Orange "Yet To Have A Real Name" Cupcakes

Yes, that's right, these cupcakes do not have a name.  "Orange Cupcakes" could do but I think they need deserve a little more.  These are my sister's brain child.  Last weekend the weather was unseasonably warm (and has stayed that way since, yay spring!)  and our afternoon was spent hanging out at my parents.  They have a great deck overlooking their 11 acres and it's a great spot to soak up the sun.  My sister had told me the previous day she would love an orange cupcake, she wanted it to taste like drinking an orange soda while sitting in the sun on the deck! 

We had our inspiration of orange extract, orange soda and orange slices!  All with their own great orange flavor.  We wanted to incorporate them all and some orange juice to make the perfect orange....and I think we did!  My sister is the the best baking assistant ever.  I did my thing adding ingredients, mixing everything up and she wrote down ingredients/amounts as I shouted them out.  It was fun, sister bonding in the kitchen.  The only thing we didn't come up with was a name for these cupcakes!  I experimented with some square silicone baking cups too after raiding finding them in my Mom's pantry.  The orange colored ones were perfect!  So here's the recipe we came up with....

No Name Cupcakes   

½ cup butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. pure orange extract
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup orange soda
¼ cup whole milk
1 tbsp. orange juice
*optional electric orange food coloring

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add orange extract and orange juice.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Alternate adding dry mixture and each of the remaining liquids (soda and milk) to the batter.  Mix well after each addition.

The batter is a pale orange, this is where you can add coloring if desired.  *I added just a few drops of Wilton orange food gel.

Bake at 350 for 18 to 20 minutes.  Makes 12-15 cupcakes.

Frosting

Beat 1 cup butter until smooth.  Add 1 cup powdered sugar, blending until smooth.  Add ½ tsp. orange extract, 1 tbsp. orange juice.  Add 3 ½ to 4 cups additional powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add 1 more tbsp. orange juice to taste and to reach a smooth consistency.  Beat on high until light and fluffy. 

Frost the cupcakes using your favorite decorating tip.  In this case, I simply snipped off the end of the icing bag and went with an easy circle swirl. Topped off with orange slices and they make a great sunny day treat.

Be creative when using the orange extract, orange soda and orange juice.  Each adds a little different orange taste.  The extract can be a tad bitter if too much is added, the soda add a lightness to the cake and the orange juice adds a sweetness along with the orange flavor.  Add/subtract any of these to your liking.

We had fun taking pictures of these cupcakes too.  I love piling them in a basket along with the oranges.  Just waiting for someone to pick!

So, what would you name these cupcakes.  For now, they're stashed in my recipe binder as "Orange Cupcakes", let's come up with something better suited for them.

Make a batch and be sure to enjoy them while soaking up the sun.  Get your vitamin D and C all at the same time!

Don't forget you have until Tuesday to enter the How To Eat A Cupcake give-away!  Just think you could be sitting in the sun reading that book and eating these cupcakes!  Sounds like a perfect day to me.


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