Orange "Dreamsicle" Minicakes

So, usually when I bake something delicious, the hubby is always right there to "test" it. He also gives me a lot of great ideas of what I should make or what would make them just "perfect." You could say he's kind of like my partner-in-baking-crime.

Well he had been begging me to make these for some time since Orange Creamsicle cake is his favorite. I actually made these a few weeks ago but a friend of mine requested that I post the recipe so she could make some for her daughter's birthday so here it is.


Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/2 c. oil
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. cake flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. orange juice
1 package of orange flavored gelatin
Whipped cream
Orange Cream Buttercream Frosting (recipe follows)

Cream oil, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla in a mixing bowl thoroughly. Mix flour, salt and baking powder together in a separate mixing bowl. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients, alternating with orange juice.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks are formed (I usually have Shane do this part while I am putting the rest together because it is pretty time consuming and I just hate doing it.) Fold egg whites into batter.

Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. (If you're looking for pretty ones instead of doing just plain white, I like to pick mine up at Michael's. They're not too expensive and they have a pretty wide selection.) Fill the cups 2/3 of the way full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes for regular sized cupcakes or 10-13 minutes for mincakes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Once cooled, poke holes in the top of each cake with a toothpick.

Make the gelatin according to packaged directions. Pour (when still in liquid form) over the top of the cupcakes until all of the juice is absorbed by cupcakes.

Inject each cupcake with a little bit of whipped cream. (I have a special tool for this but you can also just use one of those syringes that they give you at the Pharmacy when you get medicine for your kids.) Place cupcakes in fridge to cool completely.


Orange Creamy Buttercream Frosting


Ingredients:
1/2 c.  Crisco Shortening
1 tsp. butter flavoring
1 tsp. orange extract
1/4 c. orange juice
5-6 c. powdered sugar

Mix Crisco,  butter flavoring, and orange extract on medium speed until well blended. (The mixture should take on the consistency of sour cream. You may need to stop mixing, scrape the sides and start mixing a few times before you get the desired consistency.)

Gradually add powdered sugar and orange juice, mixing thoroughly and scraping sides as needed until frosting reaches desired consistency. (I usually don't even measure it. I will just pour it in and mix it and then if it's not thick enough, I pour more and mix more. I have had pretty runny buttercream in the past so if you have never made buttercream, my advice is, be patient. Eventually, with enough powdered sugar, it will reach the right consistency.)


Frost cupcakes with frosting. You can also add orange rind and mandarin oranges to decorate if you want. (Which is what I did in the picture.) 


A few last minute tips:

1. I always use oil instead of butter in cupcake recipes. It just makes them more moist. 
2. You can use regular salt in place of kosher. I just always use kosher.
3. Yes, use the cake flour. I don't know why but they don't come out quite right if you use all-purpose.
4. If you have buttered-flavored shortening instead of regular, you can use it. Just omit the butter flavoring. Actually you can omit the butter flavoring all together but I like the taste it gives the frosting.
5. One trick to make your frosting a bit stiffer is to add a tsp. of meringue powder.

Hope these turn out well for you! I know they were a hit at work. Let me know... :)