Did you have a favorite treat from the ice cream man? Whenever I would hear that music playing in our neighborhood I would start to dream of just one thing… orange creamsicle ice cream bars. Making a cupcake with those flavors in mind seemed like a good idea. It ended up being a great idea!
Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
These cupcakes are easy enough to do and have a really wonderful citrus flavor. I give options for maximizing the orange flavor with extracts or pure orange juice, so you can really customize it to fit your tastes! I have also paired these cupcakes with a Vanilla Buttercream, but you can certainly use Whipped Topping or something lighter during hot summer months. No matter what you do, these cupcakes are sure to impress!
These were created using my Cherry Limeade Cupcakes as the base recipe.
I adore the texture of the cupcakes, it is a bit dense with a light crumb and a delicate, velvety consistency.
Cupcakes topped with Whipped Vanilla Buttercream.
How to Make Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
In the recipe above I listed orange extract as optional. While the natural flavor is wonderful, I wanted to add just a bit of a kick. You can, of course, omit and add a tablespoon more of the fresh-squeezed orange juice; either directly into the batter or afterward when brushing the cupcakes. I have also made this recipe using Cuties and found it to be just a tad sweeter! 🙂
I also listed orange food coloring as optional. There is no need to add it other than for aesthetic reasons, but I do love how the color really prepares your mind for a wonderful orange flavored experience.
I sampled many recipes for the frosting (whipped, orange buttercream, chocolate) and determined that WHIPPED VANILLA is the best. Specifically, with an orange cupcake, you want that texture to be light and as airy as possible. I did experiment with adding a teaspoon of orange extract to the buttercream and enjoyed that as well!
To frost the cupcakes I used an ice cream scoop. I scooped the frosting onto the cupcake (do not press down hard) then gently tapped the bottom of the cupcake on the counter to get the frosting to settle. Since it is so light this ended up being the best method.
If you are an Orangesicle fan like I am, you are not going to want to miss these fabulous cupcakes!
Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 2 teaspoons McCormick® orange extract (optional)
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice, divided
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (115 g) whole milk, room temperature
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick /113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 drop orange food coloring, or one small drop red + yellow
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare muffins tins. (This recipe yielded 15 muffins for me.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together room temperature butter and sugar on medium high until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add in eggs, one at a time and mix until just blended.
- Add in vanilla, 1 tablespoon of orange juice and milk and mix for about 30 seconds on low. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Remove from mixer then fold in orange zest with spatula.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 16 to 20 minutes.
- Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack.
- Use pastry brush to brush remaining orange juice over the top of the cupcake.
- Let cupcakes cool completely and dry before topping with Whipped Vanilla frosting.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
BONUS!
Do you want to know how to get PURE WHITE buttercream?!?!
Here is a video where Cakes by Raewyn describes how to do this!!
The trick is… adding a touch of PURPLE to your buttercream. The tiniest amount!
Trust me, it’s LIFE CHANGING!!! When you do this you don’t have to worry about the color of your butter or extract.
Want more amazing CUPCAKE recipes? I’ve got you covered! <3
I’ve been planning on making orange cupcakes too. Yours are beautiful!
Good lawd lady!! You make cupcakes sexy!!! Love love how bright and fun these are!!
haha, thank you!!
These cupcakes are gorgeous, Amanda! Love the bright and cheery orange creamsicle flavor!
These sound so delicious! It makes me think of spring and summer, and I am definitely ready for warmer weather! 🙂 Pinning and Yumming!
looks delicious! will try this one of this days 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Creamsicles might possibly be my favorite summer treat. Even as a 51-year old, I still get smiles when I hear the music on the ice cream truck rounding through the neighborhood. A low-carb adaptation of these glorious cupcakes are happening in my kitchen soon! <3
Creamsicles make me think of my dad, who was a diehard creamsicle fan as I was growing up. As a kid, I have to admit… I didn’t get the craze he had for them… but now I totally do. It’s such an amazing combo… and these cupcakes look nothing short of a dream!
Oh my gosh … I love everything orange but these cupcakes just blew me away! WOWZA, they were amazing. Keeping this recipe forever! Thank you for sharing it.
I baked these last night and the flavor is incredible but mine came out on the dry side. I’m considering using these for a wedding and I was wondering if you could help me out? I didn’t have my stand mixer so my thought is that I didn’t cream the butter and sugar together enough, would that cause the density? Otherwise it’s possible that I over mixed but I was careful not to. Considering adding an orange pudding mix next time, do you think that will help?
A couple things you can do for dry: Undercook slightly (consider removing 1-3 minutes before you normally would have) OR add an extra egg or use extra-large eggs. Hope that helps!
Out of all the recipes I saw, I chose yours to win my “cupcake wars” for Thanksgiving with my family. I baked them in the ice cream cones in order to carry the theme of the dreamsicle Ice cream I cherished so much as a child! It took a poke in the center and an extra 4 -5 minutes to get the centers to cook, but they turned out so pretty and rose more than I imagined! I think I am going to win! I am going to pipe some of the frosting down the center…if I can figure out how to cut the centers out. I made the leftovers into mini cupcakes. Thank you for this recipe. It was the perfect match for my ice cream cone cupcake pan a friend bought me for my birthday, just in time for the competition!!!
Another thing: Usually my cupcakes never rise as high as I want them too, but this one exceeded my expectations and now I realize that I under beat my wet ingredients out of fear that I will over beat them.
Again, great recipe… I haven’t had a chance to taste them, as I literally just took the cones out of the oven and inserted the minis… so I will try to remember to comment again for taste after I frost.
I plan to post a picture after my big win on my blog (andbyfaith.wordpress.com) 🙂
THANX!!!
So glad they worked Moni!!! Hope you and your family have a wonderful celebration!!