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Clean – {Orange Cupcakes with Candied Orange Garnish}

January 25, 2010 by Kaitlin 16 Comments

Cleaning my desk today caused me a bit of frustration.

I sighed audibly as I scraped and scooped piles upon piles of eraser shavings into my cupped palm, fighting them as they defiantly recoiled and stuck to the desktop. Reminders of second guessing and my own defining of mistakes over a roughened sheet of paper. I’m quite used to the insubordinate behavior the stubborn buggers express, although it’s been awhile since I’ve dealt with it. I do most of my homework on my laptop now, and the little composition I do on paper is completed in ink.

It’s strange how things have changed.

But the reason behind this irritating mess has nothing to do with homework and everything to do with relaxation; after a half year hiatus, I’ve picked up drawing again. And although I may find the mess a little tiresome, drawing is not something I’ll do in pen! Much like I swoon for good coffee and go weak in the knees over cute serveware, I am absolutely addicted to erasers.


I was always the kid ripping holes in her homework because she used up the entire eraser and apparently insisted that the sharp metal casing worked just as well. Teachers were constantly over my shoulder to kindly remind me that scratching out words was acceptable. “You don’t need to erase everything,” they would say politely.

But I wanted my papers to be neat. As close to perfect as my childish penmanship would allow. If I’m permitted the luxury of erasing something and starting over, why not take advantage of the opportunity? It’s not something that happens very often, right?

So I erased and tried again.

The first time I made the candied orange slices for these cupcakes, I absentmindedly wandered away from the saucepan. Moments later, the gravity of my mistake became apparent as the acrid stink of burning sugar spread into the farthest rooms of our house. As I hopelessly stirred the pan with a wooden spoon, the sugar began to seize. It was ruined. Another mess to clean.

But I looked at it optimistically; I would simply try again, and this time I would be more careful. After thoroughly cleaning and reloading the pan, the process went very smoothly the second time. The orange slices weren’t perfect, but the results were more than acceptable.

I’ve learned to appreciate my messes because it means that I tried, and that I can always try again. I may be covered in graphite, I may have a huge mess to clean and I might just be sneezing eraser shavings for a week, but I’m happy.


And that’s enough for me!

Orange Cupcakes
I’m still trying to find an orange cake recipe that I really really like. This one is good, but not as orange-y as I hoped it would be! I found it in one of my recipe books (I’ll get the title next time I go home!), but I made a few alterations.
Printable Recipe

6 Tbls (85 g) butter, at room temp
3/8 c (75 g) sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Juice and zest of one orange
5/8 c (78 g) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 c (24 g) almond meal
1/4 c (58 g) sour cream

Preheat your oven to 350F (175C) and line a cupcake tin with 8 liners.

Cream the butter and sugar, then add in the egg and vanilla. Beat until very well combined, then add the orange zest and juice.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and almond meal. Sift half into the creamed mixture, stir just until combined, then add the sour cream. Stir briefly, then add the remaining dry ingredients. Being sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, make sure the batter is fully mixed, then pour into liners. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Cool on a rack.

While the cupcakes are baking, combine:

Juice and zest of one orange
1/4 c (50 g) sugar

In a small saucepan and simmer for five minutes. While the cupcakes are still warm, poke holes in them with a toothpick and pour the orange syrup over them.

Italian Meringue Buttercream For step-by-step directions for making Italian Meringue Buttercream, please click here!

1/4 c (63 ml) water
1 c (210 g) sugar
5 egg whites
1/4 c (53 g) sugar
1 c (237 g) butter, softened, cut into small pieces
1 tsp vanilla, more if desired

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer.

Heat the 1 c sugar and water on the stove to 245F stirring occasionally only after the sugar has been dissolved. When it is within the range of 230F to 235F, begin whipping the egg whites. When they get to soft peaks, begin adding the remaining 1/4 c sugar and continue whipping to medium peaks, being careful not to overbeat. When the syrup is the correct temperature, slowly pour it into the eggs with the mixer on high. After fully incorporated, beat the frosting 7-10 minutes until the outside of the bowl is room temp (I usually go a little longer than this; often times the bowl is not room temp when I begin adding butter. If the mix seems to soupy, put it in the fridge for a few moments or try briefly chilling some of the butter in the freezer before adding). Begin adding the butter, tablespoon by tablespoon, beating until fully incorporated. The frosting will deflate a little, but it’s ok. Keep whipping until the frosting comes together (you may not need to add all of the butter), add the vanilla and continue whipping until it’s light and fluffy.

Candied Orange Slices via Use Real Butter
Mine were a little chewier than I would have liked, but I think these would turn out perfectly if the sugar syrup was cooked to the hard crack stage!

1 orange, washed
water for boiling
ice water
2 (397 g) cups sugar
1 (237 ml) cup water

Cut the orange into thin slices (Thinner is better, but be careful not to slice them so thinly that they fall apart!). Remove the seeds and discard the ends. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan and blanch the orange slices for about a minute. Drain and plunge into a bath of ice water. Drain.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar and 1 cup of water in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved without stirring. Swirl the pan gently if it’s not heating evenly. Bring to a simmer and add the orange slices. Let simmer (don’t boil) for an hour (you can simmer as much as 2 hours). Remove slices from hot sugar syrup and set on a cooling rack over a baking sheet until completely dry, up to 24 hours.

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Cupcakes, Fruit

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Comments

  1. artistaggie says

    January 26, 2010 at 11:27 pm

    Ooh, drawing *and* baking?! This blog is gettin&#39; better and better. :-)<br /><br />Those of us who like to draw salute you!<br /><br />http://artistaggie.blogspot.com

    Reply
  2. ButterYum says

    January 27, 2010 at 12:25 am

    Fabulous photos. I hope we&#39;ll get to see some of your drawings soon.<br /><br />:)<br />ButterYum

    Reply
  3. kuskho says

    January 27, 2010 at 1:31 am

    Photos are delicious and I&#39;m a little sad because I can translate some of the recepies to portuguese

    Reply
  4. WizzyTheStick says

    January 27, 2010 at 4:02 am

    Those candied oranges are gorgeous. I am a disaster at trying to candy fruit but I&#39;m not gonna give up

    Reply
  5. kbezona says

    January 27, 2010 at 8:43 am

    Gorgeous, as allways, and my breakfast is still being a mess when I see this blog :_(

    Reply
  6. Hilary says

    January 27, 2010 at 1:15 pm

    The Silver Palate orange cake is my favourite citrus cake recipe of all time: http://www.recipelink.com/mf/0/83207

    Reply
  7. lostpastremembered says

    January 27, 2010 at 2:06 pm

    Candied orange is a wonderful addition… and that cake!!!

    Reply
  8. Hollie says

    January 28, 2010 at 4:03 am

    I&#39;ve tried to make orange cupcakes that taste really orange-y using just oranges juice and zest and I kind of gave up. It tastes great in the frosting but as far as the cake goes it tends to lose the orangey flavor in baking. Have you tried orange extract? I think that would work. The baked cupcake will probably taste super orangey if you used extract, juice and zest. mmm :)<br />What

    Reply
  9. chocolate and whine says

    January 28, 2010 at 4:05 am

    Oh, I&#39;m so glad you commented earlier. I&#39;ve been spending the last several minutes drooling over your gorgeous photos. Already there are so many recipes I want to try. (These, the Cream Liqueur Cupcakes, and the Lemon Meringue Pie… just to name a few.) If my pants continue to get tighter, I&#39;m blaming you. πŸ˜‰

    Reply
  10. grace says

    January 31, 2010 at 10:09 am

    what a well-written post! i&#39;m often stricken with bouts of irrational degrees of neatness, so i&#39;m glad you were able to collect yourself and move on from the sugar bungle.<br />and move on you did! a bite of one of these heavenly things must be like a burst of sunshine. πŸ™‚

    Reply
  11. Nina says

    February 1, 2010 at 4:36 am

    Wud like to c ur drawings:).The cupcakes look wonderful….great pics:)

    Reply
  12. Megan says

    June 14, 2010 at 9:00 pm

    This looks absolutely delicious. I love your blog! I&#39;m hoping to try out this recipe in the next few days and have a few of my friends test them out. I&#39;m just starting to get into cooking, so I hope they&#39;ll turn out well haha

    Reply
  13. Princess Cupcake says

    October 19, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    hi! i read your blog today and I think your&#39;re a sweet girl and i would like to be your best friend I think your&#39;re beautiful as your cake ! Your orange cupcake is really gorgeous!!I tried the recipe and it was awesome!!:)Keep updating your blog and i&#39;ll keep in touch.

    Reply
  14. Hannah says

    October 8, 2011 at 7:52 pm

    i want to try this tomorrow, so will be getting the ingredients in the morning πŸ™‚ what kind of flour do i need when you just state &#39;flour&#39;…? :/ i don&#39;t want to get plain and then find out i made a rookie mistake haha, thanks!

    Reply
  15. Kaitlin says

    October 10, 2011 at 1:43 am

    Thanks so much, guys! <br /><br />Hannah, just use all purpose πŸ™‚

    Reply
  16. Erika says

    September 28, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    I just have to say: I think your photos are absolutely GORGEOUS. Great post!

    Reply

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Kaitlin Flannery

Butter-obsessed 24-year-old.

Kaitlin(at)Whisk-Kid(dot)com

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