If you are over the age of 7 you probably know of, or have had, the famous Orange Julius Creamsicle which is made with orange juice, milk, sugar and vanilla and topped with a scoop of ice cream. A match made in heaven! One of the most refreshing and delicious beverages on the planet.
So if it’s good enough for a cold beverage, then why not create those same flavors in a cupcake?
How to Make Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes:
Full Printable recipe and instructions below
- Begin by making the cupcakes themselves. Ideally you want your cold ingredients to be room temperature but don’t go crazy. Just be sure to take them out 30 minutes to an hour before so they soften.
- If you want fluffy, light cupcakes then the butter and sugar must be fully combined, or what the fancy people call creamed together – but most recipes don’t fully explain how important that step actually is. Click here for our step by step instructions on how to properly cream butter and sugar.
- As the cupcakes are cooking, make the beautiful buttercream frosting that goes on top.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
These cupcakes are not only show stoppers, but they are delicious! They have a burst of orange flavor from 3 different sources. Freshly squeezed orange juice, orange zest, and if that’s not enough, orange extract.
All this fresh citrus flavor needs to be balanced and that is done with a buttercream frosting on top.
Do yourself a favor and make these beautiful Orange Creamsicle cupcakes for any reason.
Print
SIMPLE Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 18-24 cupcakes 1x
Ingredients
FOR THE CUPCAKES:
- 2 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- ½ Cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs, room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons Orange zest
- 2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons Orange extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 1 Cup Buttermilk
FOR THE FROSTING:
- 1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 6–8 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 2–3 Tablespoon Heavy Cream (or whole milk)
- 1 teaspoon CLEAR Vanilla Extract
Optional decoration ideas:
- Candied orange slices
- Orange Jimmies Sprinkles
- Straws
Instructions
FOR THE CUPCAKES:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F and fill cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Beat in orange and vanilla extracts, orange juice and zest until well combined.
- Gradually add dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk.
- Beat until well combined, batter will be thin.
- Divide into cupcake liners ¾ full.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely and frost.
FOR THE FROSTING:
- Beat the butter until light and fluffy.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, alternating with heavy cream and vanilla.
- Whip until fluffy and desired consistency.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes and decorate as desired with orange jimmies, candied oranges, straws etc.
FOR SWIRLED FROSTING:
- Divide the frosting in half and color half with orange gel coloring.
- Fit a decorator bag with large round tip
- Add orange frosting to the decorator bag on one side, then add white frosting on the other side of the bag.
- Squeeze a bit of frosting out of the bag until both colors begin to show.
- Then swirl frosting onto cupcake and decorate as desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
5 Comments
Anonymous
October 17, 2020 at 4:48 pmI need to make these
Anonymous
May 10, 2021 at 11:48 amI tried this Prange Creamsicle cupcakes, and I feel like something went wrong. I wish I could show you pictures. I would love to try them again.
simplepartyfood
May 11, 2021 at 8:53 amwhere exactly do you think it went wrong? In the cupcake itself, the frosting?
Shannon
June 13, 2021 at 6:45 pmThese are great! I added a little bit more zest and juice to the frosting. I used clementines instead of oranges because I had some in the house.
simplepartyfood
June 23, 2021 at 10:26 amwhat a great substitution Shannon!