Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Just because fall in creeping in, it doesn’t mean fresh summer flavors have to disappear. One of my favorite summer treats is an orange creamsicle, so I decided to replicate those creamy, juicy flavors in a cupcake! This weekend, I turn 41, while I also celebrate Too Busy Livin’s first official year in business.

Photos by: Gabrielle Touchette Photography, Food styling by: Josée Trudeau
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Making the cupcakes

These orange creamsicle cupcakes are light and fluffy with a pop of citrus flavor. Whipping up the egg whites and folding them in at the end creates that fluffiness.

Getting help from the kids

There are quite a few jobs that kids can do to help out with this recipe. Younger kids can help with pouring, dumping, stirring and placing cupcake liners in muffin tins, while older kids can squeeze the oranges, crack eggs and practice using measuring cups and spoons.

Substitutions

If your oranges aren’t very juicy, you can definitely use orange juice from concentrate. You can even make lime or lemon flavored cupcakes by replacing the orange juice with either lemonade or limeade, and the zest with either lemon or lime zest.

Frosting the orange creamsicle cupcakes

I love a great store-bought shortcut, especially if it is as creamy and delicious as this frosting! To make this frosting, all you have to do is use a package of vanilla pudding, and replace the milk with 35% whipping cream. The frosting recipe comes from Two Sisters blog. They use white chocolate pudding, but you can use this method with any pudding flavor. Whip it up into a thick, creamy frosting and slather it on the cupcake with a spatula, or pipe it on like I did here. Be sure to store frosted cupcakes in the fridge so the icing stays firm and doesn’t spoil.

Garnishing the orange creamsicle cupcakes

I chose to garnish these with gummy orange slices, but you can also use:

  • Orange ju-jubes
  • Jelly beans
  • Sanding sugar or sprinkles
  • Dehydrated orange slices
  • Fresh mandarin orange segments

If you’re want to try another delicious cupcake recipe full of summer flavors, these S’more Stout Cupcakes are reminiscent of eating s’mores around a summer bonfire.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

A fresh citrusy cupcake with a thick and creamy frosting

Course Dessert, Snack
Keyword citrus, creamsicle, cupcake, orange, whipping cream
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar Use 1/2 cup for whipping the egg whites.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 zest of one large orange
  • 3/4 cup orange juice freshly squeezed or from concentrate
  • 3/4 cup milk

Creamy Vanilla Frosting

  • 4 cups 35% Whipping Cream
  • 2 102g boxes instant vanilla pudding

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

  2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 4 egg whites.

  4. Using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until they begin to foam.

  5. Gradually add 1/2 cup of sugar, while continuing to whip. The egg whites should be opaque white and form soft peaks.

  6. Transfer whipped egg whites to another bowl and set aside.

  7. In the bowl of the stand mixer, add 1 cup of sugar and butter.

  8. Use the paddle attachment until the sugar and butter are combined.

  9. Add the orange zest and vanilla. Continue mixing until combined.

  10. Alternately add some of the flour mixture, the orange juice and milk, mixing constantly until a uniform consistency is achieved.

  11. Fold in the egg whites using the paddle attachment at the lowest speed, or by hand with a spatula.

  12. Use a large, triggered ice cream scoop to portion out the cupcakes into liners. If you prefer to skip the liners, grease the muffin tins with cooking spray.

  13. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes. They are ready when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Creamy Vanilla Frosting

  1. Combine pudding mix and whipping cream in the bowl of a stand mixer.

  2. Using the whish attachment, whip until the pudding mix and cream are fully combined and you have a fluffy, spreadable frosting. If you mix it too much, you will end up with butter, so watch it closely.

  3. If you like a thinner frosting, you can add more whipping cream to thin it out.

Recipe Notes

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting them. 

Frosted cupcakes must be refrigerated. 

How to Make a Holiday Snack Board

Featuring Recipes from Manitoba Chicken Producers

This post was written in a paid partnership with Manitoba Chicken Producers. As always, all opinions are my own and I only promote products and services that I use and love.

Snack boards aren’t just for large gatherings! We like to enjoy them for lunch or dinner regularly. Whether you’re wrapping gifts solo or having dinner with your family, pulling a snack board together for any occasion is doable with these tips.

For this board, I scrolled the Appetizer & Snacks section of Manitoba Chicken’s new website for some make-ahead appetizers. 

My favorite part about this website is the categories in the Recipes section.  You can search recipes by type, cut, preparation and cuisine.   Also, it`s educational.  You can find absolutely anything you want to know about Manitoba Chicken Producers, from farming to food safety in the following sections:

  • Nutrition
  • Cooking School
  • Blog
  • At the Farm
  • Our Industry
  • About Us

Store-bought VS Homemade

Using a combination of homemade and store-bought ingredients will help you impress without the stress. Choosing make-ahead appetizers saves you some prep time before you assemble your board.

The Appetizer & Snacks section of the website has an assortment of fresh, make-ahead and freezer friendly recipes to choose from. Think of your main homemade ingredients as the anchors for your board, then fill in with store-bought ingredients to complete the look.

This time, I chose the BBQ Chicken Bacon Bites (assemble ahead of time) and the Chicken Empanadas (make-ahead and freeze) to anchor the board.

How to add interest to your snack board

You can try to stick to a particular color scheme or create a theme for your board, but I honestly think the best part about making a snack board, is using whatever you want and have in the house.  I like to focus on using different textures to make the board visually appealing.

Here are a few specific ways to add interest to your board and how they were used in this board.

Use a couple items from each of these categories:

  • Protein (BBQ Chicken Bacon Bites, Chicken Empanadas)
  • Cheeses & Spreads (Fresh ricotta, sliced mozzarella, habanero black pepper cheese, honeycomb, tzatziki)
  • Fresh fruits & Vegetables (cucumbers, apples, pomegranate)
  • Breads, crackers, pretzels (Whole Wheat Crackers, rustic seed & fruit crackers, beet chips)
  • Something pickled (olives)
  • Filler (to fill in the small gaps around the board)
    • Fresh herbs (dill & parsley)
    • Dried fruit (dried cranberries)
    • Nuts
    • Candy or chocolate

Assembling your snack board

Assembling your board is the trickiest part. You may have to move some ingredients around once you place them to achieve the look that you want.  The important part is to have fun!

  • Place crisp ingredients like crackers and chips on the board just before serving, to prevent them from getting soggy.
  • Contain dips, spreads and pickled items in small bowls.
  • Choose appetizers that can be served warm or at room temperature to prevent heat transfer to the rest of the board components.

Making your snack board ahead of time

If you want to assemble most of your board ahead of time, there are a few ways that you can do this. The first way is to get all your components ready, so that you can assemble the board quickly.

  • Prepare dips and spread and fill bowls.
  • Prepare hot appetizers that need to be cooked
  • Chop and slice fruits, vegetables and cheeses

The second way is to place most of the fresh ingredients on the board and to store it in the fridge.  Just before serving, add the hot appetizers and dry components to the board.

Here are some other great appetizers from manitobachicken.ca that would work well on a snack board.

Prep ahead and assemble before serving

Make-ahead and freeze

Which one will you try first?  Head to manitobachicken.ca to check out their new website and find a new recipe to add to your next snack board.

How to be a guest at your own party

(or that time I talked my friend out of having a DIY grilled cheese bar at her son’s first birthday party)

Once upon a time, my friend, a mother of two boys, was running ideas by me for her second son’s first birthday party.  She was expecting 77 guests (43 adults and 30 kids). It was October, two weeks shy of Halloween.  She ordered a bouncy castle, organized mini pumpkin painting and a DIY grilled cheese bar. Continue reading