Orange-Almond Cupcakes
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This cupcake has an irresistible orange flavor.
INGREDIENTS
20 paper liners for cupcake pans, 2-1/2-inch size
ALMOND FILLING
1/2 cup almond paste (1/2 of a 7-ounce tube)
1 bag sliced almondsCUPCAKES
1 (18.25-ounce) package plain yellow cake mix
1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1-1/4 cups orange juice, purchased or fresh
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extractGLAZE
1-1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 generous teaspoon fresh orange zest
2 to 4 tablespoons orange juice, commercial or freshPlace a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 20 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
PREPARE THE FILLING - With clean hands, crumble the almond paste into a medium-size mixing bowl. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the almonds for garnish and add the rest to the almond paste. Toss the mixture together with your hands and set it aside.
PREPARE THE CUPCAKE BATTER - Place the cake mix, pudding mix, orange juice, oil, eggs, and vanilla and almond extracts in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients just come together, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Incease the mixer speed to medium and beat 1-1/2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter will look smooth and thickened. Remove 3/4 cup of the batter and stir this into the almond paste mixture. Set it aside.
Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup of the remaining batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it 3/4 of the way (you will get between 18 to 20 cupcakes; remove empty liners, if any.) Dollop a heaping teaspoon of almond paste mixture, centered, on top of each cupcake.
Bake the cupcakes until they look golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20 to 25 minutes. The almond filling will sink into the center of the cupcakes as they bake, and may create an attractive mottled appearance on the tops. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before glazing.
Meanwhile, PREPARE THE GLAZE - Place the sugar in a small mixing bowl. Stir in the orange zest until well incorporated. Add 3 tablespoons of the orange juice and stir to make a glaze thin enough to drop them from a spoon, but firm enough to harden on the cupcake as it cools. If it seems too thick, add up to 1 tablespoon more of the juice.
With a soupspoon, drizzle glaze over each cupcake in crosswise lines, then switch direction and drizzle crosswise lines again to create a crosshatch pattern. While the glaze is still warm, gently press a few of the reserved sliced almonds onto the top of each cupcake so that they stick to the glaze. The cupcakes are ready to serve.
Makes 18 to 20 cupcakes
NOTES - Use whatever orange juice you have on hand. Freshly squeezed is delicious, unreconstituted from the carton is fine, and even reconstituted frozen O.J. makes a delicious cupcake.
Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.