I'm so excited that summer is around the corner! All except for the part about wearing a bathing suit...but Mr. Pixie Crust and I have started a new diet regime that I think will help prepare us for that part.
These cupcakes definitely will not help with getting you beach ready, but they are a really fun soda shop inspired treat.
For the Cupcakes:
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups, plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
4 large eggs, plus 1 white at room temperature
3 cups GF flour (3/4 cup white rice flour, 1 cup sweet rice flour, 3/4 cup potato starch, 1/2 cup GF oat flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tbsp orange zest
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
Zest one orange and lemon onto a small cutting board or plate. Set aside.
Sift baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flours together. Set aside. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and egg white one at a time. Mix until fully combined. Add vanilla extract and citrus zest.
Combine juice and sour cream into a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Add in 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the bowl of the mixer, alternating with wet ingredients. Mix until fully combined, but do not overmix. Distribute batter evenly into each cupcake liner. Bake for 16-20 minutes, until cupcakes spring back to the touch.
For the Orange Curd Adapted from Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Curd Recipe
- 2 oranges
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup, plus 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup, plus 1 tbsp orange juice
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- Pinch of kosher salt
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest of 2 oranges and one lemon. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is fine and incorporated into the sugar.
Cream the butter and beat in the sugar and lemon mixture. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the orange and lime juice and salt. Mix until combined.
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and cool. Refrigerator until fully cold and thickened.
For the 50/50 Swiss Meringue Buttercream
4 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
3 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 tbsp vanilla bean paste
Juice from 1 whole orange and 1/2 lemon
Combine egg whites and sugar in bowl of stand mixer. Place bowl inside a sauce pan of simmering water (to create a double boiler effect). Whisk mixture until egg white/sugar mixture reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Take bowl out of water and place on mixer. Whisk on high for 8-10 minutes, or until mixture is completely cool.
With mixer running, add butter in piece by piece until fully combined. Switch to paddle attachment and mix for another 1-2 minutes.
Remove half of the buttercream and set aside in separate bowl. Add vanilla bean paste to remaining buttercream and beat with paddle attachment. Set vanilla bean buttercream aside. Place other 1/2 of plain buttercream in mixing bowl and beat in orange and lemon juice until satisfactory flavor is reached.
To assemble:
Once cupcakes are cooled, core out the center of each one. Fill a pastry bag with orange curd and pipe into center of cupcakes. Fill a pastry bag with 1 vertical layer of vanilla bean icing and 1 vertical layer of orange icing (to create marbled effect) and frost as desired.
For the 50/50 Swiss Meringue Buttercream
4 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
3 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 tbsp vanilla bean paste
Juice from 1 whole orange and 1/2 lemon
Combine egg whites and sugar in bowl of stand mixer. Place bowl inside a sauce pan of simmering water (to create a double boiler effect). Whisk mixture until egg white/sugar mixture reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Take bowl out of water and place on mixer. Whisk on high for 8-10 minutes, or until mixture is completely cool.
With mixer running, add butter in piece by piece until fully combined. Switch to paddle attachment and mix for another 1-2 minutes.
Remove half of the buttercream and set aside in separate bowl. Add vanilla bean paste to remaining buttercream and beat with paddle attachment. Set vanilla bean buttercream aside. Place other 1/2 of plain buttercream in mixing bowl and beat in orange and lemon juice until satisfactory flavor is reached.
To assemble:
Once cupcakes are cooled, core out the center of each one. Fill a pastry bag with orange curd and pipe into center of cupcakes. Fill a pastry bag with 1 vertical layer of vanilla bean icing and 1 vertical layer of orange icing (to create marbled effect) and frost as desired.
