As always, I’m fascinated by whoever thought, hmm…I’m going to combine cinnamon with orange and it’s going to be delicious. But here we are, with absolutely delicious cinnamon orange cupcakes. Not unlike the combination of chocolate and orange, this flavor pairing is a surprisingly good one, and it made for popular cupcakes at the office a few weeks back.
The one thing I didn’t love about this recipe was the frosting color – the cinnamon in the buttercream tints it the color of oatmeal, which isn’t always the most appetizing shade. The next time I make these, I might experiment with a subtle color for the icing and add a few drops of orange food coloring to see what happens – I suspect the end result would be a pumpkin-like shade, so we’ll see.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 2/3 cups flour (spooned and leveled; this is also 209 grams, for those baking by weight)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Vietnamese cinnamon*
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Scant 1/4 teaspoon orange extract
- Zest of 1 medium orange
For the frosting
- 12 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Scant 1/4 teaspoon orange extract, to taste
- 1 – 2 tablespoons orange juice
- Zest of 1/2 medium orange
- 3/4 teaspoon Vietnamese cinnamon
*You can use regular cinnamon if you like, but it’s not as flavorful as the Vietnamese variety – I buy mine at Penzeys, a spice shop based in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, but you can also find it at King Arthur Baking and at various other places online.
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake tins with paper liners; my batch made 17 cupcakes.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter, then add sugar and stir to combine; mixture will be grainy. Refrigerate for 1 minute, then remove and add egg, yogurt, milk, vanilla extract, orange extract, and orange zest. Stir into the flour mixture until no lumps remain.
Using a 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop batter into tins and fill about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and place cupcakes on wire racks to cool completely.
To make frosting, beat butter and powdered sugar on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated into the butter. Add vanilla extract, orange extract, orange juice, orange zest, and cinnamon and beat to combine completely. Fit a large piping bag with a large star tip (I use the Wilton M1) and pipe swirls of frosting using a back-and-forth motion onto cupcakes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
amy bakes in the 'burgh 