CRANBERRY-ORANGE CUPCAKES

Cranberry-Orange Cupcakes image

After tasting these cranberry-orange cupcakes you will never want to eat other kinds of cupcakes again!

Provided by ania

Categories Desserts Fruit Dessert Recipes Orange Dessert Recipes

Time 4h40m

Yield 20

Number Of Ingredients 19

Ingredients

⅔ cup white sugar
1 orange, zested
1 cup orange juice concentrate
½ cup white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup butter, room temperature
⅔ cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
2 ounces chopped nuts
2 ounces dried cranberries
¼ cup butter, at room temperature
½ cup jellied cranberry sauce
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 cup jellied cranberry sauce
2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Steps:

Mix together 2/3 cup sugar and orange zest in a bowl. Allow to sit at room temperature until sugar is infused with orange flavor, about 3 hours.
Combine orange juice concentrate and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring continuously, until thoroughly combined and thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let orange syrup cool to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl.
Combine butter and orange zest-sugar mixture in a large bowl; mix with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in yogurt and eggs until blended. Alternately fold in flour mixture and 2/3 cup of the orange syrup (that should be pretty much all of the syrup) in 3 additions, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in nuts and dried cranberries.
Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.
Bake in the preheated oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool, about 20 minutes.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat to make the icing. Add 1/2 cup cranberry sauce and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and continue to boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add milk and bring to a boil again, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.
Gradually add sifted powdered sugar to icing. Beat with an electric mixer until thick enough to spread, adding a little hot water if icing is too thick.
Spread frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and let it harden just a bit. Pipe a ring of cranberry sauce around the edge of each cupcake and sprinkle with orange zest for some added color.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 311.7 calories, Carbohydrate 49.9 g, Cholesterol 43.6 mg, Fat 11.9 g, Fiber 1 g, Protein 3.3 g, SaturatedFat 6.3 g, Sodium 155.1 mg, Sugar 38.9 g