orange Archives - Too Busy Livin'

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

Jump to Recipe

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

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 4 egg whites.
Using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until they begin to foam.
Gradually add 1/2 cup of sugar, while continuing to whip. The egg whites should be opaque white and form soft peaks.
Transfer whipped egg whites to another bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of the stand mixer, add 1 cup of sugar and butter.
Use the paddle attachment until the sugar and butter are combined.
Add the orange zest and vanilla. Continue mixing until combined.
Alternately add some of the flour mixture, the orange juice and milk, mixing constantly until a uniform consistency is achieved.
Fold in the egg whites using the paddle attachment at the lowest speed, or by hand with a spatula.
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.
Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes. They are ready when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Creamy Vanilla Frosting

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

Sheet pans are versatile

The great thing about this cooking method is that you can use any vegetable, and seasoning that you like. For example, this recipe contains squash, which we’re all not crazy about in our house so I’m swapping it for sweet potato. There are a few other substitutions you could make in this recipe if you don’t have the ingredients, for example, you can use carrots instead of parsnips, or cranberry juice instead of pomegranate juice.

This sheet pan builder shows you how to use any cut of fresh Manitoba chicken to make endless sheet pan combinations.

Choosing chicken

Depending on the cut of chicken you decide to use, your cooking time will vary. This is something to consider when you’re looking for a quick weeknight meal and want to keep the cook time within 30 minutes. Bone-in pieces such as breasts, thighs and drumsticks, wings and drumettes will take the longest to cook. Whole chicken breasts and ground chicken meatballs will cook within the 30 minute time-frame and you can even shave that down to 20-25 minutes by thinly slicing boneless skinless chicken breasts, for example for fajitas.

Prepping components

When prepping components for your meal, you can chop all of the veggies, and marinate the chicken. Combine your ingredients, marinate and store in a freezer bag or container overnight to let the marinade work its magic.

For the Sheet Pan Pomegranate Orange Chicken recipe, you will need to chop the vegetables and make the sauce, which is tossed with the vegetables and chicken prior to baking.

Alternatively, you can also use dry seasonings and spices that don’t require marinating. When I use this method, I like to drizzle a sauce on top when the pan comes out of the oven, like balsamic reduction, pesto, or a squeeze of roasted or fresh citrus like lemon, lime, or orange.

Cooking sheet pan meals

I have learned that the perfect temperature for these meals is 425°F for 25 minutes. It’s important to note that oven temperatures can vary and some cuts of chicken take longer to cook than others, depending on the size of the pieces and if they are bone-in pieces. Even if you are following a recipe, always use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. You know that chicken pieces are fully cooked when the thermometer reads 165°F or 74°C.

When cooking at this temperature, I like to cut veggies in approximately 1-inch pieces. This ensures that they don’t overcook and burn or get too mushy.

Space your ingredients out on your tray if you like crispier vegetables. If you crowd them on the pan, as shown in the image above, it will create a lot of steam, giving the vegetables a softer texture. Consider using two sheet pans if you like crispy veggies.

Different combinations

There are many great chicken sheet pan combinations on manitobachicken.ca like this Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken that we shared last week on the Cooking Comfort Facebook Live Event. You can watch it here if you missed it and would like some meal prep tips for making sheet pans.

Here are a few more of my favorite combinations:

Try one of these done-for-you ideas or use this sheet pan builder to create your own!