Fresh Orange Cupcakes With Orange Icing Recipes

ORANGE CUPCAKES WITH THE CREAMIEST ORANGE BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with cupcake liners.
• Place the flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and whisk to mix well.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter and sugar just to combine.
• Add the milk, eggs, orange juice, zest and vanilla and whisk really well to combine.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir through gently with a spatula until just combined.
• Fill the cupcake cases to about ⅔ full. Bake for around 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out with just a couple of crumbs on it. Transfer to a cooling rack. You can go straight on with steps 1-3 of the buttercream.
• In a small saucepan, whisk the flour with a little milk to a paste. Add the remaining milk, 1/2 cup of sugar and orange peel.
• Heat over low heat, stirring constantly until it gets very thick (like a thick custard or pudding).
• Press this mixture through a strainer into a bowl. Discard the orange peel and cover with plastic wrap pressed to the surface and let it cool to room temperature before continuing (notes).
• Once the pudding mixture is cool, beat together the butter and ½ cup of sugar until lightened and creamy. About 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl a few times through the process.
• Add 1 spoonful of the pudding mixture at a time, mixing on low between each. Make sure each spoonful is incorporated before adding the next.
• Once all the pudding mixture is added, beat for a further 5-7 minutes on medium until it looks whipped and creamy. You should not be able to feel any sugar granules. (If it looks like it separates, don't worry, just keep on beating. It will all come together into a beautiful, almost whipped cream looking frosting).
• Finally add the vanilla and orange zest and give it one final quick mix just to mix it through.

CARROT CUPCAKES WITH ORANGE ICING

Steps:

• Make cupcakes:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Line muffin cups with paper liners.
• Coarsely grate enough carrots to measure 2 cups using large teardrop holes of a box grater.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a bowl.
• Whisk together oil, eggs, brown sugar, grated carrots, and vanilla in a large bowl, then stir in flour mixture until just combined.
• Divide batter among muffin cups and bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted into center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely on rack, about 1 hour more.
• Make icing:
• Sift confectioners sugar into a bowl. Whisk in zest and 2 tablespoons juice until smooth. If icing is too thick, add more juice, 1 teaspoon at a time. Dip top of each cupcake into icing, letting excess drip off. Put a carrot curl on top of each and let icing set, about 15 minutes.

FILLED AND FROSTED ORANGE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 20 standard-sized muffin cups with muffin liners and spray lightly with cooking spray.
• Mix butter for cupcakes in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and beat for 2 more minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until incorporated. Mix in orange zest.
• Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk, beating batter briefly after each addition. Mix in orange juice. Pour batter into the prepared muffin cups until they are about 2/3 to 3/4 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put a mixing bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• Remove bowl from the freezer and add heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla for filling. Whip with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form (make sure they don't fall over), 3 to 5 minutes. Don't overmix or your whipped cream will start separating and turning into butter. Put filling in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Cream softened butter for frosting with an electric mixer for 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in powdered sugar. Beat for 2 minutes. Mix in milk, vanilla, and salt.
• Use a serrated knife to make a 3/4-inch hole in the center of each cooled cupcake. Fill the holes with filling and frost the tops with frosting. Garnish each cupcake with an orange peel.