Moist Orange Cupcakes with Citrus Drizzle and Buttercream
Amycakes Bakes | amycakesbakes.com
Ultra soft and tender, these orange cupcakes are sweet, buttery, and infused with lots of fresh orange flavor from juice, zest, and extract. The optional orange drizzle gives them even more orange flavor while the thick, fluffy frosting balances it all out. Plus, they're ready in just 30 minutes and one batch makes up to 19 cupcakes!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 233 grams (1 ¾ cups) All-Purpose Flour (I use Gold Medal)
- 2 Tablespoon Instant Clearjel *Please make sure it is labeled as INSTANT
- 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 225 grams (1 cup + 2 Tablespoons) Sugar
Butter
- ¾ stick (3 ounces) Salted Butter soft to the touch
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup Buttermilk
- 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 t Orange Extract
- ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- zest of 2 oranges reserve the juice
- 1 large egg
- 2 egg whites
- ¼ cup fresh orange Juice
Orange-Zested Buttercream
- 1 x batch prepared Vanilla Bakery Buttercream Frosting
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 ½ t orange extract
Orange Drizzle
- 3 T orange juice
- 131 grams powdered sugar
Instructions
Make the Orange Cupcakes
- Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and set to the side.
- Combine and whisk together the first 5 Wet Ingredients, but reserve the orange juice in a separate bowl. Whisk the Eggs together in a separate small bowl and set aside.
- Sift and whisk together the Dry Ingredients, then add them with the soft-to-the-touch salted butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. (Or use a large bowl and an electric mixer).
- With a stand mixer (preferred) or handheld mixer on low speed, blend the dry ingredients and softened butter until it has a sand-like texture, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Make sure there are no large lumps of butter--it should look like uniform sand.
- On low speed, slowly pour in the Wet ingredients until it is well combined, then slowly pour in the fresh orange juice while the mixer is on low. Scrape sides of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer up to medium, and beat until the batter is smooth.
- Use a 2-oz scoop (¼ cup) to divide your batter into around 19 standard-sized cupcakes with greaseproof cupcake liners. Start by baking at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 300 degrees for an additional 8-10 minutes until they pass the toothpick test.
Make the Orange Glaze and Drizzle the Cupcakes
- While the cake bakes, whisk the Orange Glaze Drizzle Ingredients together until smooth.
- With a sharp paring knife, repeatedly poke the baked cupcakes all the way through to the bottom of the cake about ¼ inch - ½ inch apart.
- Drizzle or brush the glaze over the hot cupcakes with a silicone pastry brush or spoon and quickly spread it evenly (I prefer to use a silicone pastry brush to spread it evenly). The glaze will soak into the hot cupcakes. Allow them to cool completely before frosting.
Prepare the Orange Zested Buttercream and Frost the Cupcakes
- Prepare the creamy vanilla bakery buttercream according to the recipe instructions, then blend in the zest of 1 large orange and 1 ½ t pure orange extract.
- Frost the cupcake with an icing spatula or a disposable piping bag and 1M star tip, then top with dried or candy orange slices. Enjoy!
