Hello friends!

Are you sick of cold weather? Snow and wintry mixes hurtling at your face from the heavens? Bursts of tundra-level winds keeping you from ever leaving your apartment?

It’s been wicked cold here in NJ and I can’t stand it. I typically consider myself a lover of winter, until just about this point in February.

It’s time to stop Mother Nature. Please. We get it. You can still be cold even with climate change. But please, please don’t make a liar out of that adorable little groundhog who said Spring is on the way.

What if we made a deal, Ms. Nature? You make it less cold out and I’ll…

give you cupcakes!

Lovely citrusy cupcakes, with homemade Vanilla Buttercream, reminiscent of a classic childhood favorite: an orange creamsicle….

Oh, what’s that? You think we could work something out? Thanks Momma N

Yes, I did just interrupt our conversation to discuss weather and/or gently bribe Mother Nature with cupcakes. Don’t judge me – I did it for all of us!

And I made these cupcakes for everyone; especially any of my readers who like to hide out inside their homes, stare out at the sunny sky, and pretend it’s much warmer out than it really is.

These cupcakes will go perfectly with your daydreams of spring and summer, of warm rays of sunshine greeting you in the morning, and burgers out on the grill for lunch…

and of course, an orange creamsicle cupcake for dessert!

I was a little hesitant about the use of orange extract in the recipe (hello, orange zest, juice, and extract?! A little citrus-crazy perhaps?) but it truly adds the depth of flavor that reminds me of the orange frozen treat. After all, it may be an artificial extract, but what do you think they flavor creamiscles with?

Bingo.

In fact, I love the combination of orange zest, juice, and extract in this cupcake: the fresh and sweet blend together perfectly. Oh and that fresh vanilla buttercream?

I mayyyy have squeezed the remainder of it directly into my mouth. But only after I painstakingly piped these cupcakes for about an hour.  Remember when I said something like this about piping cupcakes??

“If you don’t like the way the piping looks on your cupcakes: no worries! You can just plop it off and start over.”

Well, ladies and gents, I ate my words. I nearly gave myself a headache staring at the swirls as I piped and re-piped these cupcakes.

Therefore, I think eating a tad too much frosting afterwards is not only appropriate, but expected.

I’ll be enjoying these all weekend, imagining that I’ll wake up Monday and there will be birds chirping, flowers blooming, and I’ll only have to wear a shirtshirt to work.

…a girl can dream, can’t she?

Happy Baking!

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp orange zest (about 2 oranges)
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (from same 2 oranges)
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp orange extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line one 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate larger bowl, cream butter, sugar and orange zest until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully combined. In a small bowl, combine orange juice, heavy cream, orange extract, and vanilla extract.
4. Blend flour mixture and juice mixture into egg mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Beat until just combined.
5. Scoop batter into muffin cups, filling about 2/3 way full. Bake at 350 for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a few mintues before carefully removing to wire rack to cool completely

Vanilla Buttercream

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 rbsp heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Beat butter until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Slowly beat in powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla.
2. Add a little more cream if frosting is too thick, or more powdered sugar if too thin

All Photos And Writing Copyright © 2013 Jessica Gonzalez | On Sugar Mountain