Orange Cupcakes with Jasmine Petal Jelly

Posted by chockylit in Citrus,Herbs & Flowers (Sunday March 14, 2010 at 9:41 am)
My daughter inspired this cupcake. I asked her what color and flavor cupcake she wanted and she said orange. So, orange it was. I mulled over what to pair it with. I am not a huge fan of orange with chocolate and I wanted to keep the orange bright tasting – so no spices. A lunchtime trip to the Ferry Building resulted in the purchase of some jellied jasmine flowers. Sounded like a good combo to me.
The cupcakes have a nice and noticeable orange flavor. The jasmine flower jelly doesn’t provide much of a flavor hit, but the sweetness is a nice addition. The vanilla cream cheese frosting provides that anyway in addition to a luscious creaminess. In other words, don’t rush out and by jasmine petal jelly…
I think the orange cupcake is a great foundation to go in a lot of directions – definitely chocolate for those who like that combination, I can see something nutty working well, berries, etc. There are lots of ideas on the Cupcake blog facebook page from readers… They all sound wonderful.
I made some candied kumquats using this method but abbreviated as a topper.
Orange Cupcakes
~28 regular cupcakes / 375 degree oven

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup orange juice/pulp from one orange
2 teaspoons orange extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one half orange

1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
6. Add the orange juice, orange extract, vanilla extract and orange zest, beat to combine.
7. Scoop into cupcake papers about half full.
8. Place cupcakes in the oven and turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

jasmine petal jelly
filling the cupcakes Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
1-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese
3-4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Beat butter at medium speed until creamy.
2. Add cream cheese and beat until combined.
3. Sift 3 cups of the powdered sugar into the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
4. Add more sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like. I used 4 cups.

candied kumquats Assemble
1. Fill the cooled cupcakes using the cone method.
2. Frost.
3. Top off with candied kumquats or whatever suits you.

cone of frosting