Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

I have always been a big fan of the citrus family - lemons, limes, clementines, the grapefruit league, but none more so than the beloved orange.

I am a total lover of creamsicles as well, but I only seem to eat them when the nice weather rolls along. The moment my teeth sink into that first bite of that slightly crunchy outer orange tart shell and straight into the sweet, creamy vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day...oh, Mama. Ecstasy with a captial Yum. My pulse races a bit faster just thinking about it.

I naturally wondered if I could harness that same reaction into a cupcake.

You can bet your next paycheck I did.

With interest. And same day financing.

ORANGE CREAMSICLE CUPCAKES

CUPCAKES:
Recipe adapted and slightly modified from The Joy of Baking

3 egg whites

1 ¾ cups cake flour, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, unsalted and at room temperature

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ cup milk

ORANGE CUSTARD FILLING:

For instructions, see my Boston Cream Cupcakes

1½ cups heavy cream

3 large egg yolks
⅓ cup sugar

4 teaspoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1½ teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon orange extract

ORANGE BUTERCREAM FROSTING: 

1 cup butter

3¼ cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon orange extract

6-8 Tablespoons heavy cream

Orange food coloring, optional 

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In another bowl, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture slowly and alternate with milk until everything is incorporated.


In a clean bowl, using a whisk or hand mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar. Beat a bit more until stiff peaks begin to form. Gently fold into cake batter until just combined.

Fill cups about 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Mine took 18 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, hollow out cupcakes and fill with orange custard. Follow this technique to fill.

Pipe or spread frosting on top. I divided the frosting into 2 parts; kept one part white and added a dab of orange food coloring to the other half. I wanted the final product to look like a soft serve ice cream cone, but my frosting married big time in the piping bag, so it came out looking completely orange. Oh well.

Yields: 12 creamsicle cupcakes.

Happy Baking!