Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

These orange creamsicle cupcakes brought back memories of me as a child chasing down the ice cream truck to get an Orange Creamsicle. Ohhhh, the nostalgia of ripping open the wrapper on a hot summer day and biting into the cool creamy vanilla ice cream center.  It was a conflict between taking my time to savor the sweetness and beat the heat before it melted in my hands.

I still hear the ice cream truck going by our street sometimes, but I haven’t chased one down in years. Maybe I should add that to my bucket list 🙂 It’s always good to have child like tendencies even as an adult.  There is a little kid in us hiding somewhere, and I like to coax mine out every so often.

I think I accomplished that when I bit into one of these last night.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm it was so delicious and instantly brought back those familiar memories of Ohio summers.  No school, no worries. Days filled with endless swimming and only keeping an eye on the clock for the ice cream man and the music blaring out of the megaphone on the top of the truck.

Here’s what you need to recreate this wonderful summer memory.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes:

Hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription

Serves: 12

These will take you back to the days of chasing the ice cream truck down the street. Recipe Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

• Cake Ingredients:
• 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 small container orange creme yogurt (keeps cupcakes moist)
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (can use 100% store bought juice if desired)
• 1 whole orange zest
• small amount of orange gel paste (can mix together red and yellow or use regular food coloring)
• Whipped Creme Filling (so easy it’s scary)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon sugar (or confectioners sugar)
• Orange Butter Creme Frosting:
• 6 tablespoons butter (salted)
• 2 teaspoon light soft cream cheese (optional)
• 2 lbs confectioners sugar
• 1/2 orange zest
• I whole squeezed fresh orange juice about 4-6 tablespoons (or 100% store bought orange juice)
• red and yellow gel paste coloring

Instructions

1. Cake Directions:
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
3. In stand mixer with flat paddle cream together butter and sugar.
4. Replace flat paddle with whisk attachment
5. Add eggs one at a time and whisk well on med speed.
6. Add flour, baking power, salt, and orange juice
7. Add remaining ingredients (yogurt and orange zest)
8. Mix on high until all lumps are out and you have a pancake batter like consistency.
9. Fill a large gallon Zip-loc bag with batter.
10. Snip off small corner tip and fill 12 cupcake liners 2/3 full
11. Bake until toothpick comes out clean or cupcakes spring back to finger touch (be careful don’t burn those fingers!)
12. Cool completely (I like to put mine in the freezer. They will take about 10 minutes to cool.)
13. Whipped Creme Filling
14. Make sure your mixer and whisk are ice cold (Place them in freezer for about 5 minutes)
15. Use very cold whipping cream (this ensures the best results)
16. Mix whipping cream on slow speed and increase to medium, then high once it starts getting thick.
17. Just before it reaches peaks stop mixing
18. Add vanilla and sugar
19. Mix until peaks form on whisk. Careful not to over mix.
20. Now fill cupcake centers with whipped creme. (I used a disposable piping bag and a Wilton long tip but to get the most amount of creme filling in the center, I recommend cutting out center with a parring knife at a 45 degree angle. Fill and replace top of cupcake.)
21. Orange Cream Cheese Butter Cream Frosting:
22. Cream butter and cream cheese (cream cheese can be an optional ingredient.)
23. Add about 1 lb confectioner’s sugar
24. Zest about half the orange into mixing bowl
25. Cut orange in half and squeeze into bowl
26. Mix on slow, to medium, to hight speed until smooth.
27. Keep adding confectioner’s sugar until you get a smooth and stiff frosting.
28. Divide frostings equally in two mixing bowls or plastic containers.
29. To one bowl add some equal amounts (toothpicks work great for this) of red and yellow food coloring gel/paste (this will make a beautiful orange color.) Mix well.
30. Add to the other bowl of frosting a toothpick full of yellow coloring gel/paste. Mix well
31. If you need to add a little more sugar to stiffen up your frosting it’s okay to do. Just mix well with a knife or spatula.
32. Use a disposable piping bag and a Wilton 2D large drop flower tip.
33. Fill bag on one side with orange frosting and other half of bag with yellow frosting. Twist bag and if needed squeeze out some of the frosting until both yellow and orange come out of tip.
34. Start in middle of cupcake holding tip at a 90 degree angle (straight up.) Squeeze a little pressure and then go in a counter clockwise direction (inside to outside) until the entire cupcake is covered.