Orange Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

Yield:  about 30 cupcakes

Recipe slightly adapted from Annie's Eats, original sources from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and Sweetapolita

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 Tbsp vanilla bean paste (or seeds scraped from 2 vanilla beans)

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups heavy cream or whole milk

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

For the candied orange slices:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups water

About 30 small, thin orange slices (clementine oranges recommended)

For the frosting:

1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp (3 sticks plus 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Pinch of salt

1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste (or seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp heavy cream (optional)

Directions:

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside.  

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the vanilla and orange zest, and mix until incorporated.  Blend in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

In a liquid measuring cup, combine the cream, orange juice, and vanilla extract.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In three additions, add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl, alternating with the cream mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Mix just until incorporated; do not overbeat.  Divide the mixture between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 full.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes.

To make the candied orange slices:

Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves.  Add the orange slices to the mixture so that they are in a single layer (none overlapping), reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer about 20 minutes, turning the slices at least once so both sides are candied.  Remove from heat.  Store in a container with the syrup until ready to use.  (You can repeat the process using the same syrup if pan does not accommodate all the slices in a single batch)

To make the frosting:

Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whip on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.  Add the confectioners' sugar to the bowl and mix on medium-low speed until incorporated.  Add the vanilla bean and the salt.  Continue to beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla extract and cream on low speed just until incorporated.  Increase the mixer speed and whip on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 4 minutes.

Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your preferred decorative tip.  Pipe a swirl of frosting on the top of each cupcake and garnish with a candied orange slice.