"These orange cupcakes taste like creamsicles, one of our childhood favorite treats!"
Orange Dreamsicle Cupcakes
Servings: 18 Cupcakes
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
Cupcake Batter:
1 (15.25 ounce) white cake mix, (orange cake mix if you have access to it & omit the orange jello powder)
1 (3.4 ounce) box cream cheese pudding mix powder
1 (3 ounce) box orange jello powder, divided
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1¼ cups orange juice
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons orange extract
Creamsicle Frosting:
1 ( 8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, *divided
5-6 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
optional: orange gum drops or orange slices
Instructions:
Cupcake Batter:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Line cupcake pans with liners and set aside.
RESERVE 2 teaspoons of the orange gelatin powder and set aside.
To a medium mixing bowl add the cake mix, pudding dry mix, remaining orange gelatin powder, oil, juice, eggs and orange extract.
Beat until light and fluffy (do not over mix)
Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full ( to keep things uniform, I like using an ice cream scoop)
Bake 18-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool completely.
Creamsicle Frosting:
In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter.
Beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and powdered sugar.
Mix to combine until light and fluffy.
Place one fourth of the frosting into a smaller bowl, add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla, mix to combine; set aside.
To the remaining frosting (still in the mixing bowl) add the *reserved gelatin powder and orange zest.
Mix to combine making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.
Fill a small piping bag fitted with a Wilton 4B tip with the vanilla frosting.
Fill a large piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1A tip with the orange frosting.
Pipe a swirl of the orange frosting on each cupcake.
Add a small amount of the vanilla frosting to the center of each cupcake.
Add a gumdrop or orange slice on top for garnish.
"Growing up the combination of orange and vanilla was an ice cream truck staple and my favorite! There’s just something about the sharp taste of orange paired with the creamy taste of vanilla that go perfectly together.... Remember running your little legs off to get to the truck before it left!?..."
CWT is not a certified dietician or nutritionist. Any nutritional information shared on this site is an estimate counted through measurements and package nutritional information used in each recipe. If calorie, macro counting and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through your choice of nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary depending on national brands used per recipe.