Orange creamsicle cupcakes are easy enough to do and have a really wonderful citrus flavor. You can also pair these cupcakes with a Vanilla Buttercream, but you can certainly use Whipped topping or something lighter during hot summer months. No matter what you do, orange creamsicle cupcakes are sure to impress. Begin by sifting your flour into a bowl, then sift one cup of cake flour.
Mixing both the flours together makes the cupcakes much lighter and airy, add one and a half teaspoon of baking powder and a quarter teaspoon of salt. Whisk that together and set aside. For the wet ingredients, start with half a cup of unsalted butter and beat that until it is pale and fluffy then add a three-quarter cup of granulated sugar and beat that until well combined.
Add two eggs one at a time making sure you mix well between each addition to make sure it does not curdle. Add two teaspoons of zest lemon into the batter and beat that in. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly as you begin to combine adding a quarter cup of orange juice in between.
Add the rest of the dry ingredients with a third cup of milk, do not overbeat the batter or else the cupcake batter will turn out very tough. Build your cupcake liners and use an ice cream scoop to fill them up then bake them in 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for around 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. In the meantime, make the cream cheese whipped frosting with 4 ounces of cream cheese, a cup of powdered sugar and three-quarters cup of heavy cream.
The filling is a whipped cream cheese filling flavored with vanilla. It’s light and easy to make and pairs perfectly with the cupcake. The frosting uses fresh orange juice and orange zest for flavor, plus a bit of gel coloring for color. The final cupcake is light and delicious! I love a good filling in a cupcake and this one definitely has it. Orange creamsicle cupcakes would be great for any occasion – including Easter.!
Ingredients;
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cupcake flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/3 cup milk
Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Frosting;
- 4 oz softened cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Rest of frosting:
- Orange food coloring
- 1/2 tsp orange extract
Instructions;
- Sift together the flour, cake flour, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl.
- Add the salt then whisk everything together. Set the bowl aside. In a separate large bowl, beat the butter until pale and creamy.
- Then beat in the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring in between each addition. Zest a fresh orange and add that into the batter.
- Add half of the dry ingredients into the wet, and mix well. Mix in the orange juice.
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients and beat in the milk as well. Scoop batter into cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake at 350F or 180C for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool and prepare the frosting:
- Beat the softened cream cheese until nice and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and mix well.
- Add the cold heavy cream and beat on high speed for 3-5 minutes until the cream stiffens up.
- Once the frosting holds stiff peaks, reserve 1/4 of the frosting and add the vanilla extract. Place this frosting into a pastry bag with a round tip.
- To the rest of the frosting add some orange food coloring and the orange extract/orange juice. Transfer the frosting into a pastry bag with the desired tip.
- Once the cupcakes are cool, use a cupcake corer to make a hole in the center of each cupcake.
- Use the plain cream cheese whipped frosting to pipe a dollop inside. Place the top of the cupcake back on.
- Use the orange frosting to pipe some frosting on the top of the cupcake.
- Decorate with orange zest and orange slices if desired.
