Orange Cupcakes

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These orange cupcakes are made using my favorite vanilla cupcake base infused with orange zest. They’re frosted with the silkiest orange buttercream and topped with an orange caramel sauce.

orange cupcakes topped with orange buttercream, orange caramel sauce and a slice of orange peel

Every January I feel a little uninspired to bake. This is because holiday recipes can be so exciting but then January is gloomy, everyone is cutting back on desserts and the only produce in season is oranges lol.

No hate on oranges but if I’m being totally honest, I feel they can be a littleeeee boring lol. So here I am, I took the boring orange and turned it into absolute fabulousness.

Why you’ll love these orange cupcakes

Well for starters, as I mentioned, they’re not boring. It’s not just a vanilla cupcake with a little orange zest lol.
It’s very orange forward but not just orange because I paired it with a glorious bourbon orange salted caramel sauce. I know it’s a mouthful (pun intended).
Recipe is versatile – can be made with dairy free and gluten-free ingredients.

For more exciting orange recipes, I do have a handful. Chocolate orange cake (I would swap the buttercream for this version), cranberry orange cupcakes, cranberry orange cake and cranberry orange cinnamon rolls. Yes I am obsessed with cranberry and orange together.

And I am mentally working on a chocolate orange cupcake but I want it to be extra fabulous so I’m taking my time with it lol.

cupcakes filled with orange caramel sauce

Ingredients & Substitutions

Butter: I prefer salted butter for the cupcakes and the caramel here and unsalted for the buttercream. You can also use unsalted butter for all of it, just add an extra pinch of salt. Make sure it’s softened to room temperature so it creams well with the dry ingredients.
Flour: I use all purpose flour in most of my recipes BUT you cannot beat the texture of cake flour in cupcakes so I highly recommend King Arthur’s Cake Flour. It is far superior to some alternatives in the grocery stores.
- I have used the “homemade cake flour” trick by replacing 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour with cornstarch. The cupcakes will work if you make them this way but they won’t be quite as soft and tender.
- I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as flour is so often over measured.
Baking Powder: to leaven the cupcakes.
Sugar: I used granulated sugar and I don’t recommend cutting any out.
Orange: I used large navel oranges. The zest is used in the cupcakes and the juice is used in the caramel sauce and the buttercream. You could use bottled orange juice as well to save time.
Oil: I always use a combination of butter and oil in my cakes because I like the texture from both. I recommend a neutral oil like vegetable oil, canola oil or sunflower oil here.
Eggs: I just use one large egg and make sure it’s at room temperature. Place it in hot water for 5-10 minutes if it’s cold.
Sour Cream: I’ve used greek yogurt and sour cream in this recipe and they both work well. You can also use plain yogurt, just make sure it’s unsweetened.
- However, if you sub the sour cream for extra milk, the cupcakes might shrivel up a little when cooling so I don’t recommend that.
Milk: I use whole milk or two percent but any milk will work here, even dairy free.
Vanilla: I just use vanilla extract in this recipe but vanilla bean paste also works.
Spices: I used just a touch of cinnamon because I’m a little obsessed with the combination of orange and cinnamon lately.
Heavy Cream: I use 36-40% heavy whipping cream to make the caramel sauce.
Bourbon: totally optional but felt it went well with the cupcakes so I added a tablespoon to the caramel sauce. It’s subtle so you can increase it a little, swap for a tsp of vanilla or just skip it if you want.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Orange Caramel Sauce

Step 1: Bring the orange juice and sugar to a simmer and cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes, until it caramelizes and looks a dark amber color. I found that it kind of got foamy from the orange juice so I whisked it every few minutes.

Step 2: Once the caramel is a dark amber color add the butter and whisk until it’s combined.

Step 3: Then add the heavy whipping cream, whisking until it’s fully combined.

Step 4: Remove from the heat and pour into a heat safe jar or container. Add the salt and bourbon/vanilla if desired. Allow to cool for a little and then refrigerate until it’s chilled.

photos below are for regular caramel sauce – they’re pretty much the same but you’ll take the orange caramel sauce darker in color.

add cream to sugar syrup — sugar turning into an amber color

Cupcakes

Step 1: Zest the orange on top of the sugar and use your fingers to rub them together well, until they’re well combined.

Step 2: Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt until they’re evenly distributed.

Step 3: Add the room temperature butter and the oil and use an electric mixer to beat them at medium, until they’re crumbly like a streusel.

Step 4: Add the egg and mix just until it’s well combined and the batter looks like paste.

Step 5: Add the sour cream and turn the mixer to low speed while streaming in the milk.

Step 6: Scrape the edge of the bowl and give it a good mix. Fill the cupcake liners about ⅔-¾ full. I recommend weighing them so each cupcake has 50-55 grams of batter.

Step 7: Bake for 18ish minutes, until the tallest part of the cupcake, in the center, springs back when you press on it. If you’re hesitant, give it another minute or so.

Step 8: Let the cupcakes rest for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove them from the pan.

drying ingredients mixed with butter and oil.

egg added to the batter — drying ingredients mixed with butter and oil.

Orange Buttercream

Step 1: Place the orange juice in a small pot on the stove, over medium-low heat. Allow the juice to cook gently until it reduces to about 3 ounces or about ⅓ of a cup, this could take about 15-30 minutes. This will enhance the flavor of the orange without adding too much liquid to the buttercream.

Set aside in a jar to cool completely. You can refrigerate it until needed.

Step 2: Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook until it reaches 240F (116C). This takes about 10 minutes or so.

Step 3: Once the sugar is getting to around 220-230F, begin whipping your eggs in the mixer at medium-high speed. They should get a little frothy and once the sugar syrup reaches temperature, turn the mixer down to medium-lowish and stream in the sugar along the edge of the mixing bowl. Try to avoid touching the whisk attachment with the stream of sugar as it will splatter it everywhere, just stream it along the edge of the bowl into the eggs slowly.

Step 4: Turn the mixer up to full speed and beat for 5-10 minutes, until it’s thick and fluffy and no longer hot.

Step 5: Add the room temperature butter in a few increments and let it beat at medium-high speed until the buttercream comes together. If it’s taking too long to come together, add another ¼ cup (56g) of butter.

If the buttercream is looking really runny, the eggs were still too warm and/or your butter was probably too soft. Just refrigerate the buttercream for 30-60 minutes and whip again.

Step 6: Pipe onto cooled cupcakes leaving a little hole in the center to fill with the cooled caramel sauce.

cupcakes topped with buttercream — finished orange buttercream

Expert tips on getting perfect cupcakes

There’s a few things that can make it or break it with these cupcakes.

Don’t swap ingredients unless I mentioned them in the ingredient section above.
Don’t reduce the sugar. I know a lot of people do that for some recipes but not this one.
Weigh your ingredients with a digital scale
Weigh the batter for each cupcake with a digital scale. I just place the cupcake pan on the scale with the liners and measure out 50-55 grams for each cupcake.
Sometimes I get 14 cupcakes out of the batter but other times there’s just enough batter for 13 and a half cupcakes. DO NOT BE TEMPTED to distribute that half among the other cupcakes, they will sink if they’re overfilled.
Use a light colored stainless steel muffin tin for even baking.

orange cupcakes topped with orange buttercream and caramel sauce

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use all-purpose flour?

I have used the “homemade cake flour” trick by replacing 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour with cornstarch. The cupcakes will work if you make them this way but they won’t be quite as soft and tender.
I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as flour is so often over measured.

Can I make this ahead of time?

These cupcakes hold on to moisture fine so you can make it 1-2 days in advance before serving and store in the fridge. Or you could make it more in advance and freeze. See the storing section.

What if I only have one pan?

If you only have one muffin pan, the batter for the 13th cupcake can just wait on the counter until the first 12 are done baking.

How do I know when cupcakes are done baking?

Just like all the rest of my cakes, I test if it’s done baking by pressing gently on the tallest part of the cake. The cake will spring back if it’s done baking. If it stays indented, give it a few minutes in the oven, before testing again.

Can I frost these with a different buttercream?

You definitely could. You could use my Swiss meringue buttercream and just add the orange juice the same way at the end.
You could also make American buttercream but I wouldn’t add more than two ounces of the reduced orange juice to it.

Can I use this as a cake recipe?

I have not tested this cupcake recipe as a cake recipe but I don’t imagine it would be bad. It would probably make about 1 layer 8 or 9 inch cake.
You could also use my 4 inch, 6 inch, 8 inch or 10 inch vanilla cakes and just rub the sugar with the orange zest and add the cinnamon to get the same flavor. One batch of this frosting is enough to lightly frost a 6 inch cake.

How to store orange cupcakes

I usually just cover them with a cake dome or place them in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for 1-2 days. You can store them in the refrigerator for an additional 2-3 days but if it’s any longer, I recommend freezing them.

To freeze the cupcakes, place them in an airtight container and then place the container in a freezer bag, squeezing out all the excess air. Bring them back to room temperature by thawing at room temperature for a few hours before serving.

orange cupcakes decorated with orange peel and a gold leaf

Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below.

If you make these orange cupcakes, I’d love it if you left me a review or a star rating. 🙂

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B

Orange Cupcakes

Bernice Baran

These orange cupcakes are made using my favorite vanilla cupcake base infused with orange zest. They’re frosted with the silkiest orange buttercream and topped with an orange caramel sauce.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 45

Cook Time 18

Additional Time 30

Total Time 1 33

Course Cupcakes

Cuisine American

Servings cupcakes

Calories 425 kcal

Equipment