Almost Orange Cupcakes with Absolutely Almond Buttercream

OK a lot of posting in a little amount of time. Turns out I lost the cord that hooks my camera up to the computer, so I had to put my pictures on CD at Shopper's Drugmart and the price for a CD is exactly the same if you have 2 pictures or 20...so I waited until I had 20.

:)

Anyway, last week for work I tried orange cupcakes with almond buttercream. The idea of the recipe started a week earlier when I read about on Wishing on Clovers' website called "Oh My Darling Clementine" Cupcakes. I tried the cupcakes and loved the clementine sharpness (which I kicked up a notch with a tsp. of orange extract) - however, when I went to make them the next week, I had lost my copy of the recipe, my computer crashed, and I had no clementines.

Time to improvise!

An orange was an easy substitute for the 2 clementines Clovers suggested, but it didn't have the same kick, even with 2 tsp's of orange extract. I also had to wing the rest of the cake recipe, and I think Clovers highlights the citrus taste a little better.

Still, it was a resounding success. Even the one Financial Advisor who used to be a professional baker said that the cake was great and the almond in the buttercream made for a fantastic fusion of tastes. It was subtle, but definitely there, and overall a pretty sophisticated blend of tastes. The morning after I took these pictures I topped all of the cupcakes with half a marachino cherry for a little colour.

The true success, though, was in my icing technique. Take a look at that swirling technique! Can you believe it? It took me a couple of tries (even to just fill the icing bag) but I totally managed it. At one moment my friend, Kiki, who was helping me bake up a storm, took a picture of me in a squatting stance to bring my eyes down level with the counter. It was embarrassing. Hence: not published!

So even more than the cupcake, I was impressed with the icing...but people hardly even noticed the artistry once they took a bite!

Almost Orange Cupcakes with Absolutely Almond Buttercream
makes 24 cupcakes

1 c. softened unsalted butter

2 c. white sugar

1 c. milk
3 tsp. orange extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract

juice of one orange

zest of one orange

2 3/4 c. cake flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder*

• Preheat Oven to 350 degrees farenheit; paper 2 cupcake pans
• sift together flour and baking powder; gently mix in zest with fingertips until just combined; set aside
• mix milk, orange extract, vanilla extract, and orange juice together; set aside
• in a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar on medium with mixer until fluffly
• add eggs one at a time on medium speed and beat again until fluffy
• alternate wet and dry ingrediants in thirds until fully combinedtaste...does it need a few drops more orange extract? let your tastebuds guide you!
• fill cupcake liners 2/3 full; bake 18-20 minutes until golden topped and springy to the touch

* check your baking powder - it does have an expiration date. I found that my recipes turn out so much better since I splurged and got a new little container full of fresh stuff!

Almond Icing

2/3 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. milk
2 tsp. almond extract
4-5 c. icing sugar

• cream butter and 2 c. icing sugar until smooth with mixer on low (otherwise the icing sugar shoots right out of the mixing bowl)
• add milk, mix again until cottage cheese consistency.
• add icing sugar until desired thickness**
• add almond extract and beat until smooth

** I came to a breakthrough: fun 1M swirls on cupcakes need stiff icing. I used a lot more icing sugar than I generally do, which made it stiffer...and sweeter. When I finished I slipped an extra 1/2 tsp of almond extract in there. But be careful, because I think my almond extract was also a little old. I'm a big fan of the "taste test" for optimal results!

Happy Baking!