{Day Three} 12 Days of Cupcakes - Orange Buttermilk Cupcakes with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting

Back in April I whipped up a batch of  Mimosa cupcakes for my friend's birthday brunch.  The recipe I used was tweaked from another recipe I had for Orange Buttermilk cupcakes. I really like the original recipe, but have made my own small changes to it.

These little gems are on my top five list of favorite confections that I've made this year.  The cupcake is super moist, very citrusy and absolutely all-around divine! 

No cupcake is worth it's weight in flour without a good frosting.  You can try a vanilla bean buttercream or a tangy citrus icing to finish off the cupcake.  However, I like to top mine with a succulent orange segment and sprinkle orange zest into a orange flavored cream cheese frosting.

Once you take a bite inside - you will just DIE! (Figuratively....like in a Rachel Zoe kind of way)....

mmmm, mmmm, mm-mm-mm!!!

Orange Buttermilk Cupcakes with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 Tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Buttermilk*

1 Cups Fresh Squeezed OJ**

1/3 Cup Canola Oil

2 Large Eggs

1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

1/2 Tsp. Orange Extract

To make:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with paper liners.

2. Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl, set aside.

3. In a separate bowl mix sugar, buttermilk, OJ, oil, eggs and extracts until well combined.

4. Combine wet ingredients to dry, mix on medium speed in two additions, scraping bowl between additions.

5. Add batter to liners and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

6. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on the rack before frosting.

*If you don't have buttermilk, mix 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 tbsp lemon juice let stand for 10 minutes before adding to mixture.

** You can use 1/2 cup frozen concentrated OJ in place of fresh squeezed.  Be sure the frozen concentrate is at room temperature before adding to mixture.

Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. Package Cream Cheese, Softened

1 Tsp. Orange Extract

1/3 Cup Powdered Sugar

2 Tbsp. Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate

2 Tbsp. Orange Zest

18 Orange segments (optional)

To Make:

Mix ingredients together until well blended and frosting has a creamy texture.   Top with orange segments.

FYI - I brought these cupcakes in to the job that pays the bills - along with the other cupcakes I made over the weekend and these, in particular, received high marks from my coworkers.