Orange swirled cupcakes, filled with whipped cream, swirled with orange creamsicle buttercream, and topped with even more cream and a candy orange. These cupcakes are everything for orange creamsicle or even orange soda lovers!

I remember those hot summer days when I was a little girl. My next door neighbor Tyson would always have a ton of Otter Pops in his fridge. We’d take a few out whenever we wanted, cut off the tops of the popsicles with scissors, then jump on the tramp while eating them. I didn’t know that they were just straight sugar and water – but it was all I really knew when it came to popsicles.

Then one day, I was given a choice between a chocolate and orange “creamy” popsicle. I didn’t know what I was missing out on! The chocolate was my go-to for such a long time, that I never really ended up trying the orange creamsicle one.

Fast forward many years and whenever my boys get to have popsicles, they always reach for the orange creamsicle ones! Call me crazy, but I didn’t think they would be such a hit. Boy, was I wrong. The boys LOVE those ones. I knew they had to be made into a cupcake at some point, and the boys were my #1 taste testers.

The bottom cupcake layer is my white cake base recipe flavored with orange emulsion. I love the way it added that signature “creamsicle” flavor without having to use any orange zest or orange juice this time. I’ll probably try using them for a chocolate orange cake sometime, but for this cake I really wanted that unmistakable orange flavor the emulsion provided. If you can’t find the emulsion, you can use orange extract – just use less of it, because it tends to be a bit more potent. I dyed half the cake batter with Americolor gel colors and then swirled the colors together in the cupcake. You can’t really see it when it’s frosted, but you definitely see it when you bite into it! Such a fun cupcake that way 🙂 .

Next, I wanted to make sure to add a creamy filling. Plain vanilla buttercream wasn’t going to cut it – I wanted it to be a softer texture, almost like ice cream. So I whipped up my whipped cream with vanilla bean paste and called it good! Hollowing out the center of the cupcake is super easy – just use a melon baller on chilled cupcakes, and it created a really great hole to work with.

Next comes that heavenly buttercream. I used the orange emulsion again, and loved how it turned out. You can split the buttercream into two colors again for the buttercream to give it that orange-white swirl effect – just use a little bit more of that coloring gel to get the flavor. You want to go easy on the coloring – more of a soft orange, versus a bright orange. I did the two-toned swirl on the first round of these, but had to scrape them off and re-pipe them.. didn’t like the way the smaller circle tip turned out. I used a larger tip for these, and although I love the shape they have here, I wish they had that two-tone swirl I originally had. Oh well – you learn something from every cake you make!

Lastly, I topped these little lovers off with another little dollop of whipped cream (Wilton 1M Tip in piping bag). These would be really fun with a wooden popsicle stick sticking out – I used a swirl straw and orange candy this time. My boys LOVED them, and my husband couldn’t keep away from the buttercream. It was an instant hit, and I can’t wait to share the cake version in my new 2010 cookbook.

Happy Baking! Make sure to tag @bakingwithblondie #bakingwithblondie on Instagram if you make them – I love to see your Baking with Blondie inspired treats!

Hope you have a fun weekend, and get to soak up one last month of summertime. 🙂

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes
Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes Recipe Type : Cupcake Author: Mandy | Baking with Blondie A dreamy orange cream cupcake, swirled with orange and cream together, filled with cream, and topped with a orange swirl buttercream.
Ingredients
  • Orange Swirl Cake:
  • 4 Egg Whites
  • 1 Tablespoon Mexican Vanilla
  • 2/3 Cup Sour Cream
  • 3/4 Cup Buttermilk
  • 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 3 Tablespoons Orange Emulsion
  • 1-2 drops of Americolor orange coloring
  • 1 WHITE Duncan Hines Cake Mix
  • [br]
  • Cream Filling:
  • 2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar, Sifted
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste
  • [br]
  • Orange Creamsicle Buttercream:
  • 1 Cup (2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter, left out of the fridge for 15 minutes
  • 1 Tablespoon Mexican Vanilla
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons Orange Emulsion
  • Orange Food Gels/Coloring
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
  • 6 Cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
  • [br]
  • Garnishes:
  • Swirly Orange Paper Straws
  • Orange Candies
  • White Nonpareils
Instructions
  1. [b]For the Orange Creamsicle Cake:[/b]
  2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg whites, vanilla, sour cream, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and orange emulsion until thoroughly combined. Sift in the cake mix, then stir until just combined.
  4. Don’t overmix.
  5. Half the batter, and dye one half a soft orange with the food coloring.
  6. Using a small cookie scoop, add one scoop of white batter and one scoop of orange batter to each cupcake. Make sure it’s a little over halfway full for each one, and that they’re all even in height.
  7. Swirl each cupcake with a toothpick/skewer/knife to give it that mixed swirl effect.
  8. Bake for 15 minutes, then check and add more time if needed (one minute at a time). (This is a good time to start your buttercream and filling while they’re baking!).
  9. Remove from the oven, then let cool in the cupcake pan for a minute, then carefully place onto a wire rack to cool completely before adding the filing and frosting.
  10. [b]For the Cream Filling: [/b][br]
  11. Chill metal mixer bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for at least 5 minutes.
  12. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the chilled bowl and whisk attachment, add in the heavy cream and mix on low speed for about a minute.
  13. Increase the speed gradually over 5 minutes until the heavy cream has stiff peaks.
  14. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste and mix until just combined. [br]
  15. [b]For the Orange Creamsicle Buttercream [/b]
  16. In the stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the butter until it’s light and fluffy.
  17. Add in the vanilla, emulsion, salt and heavy cream until thoroughly combined.
  18. Slowly, about a half cup at a time, add in the powdered sugar. Add in any food coloring as desired (you can add it to half the buttercream in a separate bowl to get the swirl effect while piping, if desired). Turn the mixer to high speed for about a minute to add volume, then lower the speed for about 30 seconds to beat out any air bubbles.
  19. [b]Assembly: [/b]
  20. Hollow out the center of each cupcake with a melon baller.
  21. Fill each cupcake with a little bit of cream (using a piping bag for this step helps).
  22. Swirl on (with a large circle tip) the buttercream, then add on more of the stiff cream filling on top if desired with a 1M star tip.
  23. Top with orange candies, paper straw, and nonpareils.