Orange cupcakes with honey buttercream
Orange cupcakes with honey buttercream
Yield: 16
Cupcake Ingredients
1 5/8 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp orange juice
Zest of 1 orange
Frosting Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup honey (orange blossom honey is excellent here)
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tbsp mead (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and position the racks toward the center. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until fluffy. Add sugar and beat for an additional 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well to incorporate. Add the orange juice.
On low speed, add flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the orange zest and mix on low speed just until incorporated.
Divide the batter between 16 wrappers in cupcake tins and bake for 20-22 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the honey, beat to combine, then add 1 cup of confectioners sugar. Add the remaining sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Add the mead if using.
These cupcakes were based on my Cherry Limeade cupcakes, which were based on my Sprite’cakes recipe. So yeah. We have a winner base recipe. The cupcakes came together easily, and the frosting recipe—in a slightly different form—has been on my desktop as a text document for who knows how long. I cut that recipe in half, upped the honey a little bit, and added a traditional mead from Boulder, CO-based Redstone Meadery. I think it makes a difference in the flavor and totally dig it.
So, this might be my official goodbye to summer. After this, I have some sweet potato, pumpkin and caramel apple cupcake ideas up my sleeves.
Categories: cupcake friday, cupcakes, recipe
A good cupcake!
FROSTING: Super good, and I feel like had a really attention-grabbing taste. I took a tiny taste of the frosting before I dug all the way in, and I was immediately got like a “Pow!” of good taste. So, very tasty (flavorful, well-textured, etc.) but also very attention-grabbing, which I think is a great thing.
CAKE: Also very good. I could taste the orange, which was nice. It was also a dryer cake, which I think was nice with the wetter frosting. A+
OVERALL: Save that frosting recipe ’cause that stuff is shit-hot!
by Mike C. on Sep 9, 2011 at 8:11 am
This installment was a really nice surprise for me. I didn’t know what to expect, I love oranges and OJ but I’ve never really been into orange flavored treats like this.
I think the clincher for me is the honey in the icing, as I am an enormous fan of the bee secretions. Overall the cupcake has a great honey aftertaste and when mixed with the orange flavor in the cake, it makes sweet, sweet love to the taste buds.
Yum yum in my tum tum. Great job!
by Beard King of the North on Sep 9, 2011 at 11:03 am
Another delightful installment. I thought the texture of both the cake and frosting was spot on. The subtle tang of the citrus with the sweet frosting was lovely. The orange jimmies were a fun addition. And it’s always nice to see the zest in the cake. Let’s you know that it was made with real oranges instead of Tang!
by Julie L on Sep 12, 2011 at 8:41 am