Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Remember those orange creamsicle popsicles from when you were a kid? I do, and I absolutely LOVED them! The citrusy orange flavor of the popsicle paired with the creamy, dreamy filling on the inside was such a delicious combination and so refreshing for the summer! I was thinking about how good those were on one of our sweltering hot Arizona summer days last week and thought, what if I made those in a cupcake? So this weekend, that's exactly what I did!

It's an orangesicle flavored cake mix, spruced up with my own ingredients to make it extra dense and moist, then piped with a cream filling on the inside and a little dollop on top then lightly iced with orangesicle flavored frosting :) Yum!

It's pretty easy to make and you can have a lot of fun with it. Kids can help with the filling and frosting and experiment around with decorating. You really do have a lot of options, so play around with this to make it your own, or just try it as-is and see how you like it!

Here is my recipe for Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes, I hope you enjoy!

Three special ingredients I wanted to share with you: I started with this box mix from Pillsbury, which I found at Target in their seasonal section in the back of the store- it is currently filled with summertime things like Adirondack chairs, pool noodles, picnic items, etc. If you can't find it, I am sure you can make-do with a yellow cake mix and add orange juice and/or orange flavored extract. My other secret ingredient to bring out the citrus flavor and also moisten them up is lemon pudding mix! I actually ended up using 1/2 box of lemon and 1/2 of vanilla, which I thought was a nice complement to the creamy filling flavor. And last but not least, a jar or two of marshmallow fluff :)

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes:

• 1 box orangesicle flavored cake mix
• 1 small pkg (3.4 oz) lemon instant pudding and pie filling mix (optional: you can use an addt'l box of vanilla and do 1/2 box of each)
• 1 (small container (8 oz.) sour cream
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup warm water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake/muffin tins with preferred paper liners (about 24 needed).

Combine all ingredients in a large mixer bowl and beat on low speed until just blended; then kick it up a notch or two to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Fill each cup about 2/3 full. I like to use an ice cream scoop like the one pictured to fill mine evenly, and also less messy.

Bake 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. This batter is dense, so you want to make sure there is nothing ooey-gooey on your toothpick when you test it, otherwise your cupcakes will collapse when you take them out because of the weight of the batter. A few dry crumbs on the toothpick is ok : )

Cool in pans for 10 mins then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

While these puppies are baking and cooling, you can clean out your bowl and start preparing your cream filling and frosting!

Ingredients for cream filling:

• 1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 stick (4 Tbsp) butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2-1 tsp vanilla extract (depending on flavor intensity and filling color desired)
• opt: about 1 (7 oz.) jar of marshmallow fluff*

*I used the marshmallow fluff for a few reasons: I found it really cut the obvious cream cheese/powdered sugar/vanilla extract flavor, and I also really liked the lighter, fluffier texture it gave to the filling. This is totally optional, and the recipe will definitely work without it, but I personally really liked it!

Directions:

Mix cream cheese and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended (about a minute or less should do). Add your powdered sugar, then add the preferred amount of vanilla extract to taste. Taste testing from the bowl along the way is recommended, lol! Now comes the fun part, if you are including this, adding the marshmallow fluff! I went ahead and took my spatula and scraped all of it out of the jar and into the filling mixture. You can gradually add a little here and there and see what you like, or just take my word for it and put it all in there. Mix away, store in the fridge if you want it a little firmer and cooler.

Ingredients and directions for the orange frosting:

I used a can of orangesicle flavored frosting that was right next to the orangesicle cake mix at Target, and then also added a 7 oz. jar of marshmallow fluff to make the flavor a little less heavy and fluff and puff it up a little. This is also optional.

Now, get ready to cream-fill and frost!

Add your cream filling to a professional icing decorator like this one, or to a plastic piping bag fitted with a tip. The tip size I used was Wilton 230. If you don't have either of these, you can remove a small portion of the middle of the cupcake, add about 1 tsp. to 1Tbsp. filling with a spoon, then replace cupcake center.

Insert the piping tip about halfway through the center of the cupcake and fill with about a teaspoon-Tablespoon of filling, or until the cream filling starts puffing out of the top of the cake. Pipe enough to leave a nice little dollop on top, like this:

Seriously?!

One you have your lovely little dollop centered on top like so, go ahead and take a mini spatula (or whatever you like to use) and lightly frost in a circle around the cream, leaving the cream center exposed to give your eaters a little hint about what's on the inside : )

Almost there...

Perfect!

There you have it! My fun summertime treat : ) You can stick these in the fridge for a few minutes and serve them slightly chilled for an extra pop of refreshment on a warm summer day. Hope you have fun making and eating these! Let me know what you think in the comments below : ) I'm happy to answer questions if you have any!

Have a great week!