Orange Cupcakes w/ Orange Curd and Orange Mascarpone Frosting
These orange cupcakes are made with a soft orange cupcake, filled with orange curd, and topped with orange mascarpone frosting.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- ½ cup Butter softened, unsalted
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Orange zest
- 2 Eggs
- ¼ cup Orange juice
- ⅓ cup Sour cream
- 1 ⅔ cups Flour
- ⅓ cup Buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
For the orange mascarpone frosting
- 8.8 oz Mascarpone cheese
- 1 ½ cups Heavy cream
- ⅓ cup Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Orange zest
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
For the orange curd
- ½ cup Orange juice fresh!
- 1 ½ tablespoon Orange zest fresh
- ¾ cup Granulated sugar
- ½ cup Butter unsalted
- ⅓ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 Eggs
- 3 Egg yolks
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350f (180c) and prep a cupcake pan with liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the softened butter, vanilla extract, kosher salt, orange zest, and sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer until creamy and smooth for about 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, orange juice, and sour cream, and mix until a creamy mixture forms.
- Add ½ of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and ½ of the buttermilk. Mix until almost combined.
- Add the rest of the flour and the buttermilk and mix until just combined and there are no lumps of flour showing.
- Use an ice cream scoop to fill out the cupcake ⅔ full (do not overfill) and bake in a 180 (350f) preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely (don’t frost warm cupcakes)
Make the orange curd
- While you allow the cupcakes to cool, make the orange curd. Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan and cook it over medium-low heat whisking constantly.
- Once the butter melts, the consistency of the mixture will be thin, don't increase the heat. Keep whisking until the mixture thickens for about 5 minutes.
- When the mixture thickens, transfer it to a fine-mesh strainer set over and bowl and strain the mixture from any unnecessary lumps. This will give you a perfect and smooth curd.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the mixture cool for about 20-30 minutes.
Make the orange mascarpone frosting
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the heavy cream, orange zest, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar and mix with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form. (don't overbeat the mixture so you don't create butter)
- Add the mascarpone cheese (which is at room temperature) and mix it lightly into the whipped cream using a spatula until a creamy mixture forms.
- Do not overmix this mixture! Stop just when the mixture is creamy and smooth. If you overmix this, the mixture will curdle and lose its creaminess.
- Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag with a star piping tip.
- Make a small hole in the middle of each cupcake. We used a knife to do so, you can also use a cupcake corer.
- Fill the hole with the orange curd until just full. Frost the cupcakes with the frosting and top with more orange curd and a small slice of orange.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Use fresh, high-quality oranges for maximum flavor. Zest the oranges before juicing them to capture the vibrant oils in the zest. Incorporate both the zest and juice into your cupcake batter.
- Use cupcake liners to prevent the cupcakes from sticking to the pan, making them easier to remove and creating a more professional appearance.
- Choose the right type of orange. Navel oranges are a classic choice, but you could also experiment with other varieties like Valencia or blood oranges for a unique twist.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don't overmix the batter. Once you've added the dry ingredients, mix just until they're incorporated. Overmixing can lead to tough, dense cupcakes.
- Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the cupcake batter into the muffin tin liners to ensure each cupcake is uniform in size and bakes evenly.
- Don't overbake. Keep an eye on the cupcakes as they bake and remove them from the oven as soon as a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting them with buttercream frosting. This will prevent the frosting from melting and sliding off the cupcakes.
Nutrition
Calories: 569kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 7gFat: 40gSaturated Fat: 24gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 203mgSodium: 416mgPotassium: 130mgFiber: 1gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 1433IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 108mgIron: 1mg
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