Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Remember when you were a kid and you had those little ice cream cups filled with swirled orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream, and you ate it with a flat wooden spoon? 

Well, my husband took one bite of these, and started reminiscing about how much he liked those little cups.

I must admit my most favorite part of this recipe is the orange whipped cream frosting... I love it.  I decided to eat the remnants of the bowl with a big ole' wooden spoon, just for old times sake!

Vanilla Cream Filling
This is the same filling as my Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes, but you could use a pudding mix instead, but I would reduce the amount of milk in the recipe because you want this to be thick!

Ingredients:

Makes a little more than a cup, enough for 18 cupcakes

3/4 cups whipping cream or half-and-half

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon flour

pinch of salt

Heat your cream and vanilla over medium high heat. In a small bowl, beat your egg yolks, sugar, flour and salt. 

 Take a about 1/3 cup of hot cream out and pour into the egg mixture, beating the whole time.  Then add the egg mixture to the rest of the hot cream. Stir continuously over medium heat until the mixture thickens, about 2-3 minutes. It will continue to thicken as it cools. Don't overcook it, or your texture will get gritty!

Remove from heat and remove to a bowl to cool.  Cover the top surface of the filling with plastic wrap and refrigerate if you are doing this the day ahead.

Orange Cupcakes
Makes about 18 cupcakes

2 cups flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 Tbsp orange zest

1 tablespoon vinegar, white or Cider

Preheat oven at 350.
Mix together all dry ingredients, then the liquid (water, juice), oil and zest, then add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until uniformly moistened.  This batter is a bit more liquid than most batters, but it cooks up nice and moist! Line your muffin tin with papers and fill each one about 1/2 full.  Bake for about 20 minutes. Let cool completely.

Orange Creamsicle Frosting
Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1 Tbsp orange zest
A couple drops of orange food coloring
2 cups heavy cream, very cold

Combine the cream cheese, sugar, orange zest in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until smooth. While the mixture is still whipping, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Add a couple drops of orange food color, until it is a nice peachy color. Scrap down the bowl as you go, if needed, whipping until the frosting can hold a stiff peak.

Assembling the cupcakes, cut out a little circle in the middle and fill the center with the vanilla filling.  Add the cake top back on, and then frosting around and over the top. Viola, nice tall cupcakes, ready to be devoured.

If you like these recipes, here's some popular cupcake creations:
Reese's Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Coconut Cream Filled Cupcakes
Margarita Filled Cupcakes