Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes with Coconut are a tropical taste explosion! An orange-infused coconut vanilla cupcake topped with vanilla orange buttercream or a summer friendly orange glaze.
The last days were very summerly, everyone was out and the beer gardens were full! I have to admit we’re both not the biggest fans of being outside at the moment because of our hayfever which makes spring a bit difficult.
But if we can’t be outside as much as we want we bring the spring into our house. These sweet little Orange Popsicle Cupcakes taste like spring and summer. Is it weird to say they’re tasting refreshing? But they really do!
They make a perfect afternoon treat with some cold lemonade. I love to add fruit to cupcakes and muffins like in my Raspberry Muffins with Streusel Topping or in my Skinny Oatmeal Apricot Muffins. These Cupcakes are flavored with oranges.
At the moment, I’m loving the San Pellegrino Limonata. It’s not as sweet as normal lemonade but so refreshing. You can get a few different varieties, I like the lemon and orange version best. Perhaps next time I make these cupcakes I will add ½ cup of Aranciata to the batter instead of normal orange juice.
So while I made these cupcakes I tried to incorporate as much of the orange into the cupcake as possible. The zest of the orange is really flavorful. You have to be a bit careful not to grate too deep, stop before you reach the white pith which will otherwise give you a bitter taste.
I use a Microplane grater for this job because it grates really fine and is really sharp (be careful not to grate your fingers! Yes, that happened to me before :-( ). I use it upside down so that the peel “collects” on top of the grater and I can easily add only the right amount.
I also used the orange fillets. Filleting an orange looks a bit tricky if you have never done it before but it is really simple. You need a sharp knife and peel your orange with it so that all of the outer white pith is removed. Then you cut out the flesh segments between the membranes which separate the orange slices. In the end, you will only have fruit flesh without any white pith. Cut the fillets in smaller pieces and add them to the batter.
These orange pieces will make the cupcake moist and fruity. The rest of the orange after you cut out the fillets will still have enough juice to fill ½ a cup which we need for the batter. So don’t discard it, use your hands to juice the orange and voila we used the whole fruit.
What I have for you today is an orange-infused coconut vanilla cupcake with two versions of toppings. One is your traditional vanilla buttercream with a bit of orange zest and orange juice and the other one is perfect for hot summer days where you want something a little bit lighter: an orange glaze.
I like frosted cupcakes but glazed cupcakes make life so much easier in my opinion. Storing and transporting them is easier, you don’t have to keep them in the fridge where the cupcakes get hard and you can eat two glazed ones instead of one frosted cupcake.
In my opinion, the frosted ones are best eaten on the same day but the glazed ones are good for three days. So you decide how you like your Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes! Frosted or glazed? Or do it like me and make 6 with buttercream and 6 with glace on top. Best of both worlds :-)
Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1-2 organic oranges
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 200g
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, 80g
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 80ml
- 1 ¼ cup buttermilk, 150g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- ½ cup sugar, 100g
Buttercream for 12 cupcakes
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, 230g
- 4 cups confectioners' sugar, 480g
- 3-4 tbsp orange juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, to taste
- 2 tsp orange zest to decorate
Glaze for 12 cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cup confectioners' sugar, 150g
- 2-3 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 4 tbsp shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (177C) and line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Zest the orange. You will need 2 tsp orange zest for the cupcake batter and 2 tsp zest to decorate your cupcakes.
- To fillet the orange, cut the top and bottom off the orange.Set your knife where the white pith meets the flesh and start cutting downward in a curved motion following the shape of the orange to peel the orange. The white pith tastes bitter so you want to remove all of it. Now cut between the membranes to segment the orange. Cut the fillets into smaller pieces. You will need about ½ a cup of orange segments. Don't discard the juice, use your hands to press out the remaining juice from the filleted oranges. Save it for later!
- Make the batter: Whisk the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, shredded coconut, and 2 tsp orange zest together in a bowl. Set aside.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, mix vegetable oil, sugar, egg, ½ cup orange juice, vanilla extract, and buttermilk together on medium speed in a large bowl until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes.Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, add the orange fillets.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix just until all the dry ingredients are wet. Avoid overmixing!
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before you frost them.
- For the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until completely creamy and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar one cup at a time, at first beat on low then increase to high speed. Add the next cup once incorporated. When the frosting is creamy and combined, beat in the orange juice, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt on high speed.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes and garnish with orange zest.
- For the glaze: Mix 1 + ¼ cup confectioners' sugar with 1 tsp orange zest and add 1 tbsp orange juice at a time. Add only as much orange juice until you have the right consistency. You don't want the glaze to be too runny.
- Glaze the cooled cupcakes and garnish with shredded coconut.
Laura Dembowski says
Such beautiful cupcakes! I love that you can glaze or frost them.