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.
Cakes, Cupcakes, & Frostings
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- Old Fashioned Cream Cheese Pound Cake
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- Hummingbird Bread Recipe with Cream Cheese Glaze
- Key Lime Cupcakes: Small Batch Mini Size
- Blueberry Crumb Cake with Cream Cheese
- Mini Strawberry Shortcake
- Mini Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Diana says
Love the sound of orange Cream cheese frosting! Sounds very refreshing and perfect for this season.
Pam says
Thanks, Diana. It's pretty yummy!
Danielle says
Any kind of orange dessert is good with me! I would want to lick that frosting out of the bowl!
Pam says
Haha Danielle! You would have to fight my husband for the frosting bowl.
Buddy says
The bowl was gone but I did get to lick the beaters.
Ben Myhre says
I'm with you on the simple. Some of the best things are simple. This cupcake looks absolutely delicious.
Pam says
Thank you so much, Ben!
Rebecca says
These look fantastic!
Pam says
Thank you, Rebecca!
Hayley says
These look amazing! And thanks for the tips on piping on the icing. I'm not really a baker but I think I can manage it with a plastic baggie!
Pam says
Thanks, Hayley! The baggie trick is so easy!
Brooke says
These are amazing and so fun to decorate. They taste better than any store bought mix and I would highly recommend these to anyone who would like some cupcakes with and orange twist. My family loves them!
Pam says
Brooke, We'e so glad you loved the cupcakes. They were fun to decorate. We could have tried lots more ideas ourselves. Cupcakes are just the best!
Jackie says
My son wanted orange cupcakes for his birthday so I chose this recipe to make. They are delicious!! They have a nice texture and butteriness to them that FAR surpasses any cake mix. Unfortunately, my first double batch had to be thrown out because my orange extract was funky. So to avoid another trip to the grocery store for orange extract, I remade them with a couple substitutions (based on what I had on hand) -- I used 2 tsp orange zest instead of (1 tsp) orange extract, and orange juice instead of the milk. Additionally, I reduced the sugar to 1/2 C as I felt it could be reduced (knowing the icing would add a lot of sweetness). I made them a couple days ahead of time and froze them. They froze really well (without the icing). Once thawed, they were still nice and moist. I loved the tip with the two icing bags. I quickly learned not to overfill the bags 'cause once the two bags are combined together, it can become a lot to fit into one bag, with one tip. I ended up with icing oozing out the top.
Jackie says
Oops. Just realized it was another website that had the tip about the double icing bags when using two different colour icings. Sorry for any confusion there! 🙂
Pam says
Haha.... I wondered what that tip was and was going to go back and check. If you used two colors of icing I'd love to see a photo of your cupcakes. They sound beautiful!
Pam says
So glad they turned out for you, Jackie (even with that extra trip to the store 🙂 We always enjoy hearing how others made adaptations to our recipes. That's how we all learn and improve. And yes, on the freezing. I've frozen those cupcakes too with great success.
nikkole says
Can I substitute orange juice for milk? Really want to boost the orange flavor since I'm frosting them with dark chocolate.
Pam says
I think you would be okay with that. Another idea would be to add a spoonful of orange zest to the batter.
Jet says
Hi, I would like to makr a larger batch of cupcakes. Should I simply use a multiple of the amounts given in the recipe?
Judith says
These cupcakes are ridiculously delicious! My family inhaled them (Well I helped). The ultimate recipe. I will keep forever.
Pam says
Thanks so much, Judith! So glad you and your family loved them!It always so nice when someone comes back to let us know they tried one of our recipes!
Clorinda says
These cupcakes are amazing. But should I use salted or unsalted butter for the frosting?
Pam says
Clorinda, Either would work just fine. If you use unsalted you may want to add just a pinch of salt, but I don't think you'll be able to tell a difference. Whichever you use, it's going to be delicious.
Maribel says
I followed the recipe exactly as is, they are soooo good!! My daughters loved the cupcakes,, they are very picky and said they were soft and delicious.
Pam says
That's awesome! Thanks for letting us know, Maribel.
Sue says
I absolutely love this refreshing flavor combination, I'll be making up a batch this weekend!
Pam says
Hope you enjoy them, Sue!
Haley D. Williams says
So bright and citrusy! Love how the orange flavor was perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the cupcake
Pam says
Thank you, Haley!
Sonia says
Wow! Theses look and sounds super delicious and easy to make! Can't wait to make them.
Pam says
Thanks, Sonia! We hope you love them.
Sujatha Muralidhar says
Absolutely awesome recipe, such a pantry staple ingredients. Cant wait to try.
Pam says
Hope you enjoy Sujatha!