Infuse these citrus orange cupcakes with fresh orange zest and orange juice.
These orange cupcakes take just 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to bake. Make the buttercream with a hint of elderflower cordial, which works wonderfully alongside the tangy orange flavours in this recipe. Decorations are optional. We’ve used flower paste to make edible flowers and sprinkles to top the cakes.
Ingredients
170g self-raising flour
20g cornflour
115g unsalted butter
160g golden caster sugar
2 medium eggs
120ml buttermilk
Zest of 2 oranges
½tsp vanilla extract
125ml fresh orange juice
For the buttercream
135g unsalted butter
200g icing sugar
1tsp orange zest
½tsp lemon juice
3tbsp elderflower cordial
To decorate
(optional)
20g flower paste (white)
Yellow Hundreds and Thousands
Orange sugar pearls
You will also need:
Large piping bag with a Wilton 1B nozzle
Small primrose cutter
Veining tool (optional)
WEIGHT CONVERTER
grams
to
cups
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3 and line the tray with 10 muffin cases.
Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat again.
Add the vanilla and orange zest and juice and beat. Don’t worry if the batter splits it will come back together when you add the flour.
Add the flour and buttermilk a bit at a time beating in between each addition until just combined and smooth.
Put into the paper cases and bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 mins in the tins before cooling completely on a wire rack.
To make the buttercream: put all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat until smooth and shiny. Add the nozzle to the piping bag and fill with the buttercream. Starting in the centre and working your way out to the paper and using the paper as a guide, pipe a swirl by following the paper and building up. To finish push down slightly and pull up quickly.
To make the flowers: knead the flower paste til warm and pliable and roll to 2 mm thick. Cut 30 flowers out and vein with the veining tool, if you wish.
Using a brush of water, stick 3 yellow Hundreds and Thousands to the centre of the flower and place on the top of the cakes. Sprinkle with the orange sugar pearls.
Top tips for making orange cupcakes
If you can't find buttermilk in the shops, make your own by adding 1tbsp lemon juice to 115ml of milk. Find out everything you need to know about how to make buttermilk (opens in new tab) with our step-by-step guide.
Jessica Dady is Senior Content Editor at Goodto.com and has over 10 years of experience as a digital journalist, specialising in all things food, recipes, and SEO. From the best food hampers to cookbooks, from the best cake stands to baking sets, Jessica has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to must-have food products. A passionate baker, she spends much of her time creating celebration cakes for friends and family - particularly for her two lucky children.
Butterfly buns
