Orange cream cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

I used this lemon cream cupcakes recipe to make my orange cream cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I'm so craving for some more right now. They are festive and oh-so-good! Yes, I'm super ready for Christmas to come; it's my favorite holiday of the year. That's why I'm learning how to cook and bake so I'll be able to throw big fat feasts for the family, haha.

1 cup butter or margarine, softened


2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sour cream

FROSTING:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar


2 tablespoons orange juice

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon grated orange peel

2-3 tablespoon whipping cream

Directions

1.In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add orange peel and vanilla; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick).





Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.



For frosting, cream butter, and sugar in a small mixing bowl; add orange juice, vanilla, orange peel and whipping cream; beat until smooth. I added cream cheese to this recipe. It was a great addition to the frosting and very tasty! Adding more cream cheese made the frosting mixture thicker; hence I used heavy whipping cream to make it exactly how I like it. Great success for me as a first timer :)