to room temperature or it wouldn’t have piped or spread easily. The time those ingredients spent together just made for a fabulous frosting. The orange flavor really pops! If you don’t have time for that it’s still going to be a wonderful frosting, but if you do, why not give it a whirl?
Several Ways to Frost Your Cupcakes
You can certainly frost your cupcakes the simple, old-fashioned way and just spread the icing on with a knife or small spatula.
If you want that “piped” on look, but don’t have piping bags or tips you can always add the frosting to a baggie and cut off one corner. I’ve used that method plenty of times for filling deviled eggs (like our extra special Bacon Jalapeno Deviled Eggs), frosting cupcakes or decorating anything with whipped cream.
I used a Wilton 1M decorating tip/for making these cupcakes. A 12 inch decorating bag was just right for holding this amount of frosting and you can order both, as well as any number of other decorating tips by clicking these links:
- A Selection of Decorating Tips can be ordered here
- decorating bags can be ordered here
- closure clips for decorating bags
Garnish Ideas for Orange Cupcakes
Now here’s where the fun comes in. The possibilities are of course, endless. I didn’t have orange sprinkles, but that would be really festive. What I did have was pearly non-pareils and they were so pretty. I also used small orange curls and tiny little wedges of orange (you would only want to do that right before serving – no longer than an hour before). And, you can never go wrong with a little mint leaf. Oh, and sanding sugar. It gives your orange cupcakes a little sparkle. Here’s a whole list of ideas:
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- orange curls
- orange sprinkles
- sanding sugar
- orange slices (little wedges)
- mint leaves
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Have fun making these cupcakes, and don’t forget to sign up here for our weekly updates.
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Orange Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Orange Cupcakes
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar + 2 Tablespoons
- 2 egg whites
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup milk - 1 teaspoon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 cup plain flour + 2 Tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup butter room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1-2 teaspoons orange zest
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Orange Cupcakes
- Beat sugar and butter together with electric mixer for 2 minutes..
- Add egg whites one at a time, beating on low speed for about 30 seconds after each.
- Add sour cream, milk, vanilla and extracts and beat on low speed for about 1 minute.
- In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients.
- Add to wet ingredients gradually, and beat lightly after each addition.
- Fill lined muffin tins ⅔ - ¾ full.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake additional 8-10 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched in center.
- After 5 minutes remove cupcakes from pan and allow to cool completely on wire rack before frosting.
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- Blend butter and cream cheese until fluffy.
- Stir in extract, zest and sugar and stir until smooth.
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