Recipe of the Week - Orange Cupcakes with Orange Frosting

Week 30

It's Super Bowl Sunday and since the big game is being played in Florida, I thought orange cupcakes would make a great recipe of the week! 

Orange Cupcakes

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 (zest of) orange
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 egg yolks (room temperature)
2 egg whites (room temperature)
1/4 cup sugar
orange food coloring (optional)


Orange Frosting

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
orange food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Prepare 18 muffin tins with paper liners.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in oil, buttermilk and vanilla, beat one minute using an electric mixer. Add in the orange juice and egg yolks and beat for about one minute more.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add in 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the whites to the creamed batter.

Evenly divided the batter between the muffin tins. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until cupcakes test done.
Allow to cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING:  beat the butter until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add in the vanilla, zest and orange juice; beat until combined. Add in 3 cups confectioner's sugar to start, adding in more if needed to achieve desired consistency.

** Orange cream cheese frosting would also taste great on these cupcakes **