Orange Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream Frosting are an amazing take on white cupcakes. The orange flavor is subtle in the cupcake and a bit bolder in the frosting.
FEATURED COMMENT: "These cupcakes are ridiculously delicious! My family inhaled them (Well I helped). The ultimate recipe. I will keep forever." -Judith
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These cupcakes are really just white cupcakes with a delicate orange twist. The big orange flavor comes from the cream cheese orange frosting.
They are perfect any time of year, but especially appropriate in the winter, since that is peak citrus season, or in the spring, when the fruity flavor just shouts that warmer weather is here to stay a while!
White cake is a little tricky to get moist and delicate and still keep it that glorious, pure white color in cupcake recipes. I experimented with a lot of combinations and proportions for this orange cake until I got it just right.
Orange extract gives the cupcakes a hint of subtle orange flavor.
Ingredient and Substitution Notes
- Butter - Unsalted butter helps you control the salt. Make sure you use room temperature butter for easier blending.
- Sugar - Standard white granulated
- Egg whites - from large eggs
- Sour cream - full fat is recommended
- Milk - whole milk is recommended
- Vanilla extract
- Orange extract
- Flour - plain all purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cream cheese - full fat is recommended
- Orange zest
- Powdered sugar - also called confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Beat the sugar and softened butter together in a large bowl with an electric mixer, or in a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment.
- Add egg whites, one a time, beating on low speed for 30 seconds after each.
- Add sour cream, milk and extracts and beat on low speed for about 1 minute.
- In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients.
- Add to wet ingredients gradually, beating lightly and scraping bowl the sides of the bowl after each addition.
- Fill muffin tins lined with paper liners ⅔ full with cupcake batter.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake additional 8-10 minutes, or just until cake springs back when lightly touched in center.
- After 5 minutes remove the fluffy cupcakes from pan and allow to cool completely on wire rack before frosting.
- For the frosting, blend the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
- Stir in extract, zest and sugar and stir until smooth. You can just spread the fresh orange buttercream on the top of each cupcake with a knife or use a piping bag to make it look extra fancy.
How many cupcakes will this orange cupcake recipe make?
I actually get 14. When piping a good bit of frosting on top you don't want a tall, domed cupcake so I only filled my cupcake liners ⅔ full. If you don't plan to pipe your frosting on fairly high you can fill the liners ¾ full and make only 12.
Our Key Lime Cupcakes in mini-size are yet another version of this same recipe. White with a twist of lime!
If you're more of a cookie person, you'll want to try these Key Lime Cookies and Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter.
About the frosting
What a fun and mouthwatering frosting! Around here we love, love, love anything with cream cheese in it. These fluffy orange cupcakes are no exception!
Our Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes are a fine example as is our Smoked Fish Dip (Beach Bar Style). But, frosting with cream cheese is really the crowning glory of cream cheese recipes - the icing on the cake!
Some folks have asked "can I make the frosting the night before?" The answer is yes, absolutely. In fact, we recommend it.
If I've got time I always make this frosting the night before I put it on the cupcakes. Keep it refrigerated overnight and then let it come to room temperature so it will be the right consistency to pipe or spread easily.
The orange flavor comes from grated orange zest and extract and the time those ingredients spend together just make for a fabulous frosting. The orange flavor really pops!
If you’re looking for a lighter topping, Vanilla Mousse is a great alternative for these cupcakes.
If you love unique frosting flavors you'll also want to check out our Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Frosting. It goes great on fall treats like cupcakes, cookies and sheetcakes.
Several Ways to Frost Your Cupcakes
You can certainly frost your cupcakes the simple, old fashioned way and just spread the icing on the top of the cupcake with a knife or small spatula.
If you want that "piped" on look, but don't have piping bags or tips you can always add the frosting to a baggie and cut off one corner.
I've used that method plenty of times for filling deviled eggs (like our Bacon Jalapeno Deviled Eggs), frosting cupcakes or decorating anything with whipped cream.
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I use a Wilton 1M decorating tip for making these cupcakes. A 12 inch decorating bag was just right for holding this amount of frosting and you can order both, as well as any number of other decorating tips by clicking these links:
- A Selection of Decorating Tips can be ordered here
- decorating bags can be ordered here
- closure clips for decorating bags
For another look and an equally delicious cupcake be sure to check out our Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Garnish ideas for your cupcakes
Now here's where the fun comes in. The possibilities are of course, endless. When I took these photos I didn't have orange sprinkles, but that would be really festive. What I did have was pearly non-pareils and they were so pretty.
I also love to use small orange curls and tiny little wedges of orange (you would only want to do that right before serving - no longer than an hour before). And, you can never go wrong with a little mint leaf.
Oh, and sanding sugar. It gives your orange cupcakes a little sparkle. Here's a whole list of ideas:
- orange curls
- orange sprinkles
- sanding sugar
- orange slices (little wedges)
- mint leaves
- mini edible orange butterflies (these are awesome!)
If you love mini cupcakes (and who doesn't?) you'll want to make these. Carrot Cake Cupcake Mini's are perfect when you want to offer something sweet that's just a couple of bites.
This recipe made our top 10 of annual favorites. Click over here to see them all.
Recipe FAQ's
This is a combination of many factors, including the right ingredients, the right baking temperature and the right baking time. Above all, do not overcook your cupcakes!
It depends on how high you want your cupcakes. For this recipe we pipe on a good bit of frosting so a flatter cupcake is preferred. In that case you will only need to fill the cups about ⅔ full.
You can store these orange cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. If your kitchen is warm or humid, you may want to store them in the refrigerator instead.
You can also freeze them for up to 2 months.
📖 Recipe
Orange Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Orange Cupcakes
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar + 2 Tablespoons
- 2 egg whites
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup milk minus 1 teaspoon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 cup plain flour + 2 Tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup butter room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1-2 teaspoons orange zest
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Orange Cupcakes
- Beat sugar and butter together with electric mixer for 2 minutes..
- Add egg whites one at a time, beating on low speed for about 30 seconds after each.
- Add sour cream, milk, vanilla and extracts and beat on low speed for about 1 minute.
- In separate bowl combine dry ingredients.
- Add to wet ingredients gradually, and beat lightly after each addition.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake additional 8-10 minutes, or just until cake springs back when lightly touched in center.
- After 5 minutes remove cupcakes from pan and allow to cool completely on wire rack before frosting.
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- Blend butter and cream cheese until fluffy.
- Stir in extract, zest and and sugar and stir until smooth.
Notes
Nutrition
For a quick and fun look at this recipe be sure to check out the Google Web Story.
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kim says
What a delicious recipe! These are so perfect for summer and the whole family enjoyed them!
Pam says
So happy to hear you loved them. Thanks,Kim!
Erica says
These cupcakes have perfect texture. Do you know how the recipe performs as a cake? Thanks
Pam says
We haven't tested that, Erica. If you do please come back and let us know!
Judy says
I was looking for something different for the Fourth of July and decided to try this recipe. I followed the recipe exactly as listed and they turned out wonderful. They were moist and had a subtle and refreshing orange flavor. Everyone loved the cupcakes, even the kids were going back for seconds and inhaling them. My husband who usually prefers chocolate, loved these cupcakes. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks!
Pam says
Thank you so much for letting us know, Judy! It means a lot when readers take the time to tell us how much they enjoy our recipes and give us a star rating. XXXOOO
Cassandra says
Hello! I’m a home baker and would love to find out where you buy your liners. They are so vibrant and beautiful! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Pam says
We get a lot at craft stores like Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Also, Amazon is a great source!
Anna says
I am a bit frustrated as it took me about 16 mins for the Cupcakes to be ready. (This said, they became somewhat concave over time once out of the oven. Is that to be expected?!). Then I realised that I didn't add the "+2 tablespoons" of flour to the dough. I wonder if that could explain the x2 bake time. And the concaveness. Also, why the "+2"? How do I interpret that? Should I and if so when should I add those 2 tb spoons of flower ? (I will be piping the whole thing tomorrow if the dough is properly baked and edible). 🙁 Another question: can we use less powdered sugar in the frosting? Say x2 cups instead of x3. I used 3 but obviously it's incredibly sweet :/
Pam says
Wow, let me try to address your questions 1 at the time, Anna. 16 minutes is not twice the bake time. If you read the recipe again it says to bake 5 minutes at 400 and then reduce the heat to 350 and bake an additional 8-10 minutes, so this would be up to a total of about 15. The best test for doneness is a light touch in the center. If the cake springs back it's done. About the "+ 2 Tablespoons of flour" it should be interpreted just like it's written. The amount of flour to use is 1 cup plus two tablespoons. You don't add it at any other time - this is a measurement of how much flour to use. And, yes, that certainly could explain why your cupcakes didn't come out. About the frosting - if you use only 2 cups instead of 3 all of the other ingredients would need to be adjusted accordingly. Otherwise you would have a runny mess. Yes, it's sweet, but Anna, it's frosting! It's supposed to be sweet. I hope I have helped answer your questions. We would really appreciate you rethinking the 2 star rating.
Anna says
Good evening Pam,
Thanks for the info about the frosting (runniness). It also clarifies things about the "+2 tablespoons". It's not a measurement I personally am used to seeing; I rather see measurements in grams or cups, unless it's a teaspoon or table spoon as a stand alone measurement for an ingredient. Regarding the bake-time, my bad, I meant to say 5 mins + 9 + 8 (in 2 min increments) so a total of 22 mins vs. 13-15. I did pipe and we did taste the Cupcakes today. We find them okay overall. I've changed the star rating to 3 rather than 2 to reflect the end result, based on our subjective preferences (taste, flavors, texture of the frosting, etc.) and not taking into account technical problems I had encountered due to my misunderstandings / mistakes. Regards
Pam says
Thank you for re-thinking the rating. It's still not what we hope for but we appreciate your effort. Just a quick note about the measurements: 2 Tablespoons is equal to 1/8 cup. Most people don't have a 1/8 cup measuring cup, so it's most accurate to reflect it in Tablespoons.
Tanjia says
I have a question about the milk? Is it 1/4 cup minus 1 tsp? Just double checking
Pam says
Yes, it is Tanjia. I'm going to go in and change that to the word "minus" so it's perfectly clear. Thank you!
Tanjia Hong says
Thank you for the quick response. Appreciate you.
Lauren says
I made these 2x thinking I must have left out an ingredient the first time because the cupcakes sank after coming out of the oven. I made them again, carefully measuring everything, double checking the recipe, and yet again, within a minute’s time of coming out of the oven, they sank and are concave. I gave the recipe 2 stars because my husband said the flavor was good but they were too dense on account of them deflating. I doubled the recipe and I’m not sure if that’s what is causing the issue, but other than that the recipe was followed and the ingredients didn’t cooperate for me. I was making these to bring to an event, but I guess not.
Pam says
I'm sorry you had this experience Lauren. Two possible explanations come to mind for your issue. #1 Could your baking soda be old? If so, that would certainly affect the rise.
#2 could you be handling the cupcakes or your oven rack or door with a heavy hand? Cakes need to be handled gently as a "jar" can cause them to fall. That said, I once had an uncle who like a dense cake so he purposely opened and closed the oven door with a little "slam" when my aunt baked cakes. 🙂