Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

We are going to a BBQ tomorrow and I wanted to bring cupcakes. I tried to find a recipe that I think Heath would like since he doesn't like cake and I think I found one. I decided to make Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes! I actually combined 3 recipes to get the look that I wanted. I originally had a recipe that used Orange Cake Mix, but I couldn't find it in any store, so I decided to use a recipe from scratch. I also made a yummy vanilla cream filling. I did use a Wilton round tip to pipe the filling in, but next time I may cut the top off to get more of the filling in.

The frosting is a bright orange (I used Wilton Orange Icing Mix) and if I make it again, I think I may try and soften it up so it doesn't look too bright orange. The orange I made kind of reminds me of Halloween!

This was a fun recipe to make, and it tastes like summer! It DID take me about 3 hours to make, but that is because Hayden woke up halfway through and I had to give him lunch and get him settled. And I did take my time a little with the frosting!

CREAMSICLE (ORANGE-VANILLA) CUPCAKES (From the blog Cupcake Rehab)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. orange extract
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. For the Cupcakes: Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and orange extract.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost.

The batter was pretty thick, so it was hard to make them “level” in the pans, but they worked out just fine.

Vanilla Cream Filling (From the blog Single Guy Chef)

Ingredients
3 T all-purpose flour
½ cup milk (low-fat is fine)
½ cup butter (or trans fat-free shortening)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ scraped vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract (I just used the extract, vanilla bean is expensive!)

Whisk together the flour and milk and cook in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick. This will only take a few minutes. Stir continuously to prevent the mixture from clumping and do not bring all the way to a boil. When thickened (consistency will be that of a thin pudding or custard), strain with a mesh strainer into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely to room temperature.

When the milk mixture is cool, cream the butter (or shortening) and sugar together in a medium bowl until light. Add in the milk/flour mixture and the scraped vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla extract) and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 7 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, or a large Ziplock bag with the corner cut off, and set aside until ready to fill your cupcakes.

Orange Frosting (From the blog Dulcedo)

1 cup butter, room temperature
6-8 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1/4 cup orange juice (preferably fresh)

To make the orange frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy. Add half of the sifted sugar, the vanilla, the orange extract, and the orange juice. Beat until combined. Gradually add the remaining sugar until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. (I added another 1/4 cup of orange juice to this!)